Undergraduate applications have increased once again this year from 40,683 to 42,617—a 5 percent jump.
The increase marks the University’s 24th consecutive year of application growth, said John Buckley, associate vice president for undergraduate enrollment.
And the applicants are more geographically diverse than ever.
“In the mid-80s to the early-90s we were highly dependent on the tri-state area to enroll our freshman class,” he said. ‘We were delighted back then to enroll a few students from California.”
This year, the current freshman class includes 120 students from California and nearly 4,000 applications came from that state alone. In fact, applications came in from all 50 states, including: 5,450 from New England, nearly 3,800 from the mid-Atlantic, and more than 2,500 from the South. In addition, there were also a record 3,860 international applications received this cycle.
Still, the majority of those applying reside in the metropolitan area. Nearly 6,000 applications came from the city alone, making Fordham not just “in New York,” but also “of New York.”
“An important element of what we communicate to families is that there may be 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S., but ours is the only one that can offer this distinctive combination of advantages: excellent academic opportunities within strong campus communities and the resources of the world’s greatest city.”
Buckley added that while the environment at Rose Hill exemplifies the classic campus experience, the Lincoln Center campus epitomizes “urban excitement.” With its new McKeon Residential Hall, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) alone has seen a 48 percent application increase over the last three years.
“New York has become a hot location for students,” he said. “When applicants begin to investigate us more closely, they realize that we’re a major national research institution in New York that can also provide a personalized learning environment.”
Buckley said that a student-to-faculty ratio of 13-to-1 and an average class size of 22 mean that students receive individual attention whether they enroll at the Gabelli School of Business, Fordham College at Rose Hill, or FCLC.
