Getting a little worried!

mrsmontana
Sun, 05 Oct 2014 17:06:35 +0000

I don’t want to belabor the obvious, but what folks have to understand is that Fordham, like most private colleges and universities, approach admissions holistically. They look at the whole child, not just numbers. I don’t think it’s “quirky” that Fordham admits one kid with lower GPAs and/or test scores than another; the applicant admitted may have a more “total package” and better application than the one with the higher grades and scores. On its admissions website, Fordham states: “We’re looking for people who see a school like Fordham and a city like New York and feel their hearts swell because they’re already imagining what they can do. We’re looking for people who see college as a chance to engage with the world–its people, its cultures, its urgent problems, and its enduring questions.” Perhaps, when looking at the application, the kid just didn’t exhibit (by way of personal statement, the rigorousness of high school courses, teacher recommendations) those qualities. Admissions at Fordham–unlike certain state universities, where a student can be summarily rejected for not having a certain GPA or score–is subjective.

And so is a merit aid decision. There’s no guarantee any applicant, when admitted, will receive a merit aid award. Again, Fordham makes this clear on its website. Even though our family did not qualify for financial aid, we told our S that, had he been pulled off NYU’s wait-list in the summer (in an email, NYU stated that if my son was accepted off the wait-list, he would receive no $) he would not have been able to attend as a full-pay student. Thus, to avoid disappointment when merit aid decisions are made (keep in mind: merit means merit, not based on ability to pay), the child needs to know how much of an award, from any source, is needed in order to attend the school, period. When Fordham admitted my S and gave him two merit aid scholarships (guaranteed for four years), we knew that they really wanted him to attend! I don’t think it was based on our geographic location, either: schools in the Pacific Northwest awarded him similar packages, give or take $1,000. One private college in California (which was his favorite going into senior year but fell out of favor after he visited Fordham) offered such a small amount of aid that it would probably just have covered his books. In my opinion, the schools that awarded him good packages really, really wanted him to attend; the California school was probably on the fence about him and gave $ to kids who it felt were more worthy of an award. It’s not a “quirkiness.” It’s just a subjective decision on how the private university wants to distribute its funds based on the particular applicant.

To sum up, I think folks have to keep an open mind about the importance or grades and test scores on the admissions officer reading the application. If you’re so-so in one area, make sure you shine in another. Make them want you, and I’m sure you’ll be very happy with the result.