Fordham University

Fordham is moderately selective, admitting about 59% of applicants in its most recent reported cycle — roughly 25,700 offers out of more than 43,000 applications. Admission is holistic: the rigor of your high school record and your academic GPA are weighed as very important, while the application essay, recommendations, and extracurriculars are each rated important.

Enrolled first-year students at Fordham report an average high school GPA of about 3.63. There is no hard cutoff, but academic GPA and the rigor of your course load are both treated as very important factors. Among the roughly 23% of enrolled students who reported a class rank, about 34% were in the top tenth and 70% in the top quarter of their graduating class.

No — Fordham is test-optional, so you can apply without submitting SAT or ACT scores and standardized tests are only 'considered' in the review. Among enrolled students who did submit, the middle 50% scored 1340–1470 on the SAT and 30–33 on the ACT, with about 86% of SAT submitters scoring 1400 or above.

Yes — a 1450 is competitive for Fordham, sitting comfortably inside the middle-50% range of 1340–1470 for enrolled students and just below the 75th-percentile score of 1470. Because Fordham is test-optional and scores are only 'considered,' a strong 1450 helps your application but is not required to apply.

Fordham offers both a binding Early Decision plan and a non-binding, non-restrictive Early Action plan. In the most recent cycle, Early Decision received 595 applications and admitted 307, an Early Decision admit rate of about 52% — modestly below the roughly 59% overall rate, with the tradeoff that ED commits you to enroll if admitted.

Annual tuition and required fees run about $67,897, and the total cost of attendance rises once on-campus housing and food (about $25,200) are added. Roughly 68% of first-years receive need-based scholarship or grant aid, the average aid package is near $51,559, and Fordham meets about 76% of demonstrated need on average.

The social sciences are the single most popular area at about 18% of bachelor's degrees, followed by business and marketing (16%) and mathematics & statistics (13%). Communication and journalism, psychology, and the visual and performing arts round out the most-conferred fields, reflecting Fordham's liberal-arts core and its Gabelli School of Business in New York City.

Yes. Fordham rates the application essay as an important factor in its holistic review — below the very important academics (GPA and course rigor) but on par with recommendations and extracurriculars, and above standardized test scores, which are only 'considered.' A specific, well-revised essay is a real place to stand out in a moderately selective pool.

Esslo gives free line-by-line feedback on your draft. Try it now