This past year, 34,000 students applied to the university and its three colleges. With an acceptance rate of 43%, it was a very competitive process. We expect this year to be equally as competitive. In an effort to keep our class size small (23) and our student-teacher ratio low (14:1), we only enroll a small freshman class of about 1850 students each year. One of the most challenging parts of the selection process is that our applicant pool is comprised of many talented students and we only have a limited number of spaces. Therefore, many candidates to Fordham will possess many of the characteristics outlined below and still may not gain admission to Fordham.
What characterizes a strong application to Fordham University?
• High School Program- Students should pursue a challenging high school curriculum (ideally the most rigorous curriculum available at his or her school) with progressively rigorous courses through the senior year. The average GPA of a student admitted to Fordham is a 92, 3.7 or A-.
Units Required Units Recommended
| Total academic units |
22 24 |
| English |
4 4 |
| Mathematics |
3 4 |
| Science |
3 4 |
Of these, units that must be
lab |
|
| Foreign language |
2 2 |
| Social studies |
3 3 |
| History |
2 2 |
• Competitive Standardized Test Scores - SAT and ACT scores are only one indicator of a student’s potential and are most valuable as a predictor of success when viewed in the context of the high school transcript. We will review composite or combined scores and look for consistency in the sub-scores and sections. Our Core Curriculum and academic programs require students to pursue the humanities, math and science so these scores are important in determining student preparation.
*Note: Due to the quantitative nature of the Gabelli School of Business majors, strong math scores (+650) are preferred.
SAT I
(Combined Critical Reading, Math and Writing)
Middle 50% for Admitted Students 1830-2050
ACT Composite
Middle 50% for Admitted Students 27-31
• Essay-In a pool of 34,000 applications the essay is the most personal component. As a writing sample it serves many purposes in the review process:
o Who You Are. The essay provides insight into the applicant as a person and should be self-reflective and have a clear voice. We want to get to know you better and determine if you are a good match for our community.
o How Well You Write. The essay should be well written and free of grammatical errors, typos and other mistakes. It should demonstrate that you are ready to produce college level composition. At Fordham, writing and communication skills are considered essential and our cornerstone Eloquentia Perfecta courses are directed at developing these skills.
o Do You Think Critically? You will be given a series of essay prompts to choose from in the application. How you answer the questions and the logic of your composition is an indicator of your readiness to engage in complex analysis and argument at the college level.
• Letters of Recommendation-We only require one academic letter. We typically would like it to be from a counselor or teacher who knows you well and can provide us information and in some cases context about you and your high school career. Additional letters of support may be supplied but please only send those that will give us a different dimension of who you are and add perspective to your overall application. Remember when choosing which documents to submit you should remember quality and not quantity is what is important.
• Extra and Co-Curricular Activities- This list will be different for every student and that is our expectation. Your activities, both in and out of school, should be a reflection of you, your interests and your goals. What is important to us is consistency of involvement and whenever possible an increasing level of commitment and leadership. Service is always a plus.
