Exceptional Freshman Class Already Achieving High Marks

NEW YORK —In just one year’s time, the average SAT score of Fordham’s incoming freshman class has grown 20 points to 1201, while the acceptance rate has fallen three percentage points to 53.4.
“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.