With packed cars and anxious families, the Class of 2017 made its entrance on Fordham’s campuses on Aug. 25. But thanks to dozens of veteran student and staff volunteers, the day went off without a hitch for the hundreds of new resident students, who arrived from as near as Queens and as far as Azerbaijan.

At Fordham’s Rose Hill campus, perfect weather and a reassuring band of greeters kept freshmen nerves at bay. By 7:30 a.m., Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, and other administrators were stationed at the entrance to welcome families.

Father McShane flagged down cars to offer passengers water bottles and words of welcome.
“You’re moving into Alumni South?” he asked a student arriving from Pennsylvania. “Do you have a fan? Good—you’ll need it.”

The jovial warning was followed by his reassurance that everyone would be well taken care of. “When you get to the dorms, let the student leaders handle everything,” he said.

At Martyrs’ Court, Loschert Hall, and the other freshmen dorms, families received a boisterous reception from New Student Orientation (NSO) leaders, who had volunteered to move students into their dorm rooms.

Rose Hill sophomore Elle Crane donned a bonnet with ram horns for the occasion, hoping that a crazy hat might soothe especially nervous newcomers.

“I just want to make sure that when the freshmen come, they know that the people who are moving them in have found a community here and love this place,” she said.

NSO leaders also made a point of welcoming new freshmen on a first-name basis, and newcomers found the personalized welcome a memorable feature.

“My mom was holding it together pretty well, until she heard them shout my name—then she burst into tears,” said Conner Raggo, who had driven with his parents from White Plains, N.Y. that morning.

Though anxiety was unavoidable, the day’s expert orchestration was a relief to parents with sedans and SUVs filled to capacity.

“Everyone is so friendly and helpful,” said Cleveland native Karen Kruse, mother of incoming freshman Kyle. “We must’ve been asked 100 times if we have any questions or need any help.”

Inside the dorms, while NSO leaders deposited books, tubs of clothing, and miscellany into the rooms, the new students were meeting their roommates. Some had already connected with one another over Facebook to divvy up bringing the large appliances, such as refrigerators and televisions.

For two families, such planning ahead was essential. Jackie Ramos, of Long Beach, Calif., had met her roommate, Courtney Acito, through their Fordham rowing coach. To help Ramos make the cross-country move, Acito’s family invited the Ramoses to their Cherry Hill, N.J., home a few days before move-in to shop for supplies they couldn’t fly with.

“We’ve melded our families—East Coast and West Coast,” said Acito’s father, Frank.
Fordham welcomed 1,963 students to the Class of 2017, with 1,505 of those students at Rose Hill and 458 at Lincoln Center. The University made just over 17,000 offers to 36,000 high school applicants, an acceptance rate of 47 percent.

“This was our 22nd consecutive year of application growth,” said John W. Buckley, associate vice president for undergraduate enrollment.

The freshman class has a mean score of 1268 on the SAT and ACT and a mean high school GPA of 3.6. Consequently, 199 students were accepted as presidential, dean’s, and semifinalist scholars.

Members of the new class hail from 43 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. A notable difference between this class and last year’s is the number of international students who have enrolled—a total of 136, up from last year’s 87 students. Buckley said it has been one of Fordham’s priorities to develop that cohort.

“We now have two dedicated members of the team working specifically on international recruitment, and I think we’ll see even greater diversity going forward in terms of where students are coming from.”

At the Fordham College at Lincoln Center campus, incoming freshmen were greeted by orientation leaders armed with large cardboard moving boxes and hearty cheers of welcome.
Therese Meily, from Toms River, N.J., was excited by the prospect of exploring her new home with roommate Emily Rubino, of Towaco, N.J.

“I’m from the suburbs of New Jersey, so [the city]is going to be very different,” said Meily.

Meily and Rubino moved in a few days early for the Urban Plunge program, which introduced 125 new freshmen to community development in culturally diverse neighborhoods (see video below.) For Rubino, Urban Plunge was an ideal opportunity for a humanitarian background.

“I’m interested in global nonprofit organizations, so this was an excellent gateway,” she said.

On the third floor of McMahon Hall, San Diego, Calif., resident Brilynn Rakes and her mother, Deborah Rakes, beamed at the new surroundings.

Even though this was Deborah Rakes’ fourth time moving a daughter to college, both mother and daughter said the move has been emotional. Brilynn was one of just 25 students selected from 400 applicants for the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. in Dance program. As she is both legally blind and colorblind, she faces special challenges.

“Everything with dance is all about balance so when you can’t see five feet in front of you, dancing can be very difficult,” said Rakes. “Most dancers rely on their vision 100 percent of the time, but I have to move from how I feel.”

Rakes said that being in a big city environment puts most necessities “at my fingertips.”
“I think everything’s going to work out really well,” she said.

(Angie Chen contributed to this report.)

The newest members of Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) received a warm welcome on Aug. 30 at the second annual Freshman Academic Convocation.

Coming a day after most freshmen had moved onto campus, the convocation was held in the Leonard Theater at Fordham Preparatory School. It featured welcoming addresses from Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham; Stephen Freedman, Ph.D., senior vice president/chief academic officer at Fordham; and Michael E. Latham, Ph.D., interim dean of FCRH.

The faculty address was delivered by J. Alan Clark, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences. He noted that classification—which people use to create dichotomies such as black and white, male and female—is a fundamental part of human nature.

“Despite what you may have heard, classification is the oldest profession in the world. In Genesis 2:20, the first big task that God gives in the Garden of Eden is to give names to all the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field,” he said.

“But despite the comfort that comes with being able to see everything in clear and categorical terms, our world is not black and white. Shades of gray predominate everywhere,” he said.

Clark used his own life story, which took him from his home in Illinois to the stages of New York City to law school in Michigan before he found his calling in conservation biology, as an example of staying open to life’s myriad possibilities.

“After many wonderful twists and turns, my childhood dream came true. I’m a wildlife biologist. I study endangered species and birds, including penguins. I really could not be happier with my lot in life,” he said. “Part one of my life closed when I began here at Fordham three years ago.”

Likewise, Clark told the Class of 2014 to think of part one of their life as complete.

“It’s never too late to dream. You can have new dreams tomorrow, or when you’re 70. It’s also never too late to start pursuing your dreams, however old you may be,” he said.

Latham exhorted students to think of themselves not simply as receivers of knowledge. As members of a remarkably privileged group, they have a real and pressing responsibility to pay attention to the destitution, warfare and deep inequalities that persist around the globe.

“Your academic excellence should matter. It should produce results, and it should ultimately provide you with the essential skills, abilities and inspiration to help produce a more humane, just and peaceful world,” he said.

This goes to the heart of the University’s mission as a Jesuit institution, he said, noting that St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, argued that knowledge is not neutral and that education must be an integral part of God’s work in the world.

“I pray that your entry into our intellectual community will transform you, and that you will, in turn, transform the wider society of which you are a part,” he said. “I pray that over the next four years, your experience here awakens and deepens your sense of imagination, discovery and compassion.”

The freshmen, who already have shown high academic potential, were given information on distinguished fellowships they can pursue and support the University provides to help them succeed.

“You are already in the select group of students who have all the natural abilities. Our job is to help you get there,” said Maria Noonan, assistant director of the St. Edmund Campion Institute for the Advancement of Intellectual Excellence.

Noonan noted that there are “literally thousands” of fellowship opportunities for students who actively pursue them.

John R. Kezel, Ph.D., director of the Campion Institute, stressed the importance of maintaining an excellent academic record starting in freshman year; getting to know professors; and pursuing summer fellowships and internships to compete for the most esteemed academic prizes, like the Rhodes, Marshall and Fulbright.

Kezel gave the example of six undergraduates from both Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Fordham College at Rose Hill who received DAAD RISE summer fellowships to study in Germany under doctoral candidates in the sciences.

“It’s a wonderful way to get the study-abroad experience in the summer while you are engaging in something that is profitable for you,” he said.

“Another thing that scholarships look for is community service and leadership, so I would encourage you—not to let your studies go—but in your spare time to engage in community service and eventually play a leadership role in something that interests you,” Kezel added.

“These fellowships really are tremendous opportunities,” said Michael Latham, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill. “They are a chance for you to study, to work and do research in places that otherwise you might not get to experience. They can really open a lot of doors for you in terms of graduate study and your careers.”

Applying for fellowships is a worthwhile endeavor, no matter what the results are, Latham said.

“The process itself, while it can be time consuming and while it does take a lot of work, is also really quite valuable,” he said. “It’s a way for you to help discover your own gifts, your own abilities, to help you get a sense of what your future interests might be. So I would highly recommend that you take advantage of the opportunities.”

Between August 30 and September 5, the Tiger Team offered hands-on, on-site support for students with any technology-related problem. The team is comprised of almost 100 tech-savvy students divided across each of the University’s residence halls, along with each hall’s year-round resident technology consultant (RTC). Judith Rothschild, Fordham’s student technology services manager, estimates that the Tiger Team has assisted more than 500 students during move in and the first week of classes.

“The main goal is simply to ease students’ transition back to school and ensure that we resolve any problems getting setup and connected to the network,” Rothschild said. “A lot of times there are only minor issues that need to be resolved, but this service provides one less thing for students to worry about when they arrive back on campus.”

Now that the Tiger Team has helped meet initial student demands, the resident technology consultants and University Customer Care Center will continue to provide year-round service for technology-related issues. More information on these services can be found at the Fordham IT page.

There’s not much moving on an early Sunday morning in New York. But at 8 a.m. on Aug. 30, Fordham’s campuses in Manhattan and the Bronx were a flurry of sound and motion.

That was the day members of the Class of 2013 officially became part of the Fordham community—and what a welcome they received.

More than 200 student orientation leaders lined the sidewalks leading to the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center dormitories, showering cheers and applause on the incoming freshmen and whisking away their luggage as soon as they arrived.

“Everyone’s so excited; everyone’s so happy. I didn’t have to carry anything,” said Bianca Cesario, who is entering Fordham College at Rose Hill.

The move-in program, which spearheads three days of new student orientation, is run by the University’s Office of Student Life and Community Development (OSLCD).

Cesario left Matawan, N.J. with her parents and two brothers, and was among the first to arrive. While negotiating the boxes and bundles that occupied much of her dorm room floor, her parents commented on their eldest child entering college.

“It hasn’t hit us yet, but it probably will on the way home,” said Carol, her mother.

“The boys are looking forward to her room,” added her father, Sal. “They’ve already got the PlayStation set up in there.”

“They’ve been sad,” Cesario confided.

This was the 18th admissions cycle in row that Fordham has set a new high in applications, with 24,464 high school students vying for acceptance letters—a 3 percent increase over the previous year.

Cesario is one of roughly 1,800 freshmen at Fordham. Preliminary estimates indicate that 1,356 will study at the Rose Hill campus and 443 will call Lincoln Center home.

The average SAT score for the class is 1240, which represents a nice increase from 1228 last year.

“This class is among the most talented and diverse that we’ve had in years and, I would venture, in the history of the University,” said John W. Buckley, associate vice president for undergraduate enrollment.

The Class of 2013 is also multicultural. African American, Asian and Hispanic students account for 28 percent of the roster. Asians make up 12 percent of the class, which is a 13 percent increase over last year.

Geographically diverse, these freshmen hail from 40 states plus the District of Columbia.  Forty-one students are from other countries, and 26 are international students who were studying at high schools in the United States.

In a room a few floors below the Cesarios, Ryan Kramer watched his mother and grandmother set up his room with near-military precision.

“I’ve just got to stay on task,” said his mother, Mary Beth. She did, however, take a moment to remind her son what laundry detergent looks like.

“We were packing to come here, and I told him, ‘Here’s the container with the Purex in it,’ and do you know what he said? ‘What the heck is that?’

“You make me so nervous!” she told her son.

Kramer, who left Albany, N.Y. just after 6 a.m., will be entering the College of Business Administration.

“I love cities, and New York especially,” he said. “I only looked at schools in New York and Boston, and Fordham was the right place for me.”

Meanwhile, at the Lincoln Center campus, Patrick Kelly and his parents had just finished settling into a five-person suite in McMahon Hall.

It wasn’t too difficult to unpack; Kelly had brought only four bags of clothes and other necessities on the journey from his home in Wisconsin.

“My sister goes to the University of Wisconsin, but I like the East Coast and I wanted to get away,” he said.

If Kelly’s parents were unsure about their son’s decision to attend college so far away from home, it didn’t show.

“We’re excited—very excited about it,” said his father, Mike. “Fordham is a great Jesuit school, and this will be a great Jesuit education for him in the heart of New York City.”

Many of the parents were also excited about the helping hands they received from the student orientation leaders.

“Parents respond very positively to the efforts of our orientation leaders,” said Christopher Rogers, dean of students at the Rose Hill campus, who added that this year marked the largest cohort of student volunteers in his two decades at Fordham.

“We hear from parents with some regularity how much they appreciate it,” he said.

Incoming Lincoln Center freshman Melody Bowler said she is excited and a tad nervous about starting college in September, so she found the orientation to be helpful.

“I thought the session on how to manage your money was interesting,” the 19 year old said at the July 23 event on the Lincoln Center campus.

Theresa Conroy, whose daughter, Meg, will attend Fordham College at Rose Hill, said Meg attended the summer event to meet some friends and start the transition process.

“Plus, I love this campus,” Conroy said at the July 23 orientation at Rose Hill.

Ann Marie Mattison, mother of incoming College of Business Administration freshman Sarah, said she, too, wanted to learn about the Rose Hill campus.

“We wanted to feel more comfortable,” Mattison said.

New Student Orientation, held on several dates in July and August, is a program designed to assist new students and their families with the adjustment to college. The program is planned and executed by Dorothy Wenzel, director of the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development at Lincoln Center, and Jennifer Mussi, assistant dean for Student Leadership and Community Development at Rose Hill, along with several student Orientation Coordinators.

“It’s important for students and parents since it offers them a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about (the University’s) academics and extra-curricular activities months before they arrive for the fall semester,” Robert J. Parmach, Ph.D., assistant dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill. “It is an unrushed day to meet deans, faculty, staff, fellow incoming students and upperclass student leaders while exploring the college’s best resources – the committed people that hallmark the distinct quality of the FCRH academic experience, freshman advising program, and the concrete philosophy behind our daily vision here.”

Students and their families receive campus tours and learn about many services offered at each campus. They attend breakout sessions on topics such as “What to Expect During Your First Year?” alcohol and other drug education, “Introduction to Career Services,” tips on academic advising and the commuter student experience.

Attendees also learn about the challenges they will face and balances they will have to make during their first year in higher education.

“Along with the freedom that comes with university life comes an awful lot of responsibility,” said Robert R. Grimes, S.J., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center. “Nobody is going to check with you to see if you have done your homework.”

Father Grimes called the incoming freshman class at Lincoln Center a special one.

“You are perhaps the largest class in our history—440 freshmen,” he said. “You are now part of our intellectual and creative community.”

Classes begin on Wednesday, Sept. 3, but before then, students will have the opportunity to attend fall orientation, information and open house sessions at their respective campuses.

Lincoln Center campus:
Commuter Barbeque    Thursday, Aug. 14      noon to 4 p.m.
Commuters will have an opportunity to meet other commuters as well as current FCLC students and administrators.

Sunday Aug. 31    Welcome to Fordham! (Families invited to attend.)
Monday Sept. 1    Student Life Day
Tuesday, Sept. 2    Academic Orientation Day

Rose Hill campus:
Sunday, Aug. 31    New Student Fall Orientation Program
Monday Sept. 1    Academic Orientation
Tuesday Sept. 2    Student Life Orientation

Westchester campus, 400 Westchester Ave., Harrison:
Saturday, Aug. 23    Open House at 10 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 26    Information Sessions at noon, 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 28    New Student Orientation at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The Westchester campus of Fordham College of Liberal Studies also will host an Express Admission Day on Wednesday, Aug. 20 and Wednesday, Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call (914) 332-8295 or e-mail: [email protected].

Not only is this the 17th consecutive year that the number of students applying to Fordham has increased, but out-of-state applications have soared. Of the total 23,156 applications, almost one half—or 10,874—came from outside the metropolitan region of New York and New Jersey.

Overall, the University has experienced a 7 percent increase in applications this cycle, but applications from certain regions, such as the southwest states (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) have jumped as much as 66 percent in one year.

Applications from California saw a 39 percent increase, up from 1,049 last year to 1,453 this year, which is 6 percent of the total. The jump means that there are more applicants from the Golden State than from any state outside the eastern seaboard.

“Clearly we are attracting students from outside the metropolitan region and growing our reputation as a national university,” said John W. Buckley, assistant vice president for undergraduate enrollment, who noted that Fordham received applications from 49 states. “New York City has become much more of a college town, and students, particularly from the opposite coast, are very attracted to the idea of coming here.”

Buckley attributed the spike in national interest to Fordham’s aggressive recruiting in regions showing large demographic growth—in particular, the South, the Southwest and the West.

The University, he said, has ramped up its direct mail and electronic marketing efforts to reach students at fairly early stages in their college selection process, including high school sophomores. The Office of Admissions then follows up with visits to 450 high schools, particularly in major cities and suburbs and in markets that already have familiarity with Jesuit education. Electronic marketing has been critical, as today’s students are most comfortable online, Buckley said. In fact, 94 percent of this year’s applications were received electronically, up from about 84 percent last year.

Summer visits to the Fordham campuses, which have increased this year by 17 percent, also are playing a part in persuading potential students, Buckley said. Fordham offers the Fast Track and First Look programs geared to high school sophomores and juniors during the summer, which not only introduce potential students to Fordham, but also provide fundamental tips on the college selection process.

Moreover, Buckley attributes the increasing national interest in Fordham to its growing selectivity. The University’s acceptance rate (percentage of students offered admission) dropped to 42 percent for the Class of 2011, from 46 percent for the Class of 2010. Buckley said SAT scores among applicants this year were up by an average of 15 points. In addition, the University’s offerings such as small class sizes, two campuses, an excellent honors program, integrated learning communities and the Campion Institute, help position Fordham as an attractive choice for students seeking a top-flight college experience.

“There are so many strengths of a Jesuit education that you can share with prospective students, but the one that seems to resonate with many is the concept of cura personalis,” Buckley said. “You are coming to New York, to a major national university where you will be challenged academically. Within that context you are also going to be supported and encouraged.”

In addition, Fordham’s national profile got a boost in 2007 when it was chosen as one of the “25 Hottest Schools in America” by the editors of Kaplan/Newsweek’s 2008 How to Get Into College Guide, and was subsequently listed in Newsweek as the “Hottest Catholic School” in the country.

Approximately 1,100 students will be moving into residence halls on Fordham’s Rose Hill campus and more than 250 students will be settling in on the Lincoln Center campus. Marymount College of Fordham University in Tarrytown is welcoming more than 200 first-year students. Students, parents and visitors can find additional University information at http://www.fordham.edu/Audience_Path/Visitors__Parents_15883.html.

“Academic quality is just one of many exciting dimensions of the exceptional Class of 2007,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University. “As a Catholic University, we dedicate ourselves each year to maintaining a diverse community of scholars where habits of achievement are developed and talent is nurtured.”
In March 2001, The Wall Street Journal touted Fordham as a “hard-charging” institution and predicted that Fordham College’s acceptance rate, which was at 63 percent the year before, would drop to 50 percent in five years. However, Fordham’s admission data from the last two years indicates that the University is outpacing the Journal’s prediction.

“The Class of 2007 is certainly indicative of how Fordham is becoming more selective and competitive, while still retaining a geographically and ethnically diverse student body,” said John Buckley, assistant vice president for enrollment.

According to Buckley, admission data gathered in late August shows steady increases in the number of students hailing from the Midwestern and Western regions, an increase of 16 percent and 34 percent respectively since last year. In addition, this year’s undergraduate applicant pool grew to 12,845, a seven percent increase from last year and the largest applicant pool in the school’s history.

Meanwhile, at Marymount College of Fordham University, applications are up five percent from last year, and the incoming class is seven percent larger than last year’s, according to Buckley.