Marquette Honors of Fordham?! HELP!

[sofia08]

<p>Hi, I’m new to this site and the reason I decided to register was actually to post this thread. I’m a HS Senior in Miami, FL and I was admitted into seven out of nine universities. I didn’t get in to Notre Dame, which was my top choice. I did, however, get into Fordham University, Lincoln Center which was my second choice. I was so excited about the acceptance and I really like how the school sounds. The catch? I recently recieved an admission to Marquette’s 100 student honors program. It sounds like an awesome program with many benefits (best dorm rooms, seminars, smaller and advanced classes, etc.)</p>

<pre><code> This threw me off balance. I’m not sure if being in an honors program at Marquette is like the equivalent of attending a highly ranked University like Fordham. I know that Fordham is somewhat harder to get into, and I really like the reputation of the school. Does anybody have advice? I need to choose between now and the last week of April! I will not be able to visit any of the schools before then Any advice would help…thanks!
</code></pre>

<p>Some additional info when it comes to making a choice:</p>

<p>Fordham</p>

<p>Pros:

• location! (NYC)
• awesome school, good academics, good rep, etc.
• nice weather (4 seasons)
• cheap plane flights</p>

<p>Cons:

• more expensive (about 4k more a year)
• i’m not in the main campus, so idk if that means less of a “college experience” feel
• the campus itself is small and not so “gothic/brick” looking
• not sure if there are other honors oppurtunities…i tend to do very well in school and i want to be part of something “honors”…but i did not make it into their honors program </p>

<p>Marquette</p>

<p>Pros:

• honors program
• homey campus feel
• good sports teams</p>

<p>Cons:

• far away! close to canada!
• weather must be even colder than NYC
• not as competitive a school as Fordham
• expensive plane tickets</p>

<p>THANK YOU!!!</p>

[illinialum]

<p>Cons:

• far away! close to canada!
• weather must be even colder than NYC</p>

<p>Can’t address the rest of your questions but as someone who has lived within 100 miles of Marquette for her entire life, these two made me laugh!</p>

<p>Milwaukee is close to the other C - Chicago, not Canada. As far as weather, I’d say that we are usually slightly colder than NYC but this year for instance our winter was WAY better than NYC (my niece lives in NYC and I follow the NYC weather.)</p>

[brutus0310]

<p>You to take a look at a map. Milwaukee is no where near Canada. Maybe you are confusing it with Detroit. Marquette is close to downtown Milwaukee and its easy to get around anywhere. Chicago is 90 minutes away by train. Marquette has a pretty strong academic program, they just are not well known outside of the Midwest.</p>

<p>Lots of students don’t get into UND. Its nothing against you or what you have done. Marquette is a solid choice.</p>

[GAonmymind]

<p>Two great choices, can’t go wrong with the Jesuits. As background, I began at Fordham and then transferred into Marquette (many years ago). Keep in mind, you really need to weigh your pros and cons more heavily than any advice from us. A few things to keep in mind:</p>

<p>Marquette and Fordham are very similar institutions. As far as competitive entry you’ll find the institutions are remarkably similar. Each admits about half of their applicants (for the class of 2013 Fordham admitted 12,000 of 24,000 applicants. Marquette admitted 10,250 of 20,000 applicants) but Marquette’s incoming class is slightly larger 1900 vs 1800. Just a quick glance at other profile information shows both have a lot of regional students but each also has a fair number of students from outside of the NYC and Midwest regions. (Marquette enrolls students from all 50 states, Fordham from about 40).</p>

<p>That being said, I don’t know much about the honors programs but if you’re looking at honors, you might want to lean that direction. The curriculum and philosophy are intriguing. Check it out at [Majors</a> and Programs | College of Arts and Sciences | Marquette University](<a href=“The Klingler College of Arts and Sciences // Marquette University”>The Klingler College of Arts and Sciences // Marquette University).</p>

<p>Some of the other pros and cons:</p>

<p>weather. Actually, surprisingly similar. A little colder at times in Milwaukee but usually far less snow than NYC. Four seasons either place.</p>

<p>city. New York is New York, there is nothing like it. However, you’ll likely be surprised at the wealth of activity available in Milwaukee. I was not expecting what I encountered. And, like New York and Boston, Milwaukee has a large population of college-students. Things are very affordable for those on a college-student budget. (One thing I certainly appreciated).</p>

<p>Travel. This is likely negligable. Flights may be slightly more expensive into Milwaukee (you can also fly into Chicago) than New York. In all honesty, you will not be travelling home frequently. And, likely as an upperclassman, Christmas and possibly Thanksgiving or Easter.</p>

<p>Just some food for thought.</p>

[sofia08]

<p>Thank you all. The reason I said that Milwuakee is close to Canada is because I’ve lived in Miami, FL for ten years now. That being said, anything north of VA is close to Canada from MY perspective–sorry to sound ignorant. Thanks for the advice.</p>

<p>GAonmymind: may I ask why you decided to transfer from Fordham to Marquette? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

[eadad]

<p>

i’m not in the main campus, so idk if that means less of a “college experience” feel

</p>

<p>The answer is a definitive yes. You are comparing apples and oranges. MU will have an undergrad experience much more like that at ND than what you will be getting at Fordham.</p>

<p>

The Lincoln Center campus, was established in 1961 on eight landscaped acres adjacent to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Approximately 7,800 professional and undergraduate students attend, with 931 living in University- operated housing.

</p>

<p>Do you know how small eight acres really is?</p>

<p>In New York City, the average length of a north-south block is 1/20th of a mile, or 264 feet. An east-west block is about 1/5th of a mile, or 1,056 feet. So, a square block would be 264 x 1056 = 278,784 square feet, which is equal to 6.4 acres. That said, eight acres would be little more than 1 and 1/4 city block. That’s not exactly what I would call a “campus.” If you were thinking about attending the Bronx campus the comparison to MU might be closer.</p>

<p>Obviously living in Manhattan is an experience in and of itself but it will not be a typical undergrad experience, in fact anything but.</p>

<p>The Lincoln Center campus has less than 2000 undergrad students while the remaining 6,000 are either grad or Law students. </p>

<p>Do you have any idea what the student body profile at the Lincoln center campus looks like? By this i mean, where are they from? Mostly New York/New Jersey? I honestly don’t know the answer to this and have not been able to find that info anywhere on their site. I did find that only about 700 undergrads live in the one dorm the rest are Law students.</p>

<p>Southwest flies into Milwaukee now so you should be able to find competitive fares.</p>

<p>I think you are overvaluing Fordham and undervaluing Marquette a bit…this could be based on a little east coast bias but I think you will find more MU alum spread out throughout the US than Fordham grads who tend to stay in the northeast, specifically Metro NYC. </p>

<p>From their website:

Q. Are there any athletic facilities nearby?</p>

<p>A. Actually, Fordham has one full size basketball court, a workout gym, and two full size tennis courts right on campus!</p>

<p>Q. Are there any lounges in McMahon Hall? </p>

<p>A. Of course, we have two recreation lounges on the second floor, a study lounge on the fifth floor, a social lounge on the eighth floor and study lounges on the fourteenth floor and the seventeenth floor.

</p>

<p>All this plus classroom space and a dorm in less than two city blocks…sounds like their “campus” is comprised of several high rise buildings that are indistinguishable from the surrounding neighborhood.</p>

<p>I don’t know about you but I’d give going to Fordham a LOT more thought before passing on other schools that will offer you a true undergrad experience. You only have one undergrad college experience, I would want it to be memorable.</p>

[brutus0310]

<p>Correction: The undergrad experience at MU would be closer to Fordham not UND. Both MU and Fordham are set in an urban campus design, like most Jesuit universities. Notre Dame is in a Midwestern, medium size city and has football weekends. There is no mistaking the differences between UND and MU. Pick the school you think you would be most likely to do well at and adapt to the surroundings.</p>

[cpeltz]

<p>Correct, Brutus, but the OP is not considering the main Fordham campus.</p>

<p>My S is a freshman at Marquette, and actually wanted to go the east coast rather than the midwest. He ended up not applying to Fordham for a number of reasons, but loves Marquette. It definitely has a campus feel, and all freshman and sophomores are required to live on campus. You will not have the same “college experience” at a satellite campus.</p>

<p>In addition to Southwest, AirTran also flies from Miami to Milwaukee, and we’ve had good luck finding $99 fares from LAX to Milwaukee when son comes home. Also, be sure to factor in how you’ll get from the airport to campus. Not the easiest in NYC, but there is a $12 service in Milwaukee that picks students up from their dorms and takes them to the airport. EASY.</p>

<p>The $16,000 difference is nothing to sneeze at! If there’s anyway you could get to Marquette, even if it’s over a weekend, I strongly suggest you visit. The Admissions Office can connect you with a student host so you can stay in a dorm room and get a sense of the strong connections MU students feel with one another and the University.</p>

<p>Good luck, and let us know what you decide!</p>

[eadad]

<p>Brutus</p>

<p>Please read my post again more carefully.</p>

<p>I said the undergrad *experience<a href=“key%20word%20here”>/i</a> would be much more like that at ND not just like it. I said this because I was comparing the fact that MU, while urban, has much more of a campus, more student activity related facilities, a big student union, the Helfaer Rec Center, multiple dorms, fraternities and sororities and other activities that won’t be available to someone going to school in several high rise buildings on little more than one city block in Manhattan. If we were referring to St John’s main campus in the Bronx it would be more of an apples to apples comparison and I would not have even mentioned ND.</p>

<p>Football weekend are certainly a nice ND advantage. One of my best friend’s from HS started at middle linebacker for ND for two years while I was at MU and I spent many football weekend there sleeping in his dorm room and using one of his allotted tickets. That said, football weekend are not a defining moment for everyone and, as the OP said, she didn’t get into ND so it’s a moot point. </p>

<p>For someone with a kid at MU your disdain for the school and love of anything ND is amazing.</p>

[GAonmymind]

<p>sofia08, sorry for the delay but I don’t check in here too often. The decision on which college to choose is deeply personal and not always easy. There was no one particular reason for transferring out of Fordham. For me it came down to issues of fit and feel. I thought I would like Fordham better than I did but in the end I just liked Marquette better – simply, I felt more comfortable. Maybe it was the Midwestern feel, the different kind of urban environment, the stronger sense of community I felt … Just as a whole, it was a far better place for me to become who I wanted to be.</p>

<p>Regardless of your decision, I wish you all the best.</p>

[brutus0310]

<p>eadad: Just to set the record straight, I like MU. I love UND. I do not disdain any Catholic University. Interesting how you judge me and never met me. I have spent time at both MU and UND campus’. They can’t be compared. End of story. What I don’t get is the Jesuit koolaid that flows at MU. You would think the Jesuits are the only religious order in the world. Its interesting that a Jesuit Catholic is made out to be different than a Catholic who is educated at an Dominican, Franciscan or Christian Brothers school. I attended Loyola University in Chicago and graduate school at DePaul University. Marquette is a fine a university, but in no way can its campus life be compared to UND. I did not want to see this young person’s expectations lead astray. </p>

<p>Good luck with the decision. I hope you select Marquette.</p>

[dbwes]

<p>The Jesuits have a specific history. St. Ignatius was a fascinating figure, and his Spiritual Exercises form the basis for a contemplative Catholic prayer tradition. The Jesuits are historically associated with education, having sponsored universities for centuries. Their perspective seems to encompass an unusually high regard for freedom of the intellect within the Catholic tradition. They emphasize both reason and faith. That may be why they are castigated by conservative Catholics for running universities that are not “Catholic” enough. The Jesuits do not shun the world as sinful; they embrace it, looking for “God in all things.” </p>

<p>I think the universities attempt to reflect these values. Marquette has a department for developing this mission and disseminating it throughout the university. Whether they are successful and whether the students’ experience there is qualitatively different than that at any other Catholic university is, I think, open for debate.</p>

[dbwes]

<p>brutus – Loyola (which is also Jesuit, as I am sure you know) has that amazing piece of property right on the lake. The school fell on some hard times a decade or so ago, but I hope things are righting themselves. That school could certainly become as popular as Boston College or Fordham, considering the appeal of Chicago. Marquette will always be hampered by Milwaukee. Now, I love Milwaukee – I think it’s an underrated, very appealing little city. But rightly or wrongly,it suffers from a lack of appeal on a national level.</p>

[sofia08]

<p>Thanks to all. I have chosen Marquette and requested to live in Straz tower. I am very excited to be a part of their honors program! Thank you for all the advice. (:</p>

[cpeltz]

<p>Congratulations, Sofia! I hope you find Marquette to be all you hope for and more.</p>