Fairleigh Dickinson University Metropolitan Campus

Date: Sep 25 2005
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
I am a parent of a senior in business administration; thus, this will be a bit diffrent that most other comments.

My son is a business major and also part of the learning disabilities program. I can't recomment Fairleigh Dickinson (FD) Madison Campus enough. The support for both learning disabled kids was FANTASTIC, as was the regular tutoring provided all students. FD can be a very nurturing place IF you seek out all the services that are available.

The school was very responsive to questions and concerns. Whenever we have visited my son, the campus facilities were immaculate.Also, check out the GYM facilities. Tbey have state of the art equipment.

My son found that most teachers were very friendly, helpful, and accessible. Now he is in Monaco taking courses as part of an affiliation with the University of Monoco, and he LOVES it. FD also keeps in weekly contact with him to see if he needs anything or any support. How great is that!

Yes, FD does raise tuition each year. However, this is true of most schools. Moreover, it is true that most students leave campus and go home on weekends. My son was able to turn this "lemon" into lemonade by using the weekends to study. In fact, this may have helped him obtain good grades. He never missed Dean's list.

My son also got some great projects that were practical and educational. He was able to develop a business plan for one of my daughter's ideas based on the training that he got at FD.He also now reads various newspapers with a critical eye that he never previously demonstrated in high school and can write a very well thought out paper on most subjects. This was clearly not true when he was in high school.

I should also discuss three other aspects about the school. First, the cafeteria has great food. We visit him and love eating there. Moreover, FD isn't that far from some good restaurants in Madison., which is a very nice, upscale area.

Secondly, kids can and do visit NYC. Buses are available as are trains. It is only about a 45 minute ride to NYC.

Finally, Fairleigh's admissions is getting tougher. SATs are going up substantially. The latest freshmen class has an average SAT that is about 100 points higher than the current senior class. The GPA requirements also have increased.

My only negative is that the freshmen dorm,while having fast internet and nice showers, is basically a dump. It is old and needs renovation.However, as bad as the freshmen dorms are, many of the upper class dorms are terrific. In fact, I have two kids in college, and I have seen several colleges for my daughter, and Fairleigh Dickinson has some of the better upper class dorms around.

I should note that, while Fairleigh Dickinson is very nurturing, it is also a hard school. Kids really need to do the work and take advantage of the tutoring, accessible facilty, and other opportunities. They will flunk out kids who aren't prepared and don't work reasonably hard. My son estimates that at least 20%-30% of the kids that he met in his freshmen year are no longer in school. Many of which left due to poor academic achievement.

Bottom line: I certainly would highly recommend Fairleigh Dickinson to anyone who has a student with learning disabilities. I would also recommend the school to anyone who wants a decent education and some broad choices in majors,while being able to get some nurturing if they need help. I will certainly donate to the school in years to come.