Fordham Acceptance Rate Drops
April 13, 2016
By Cate Carrejo
Fordham Universiy Enrollment services released statistics to The Fordham Ram on the class of 2020. According to Associate Vice President of Undergraduate Enrollment John Buckley, the university admitted just under 44 percent of the record 44,697 applications, about a four-point drop from the class of 2019’s acceptance rate.
Students who applied regular decision were notified of their acceptances by April 1. Madison Shyer, FCRH ‘20, an incoming freshman from Houston, Texas, put down her deposit on Monday night, April 11.
“Fordham was one of the first acceptances I got,” she said. “It was a really rough four months or so getting the rest of the decisions in, but somehow I kept coming back to Fordham.” Now that her decision is made, she is focused on what is ahead for her in the fall.
“I am excited to spend the next four years at a beautiful and lively campus,” she said.
Shyer will be joined by students from across the country and around the world late in August. Admitted students this year come from all 50 states and over 100 countries, with over 2,100 prospective international students in the class of 2020. “[The admitted students] are exceptionally strong academically and very diverse,” said Buckley of the incoming freshman.
The academic profile of the class of 2020 is also improving over previous years. The mean high GPA is 3.75 on a four-point scale and the mean SAT score is 1,328 on the 1,600 scale, approximately a 1,992 on the previous 2,400-point scale. “Both selectivity and academic profile have improved nicely over the last five years and dramatically over the last 20 years,” said Buckley.
Fordham is currently ranked 66th on the U.S. News and World Report National Universities list, a 14 spot fall from the university’s best rank in 2013. As of the most recent ranking, the university is tied with Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and the University of Pittsburgh. In 2015, Fordham’s acceptance rate fell between BYU and Pitt, but neither school has yet released data for the class of 2020.
The yield rate, the percentage of accepted students who end up attending the university, has not yet been released, but should be available soon. The preliminary rate should be available after May 1, the deadline for incoming freshman to put down deposits and claim spots for next fall. Buckley told Fordham News in February that the admissions department is currently aiming for a total of 2,135 students to enroll in the class of 2020.
With just under 20,000 acceptances mailed, that yield will be around nine percent, even lower than last year’s 11.5 percent yield. This statistic will likely push the university even further down on U.S. News’ ranking of yield rate among national universities, a sign of competitiveness among universities (top-ranked Harvard has a yield of over 80 percent).
The final spring Admitted Students Day is next Friday, April 22. Students still making their decision before the May 1 decision deadline will attend a day full of information sessions and activities before prospectively placing their deposits.
-Laura Sanicola contributed reporting.
First off a 14 point fall in three years is significant no matter how one cuts it. Reality is that Fordham is a safety school for most applicants, perceptually it has issues hence the yield. With a predicted yield of 9% capture that speaks volumes, students apply but go elsewhere. Fordham has come a long way from the Vinnie’s from Long Island crowd, a commuter school of no significant merit, rather one just trying to survive. If Fordham wants to increase yield it has to improve it’s stem offerings and be a well rounded university. It is far too focused on being a Jesuit program which reduces acceptances of offers from non religious types. That drop in yield needs seriously addressed. It is like throwing a party and only 9% of those invited show up !
Good piece on Boston University going from 51st to tied for 41st in 2013. http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/university-jumps-in-us-news-world-report-rankings/
Re. the Boston University ranking, Fordham was tied with Boston University http://legacy.fordham.edu/campus_resources/enewsroom/topstories_1922.asp
Not sure how the author arrived at the 9% yield figure. By my calculation, the target freshman class size of 2,135 is about 10.9% of 19,667, which is 44% of 44,697. That is still a problematic yield percentage, but at least it is the accurate one.
How much of this drop had to do with all the free applications FU is sending out to what seems like every high school student in the country? Lots of schools, such as BC, are actually making it “harder” for prospective students to apply (adding an extra essay, etc) so only those who actually reasonably want to attend end up applying.
A good read here on Fordham’s financial aid http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-negotiate-a-better-financial-aid-package-for-college-2016-4 Real question is where does this aid money come from outside the federal loans and grants ? Here is the best value college rankings http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=all . Fordham is expensive vs much higher ranked colleges, it ranks #267 . Two of Fordham’s key economic drivers where they have historically mass produced graduates for money is law and graduate business. Both programs should have been higher ranked and have better operating budgets, but they were historically skimmed to supplement the undergraduate Rose Hill program. Each of those programs now has serious problems ! In laws case there is a flight to top 20 and jobs have seriously thinned. In order to stem the damage in law rankings Fordham has reduced intake. In the MBA part-time case Fordham ran it into the ground and now they peddle one year MS degrees to Chinese students.
Rose Hill alone cannot balance it’s own Bronx budget, it never has been able to. Essentially law and what used to be a factory MBA program helped pay for that Rose Hill undergraduate experience. Father McShane completely skimmed the graduate school of business from 03-08 and then it went into financial decline. The last three years however thru 11 one year MS degrees and the MBA program it has made on average 14 million over it’s net tuition budget (it probably handed over half of it’s money to begin with given low budget). Both programs operating budgets are low vs say NYU and Rose Hill pimps them to supplement all else including athletics. Fordham is now stuck as a 95% of revenue tuition based university. It needs to make more money elsewhere but does not have the programs the market demands, nor does it have the money to start these programs. Furthermore it does not get the type of donations other universities achieve.
Father McShane fails to recognize that he has damaged graduate school to build undergraduate national rankings, plus focusing on social justice does nothing to attract donations or paying grad students. He is now the wrong guy for the times ! Robbing Peter to pay Paul has caught up to him, Fordham does not have the ranking or programs top entry high school grads want, nor does it have the national brand they want. More importantly it is zen focused on it’s own narcism of Jesuit greatness which does not attract top students, top programs, faculty and reputation does. Faking it only goes so far, to get out of this mess it has to focus on NYC strengths and increase starting salaries for undergrads. Career Services needs strengthened and better career alignments must happen early with internships while students are attending. Fordham has to make better use of all that NYC offers and can partner with. There are no magic bullets to get out of this quagmire !
Fordham never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity ! Seriously tech has been burning in the US and our computer science department is secondary if that, our department head came from Monmouth so that outlines what we are paying. Science in general is an afterthought. Given the current strategy of studying things as we drive down the highway looking in the rearview mirror most things stay the same. We have Jesuit tunnel vision in perpetuity, as opposed to our president grasping the nature and future of education. Comically NYU’s outgoing president John Sexton is an alum. Sexton buried us instead of piping in with sound advice, he made brilliant strategic moves at NYU, especially in NYC with tech, economics and utilizing the city’s strengths. We got pulpit and vagueness as opposed to direction.
Older alums just want things to stay the same, everyone has to recognize that Fordham either grows and competes or it stagnates, the good old days of liberal arts are over. This yield attendance number is extremely striking and signals that we cannot compete for top students, we need to know why and what needs done ! A demographic shift is happening, previously we benefited as did all schools from a huge influx of incoming college kids, that is over. Hiding facts from everyone is burying one’s head in the sand, an open and transparent debate needs to happen about Fordham’s overall future and direction. Example, is the core even relevant or is it a turnoff for attracting students, is the hoopla re. Jesuit values working or defeating us in raising this 9 percent number ?
Fordham has grotesque job advantages over BYU and U Pittsburg with FU being in New York. It needs to have this reflected in the rankings via higher salaries. Go big or go home should be Fordham’s motto !