Information for External Transfer Students

GABELLI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Greetings from the Transfer Dean

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Fordham University and the Gabelli School of Business. As a transfer student, you have a distinctive advantage: A prior knowledge of demands, challenges, and opportunities of a college experience.

Nearly 29 years ago, I was in the exact same position as you. I, too, transferred to Fordham University. To this day, I know that this was one of the most significant decisions that I have ever made in my life.

As a transfer student, you will be met with many new and exciting challenges, demands, and opportunities. Each will offer the chance for continued growth and development. This web page will be your guide in getting the transition off to a solid start. Please read all of its sections carefully so that you know how to proceed in even your earliest days on campus. Again, I welcome you to Fordham and look forward to seeing you at orientation.

Sincerely,

Steven Najdzionek
Assistant Dean for Transfers

  • Students who are transferring into Gabelli School with freshman or sophomore status—no matter what their eventual major or concentration—complete our dual core curriculum, which includes an integrated business core and a liberal arts core. The following two paragraphs apply to those students. Students who are transferring in with junior status or who are unable to efficiently pursue our dual core curriculum will take an academic program that is different from the one outlined below, and they will receive guidance on their curriculum directly from Dean Najdzionek.

    The business core provides a comprehensive grounding in accounting, economics, finance,information systems, management/strategy, and marketing. At the same time, it gives students the universal skills that every business leader must have:innovation, creative problem-solving, critical thinking, an ability to work in teams, excellent verbal and written communication, and the capacity to handle ambiguity and uncertainty.

    The liberal arts core’s 13 courses give students a well-rounded education that will set them apart from their peers at other schools. The courses are spread among the departments of economics, English, fine arts, history, mathematics, philosophy,and theology.

  • Each new transfer student receives a transfer credit evaluation from the transfer dean. This one-page document will illustrate the Gabelli School course requirements and show how any previous coursework you’ve completed will fit into that framework. The left side of the form lists all Gabelli School required courses. The middle column lists your prior courses that have been or will be accepted, aligned with the specific Gabelli School requirement it will fulfill.

    Please note that each course within the required curriculum must have a rating of three credits or higher, and only courses with a grade of C or higher will be considered for transfer from outside institutions. A maximum of 20 courses may be transferred.

  • Transfer students must complete these tasks before coming to Fordham in the fall. You may have done some already.

    For all new transfer students:

    • Official transcripts: Send updated transcripts with final grades to the admission office.
    • Send final Advanced Placement scores to Fordham University.

    Contact the College Board at 609-771-7300 or 888-225-5427 as soon as possible and request to have your official AP exam score report sent to the Fordham admissions office. Fordham’s Board Code is 2259. Any AP exams taken during your junior year of high school must be requested specifically, in addition to exams taken as a senior. Transfer students who are awarded AP credit will have those credits noted on their transfer credit evaluation forms.

    • Registration: Complete the incoming transfer student registration survey, which will be emailed this summer. You will be registered for courses based on this survey and on your transfer credit evaluation. New students to the Gabelli School, including transfers, do not register for themselves for their first semester at Fordham, but rather are registered by our office.
    • Financial aid: if you are seeking financial aid, complete the necessary application CSS Profile and FAFSA. If you have applied and have not received news about your financial aid package, please follow up with the financial aid office to make sure they have received all of the required documents and information.
    • University housing: If you were offered University housing and you paid your housing deposit, you will be given your actual housing assignment (location) in late August. Students who are not granted University housing may choose to find privately owned off-campus housing or, if they live within a distance they consider reasonable, commute from home.
    • Health information: Make sure you have submitted proof of immunization and any other required health information to the health services office.

    Additional late-summer items for all new transfer students:

    • Fordham student ID cards: Students will receive ID cards on the first day of orientation.
    • Course textbooks: We recommend that you purchase your books for your first semester at Fordham through the University bookstore, so you will have them in a timely manner. The course number, section number, and professor’s name will allow you to properly identify the correct books at the bookstore.
    • Make sure all international academic transcripts have been sent to the World Education Service (WES.org) for a preliminary evaluation. Request a course-by-course evaluation and have it sent to Fordham University.
    • Ensure that you have applied for and received the appropriate student visa.
    • Take Fordham’s English language test (FELT) prior to the start of fall semester. The FELT is very important and is used to help place students in the appropriate level of English at Fordham. Our registration procedure is to automatically enroll all international students in ESL as a default. All international students then will take the University’s English language exam during Global Transitions Program (international student orientation), which takes place the week prior to that start of classes. Students whose test scores indicate they should not be enrolled in ESL will be moved out of the default course at that time.