Published: December 29, 2009

Fordham as an institution appears to be holding steady in this rough economy, despite the fact that the University’s endowment is down. However, it seem as though the economy is having detrimental effects on individual students.

“I was denied [a student loan] by the same company that gave me a loan last semester, along with a few others,” said Yasmine Kamel, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’10. She said that the companies that rejected her did not offer her much explanation as to why she was denied a loan, but they did suggest that she cosign with someone more credit worthy, which, Kamel said, is something she presently does not have the option to do.

“This semester I don’t have much of a choice other than taking time off… If I don’t find a way to pay for school I will unfortunately have to leave Fordham.” Kamel said that she spoke with someone in the enrollment office at Fordham, but was told that there was nothing that could be done to help her in her situation. As of press time, Kamel has not returned to Fordham.

While Kamel cannot afford to attend Fordham this semester, contrarily, freshmen applications are up and residents have not moved out of McMahon Hall in great numbers.

According to Peter Stace, vice president for enrollment at Fordham, as of a week before the deadline, freshman applications were up 10 percent from last year, the number of undergraduate students registered for the spring term exceeded last year, and the number of students who have left Fordham is consistent with prior history.

Keith Eldredge, dean of students at FCLC, said that the economic effects at Fordham are very different on what he called a “macro” level than on a “micro” level. He too referenced the strong applicant pool, but said that he was aware that many individual students are experiencing extreme difficulties in financing their education this semester.

In this same vein, Stace said, “Students have experienced difficulties in getting loans and many are paying higher interest rates to lenders than in prior years.” The most common difficulty, according to Stace, is for students like Kamel—those who, in prior years, received loans from companies that are no longer providing student loans or have imposed much stricter credit-worthiness standards for potential borrowers.

“Students did not know where to turn in these situations,” Stace said.  “In virtually all of these cases, Student Financial Services was able to work with the family to find alternative lenders.”

“The approval rates for loans are declining and the cost of credit is increasing,” he said. While in past years, 60 to 80 percent of Fordham students received the lowest interest rates from the University’s most frequently used lenders, now only 40 to 60 percent do. Interest rates that once may have been as low as minus .5 percent are now as high as 9.5 percent, on top of a standard base eight percent. Also, lenders that previously charged no origination fee now charge about one in five Fordham students one to six percent of the loan amount.

Stace said that since approximately 90 percent of Fordham undergraduates receive some form of financial aid from the day they enter, the number of students receiving aid for the first time has not increased significantly. What has increased, Stace said, is the number of appeals for additional aid from current recipients.

“For the most part, we have been able to develop a combination of grant aid, loans, campus employment and payment plans that enable students to continue, but sadly for some, the gap between costs and available resources has become too great to sustain.”

Stace and Eldredge both mentioned an e-mail sent out by Financial Services to students and parents who had outstanding balances or who had received loans in prior years, but not this year. The e-mail invited the families to contact the office for consultation. Generally, Stace recommends that students and families plan ahead and file their financial aid applications on a timely basis, being sure to include supplements regarding any changes in financial circumstances that may not be readily apparent on the FAFSA itself.

Jenifer Campbell, director of Residential Life at FCLC, said that thus far there has not been a significant increase in the number of students moving out of McMahon Hall for financial reasons. She said that the one area in which she has seen a slight change is in the number of students on the wait list for housing who are not accepting offers to move into the dorms because they are unable to afford it. Due to these formerly wait-listed students turning down openings in McMahon, an e-mail went out to all commuter students alerting them of vacancies in the residence hall.

According to Eldredge, Fordham has not experienced any cutbacks thus far in response to the poor economy. He said that all departments have been instructed to prepare contingencies budgets in order to be ready for a potential cut for the next fiscal year. The few alterations that have been made this year include changes such as not having food at meetings in order to save on university expenditures. Similarly, a memo went out to the support staff of the university instructing them to spend as little as possible and to evaluate each purchase frugally.

Eldredge praised the administration’s actions and said, “They are thinking ahead as far as they can. Since we don’t have immediate need, we are planning ahead and saving for the future [when a need may present itself].”

Both Eldredge and Stace said that Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, has made it a top priority of the University to ensure that all students, but especially those closest to completing their degrees, are able to continue their studies at Fordham.

Stace said, “Student Financial Services is ready to assist those who are having difficulty, and the University is committed to doing all it can to enable students to complete their Fordham degrees.”