Published: December 10, 2009

A recent article by the Chronicle for Higher Education listed Fordham University as the 33rd most expensive private school in the country, at $50,598 per year. For the first time, Fordham joined 57 other institutions as its total expenses passed the $50,000 mark.

According to the article, last year, only five schools were on the list, which takes into account the institutions’ published rates for tuition, fees, room and board. New York University (NYU) and Columbia out-priced Fordham at numbers four and seven, respectively. But Boston University fell behind Fordham at number 49. Harvard and Princeton did not make the list.

On the US News and World Report’s college rankings for 2010, Fordham was ranked at 61 in the country; Columbia placed at number eight and NYU at number 32.

Rev. Robert R. Grimes, S.J., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC), said that one of the main factors in Fordham’s price is its location. “There are great advantages and great disadvantages of being in New York City,” he said, pointing out that Columbia and NYU have similar price tags to Fordham’s. Grimes also pointed out that very few students actually pay the $50,000 per year to attend Fordham—90 percent of students here receive some kind of financial aid.

“The downside [of being included on this list] is that someone will look at the price and say, ‘Forget it,’” Grimes said. He said that he hoped that high school guidance counselors would advise students to apply anyway and anticipate receiving aid.

Grimes also mentioned the large endowments that some of the Ivy League universities that Fordham out-priced enjoy. “Fordham is not a wealthy university,” he said.

Abbie Sands, FCLC ’13, said that price was not a factor in her choice of school, but several of her friends did have to take cost into consideration when choosing a college. “There were quite a few classmates of mine that couldn’t come to Fordham because of the price,” she said.

“[The cost of Forhdam] made it really hard to concretely decide to come here, especially considering I got a scholarship that wasn’t really enough to make a difference,” said Alexa Hodge, FCLC ’13. She said that she thinks that Fordham’s inclusion on the list of schools over $50,000 will put it in the “unreachable category” for many students. “There’ll be a huge negative aspect for anyone applying… It’s overpriced and that makes a lot of people wonder if it’s really worth it,” she said. Hodge said she is transferring after this semester, in part because of Fordham’s cost.

Albert Luna, FCLC ’13, said that he thinks that Fordham’s high price “adds a certain prestige” to the university, likening it to the prestige that “name alone” brings many Ivy League schools. “In the end I do not believe that the price tag on the school will have a negative impact on Fordham’s reputation overall,” he said.

Sands echoed Luna’s sentiments, and said that when she was applying to college “there was definitely a greater awareness of Fordham as a great college because it reached such a status of superiority.”

Bernie Moore, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’13, said that financial aid and scholarships were the main factor in his decision to attend Fordham. “Combine my need-based aid with an academic scholarship and a track-and-field scholarship and I only have to pay for room, board and books,” he said. Moore said that his first choice was NYU, but after being offered “practically nothing” in terms of aid, he decided on Fordham. “Fordham may be an expensive school, but what they do have that most of the other expensive [schools] don’t is that Fordham is very generous with financial aid,” he said.

Ali Delgadillo, FCLC ’13, is in the Alvin Ailey BFA program, and said that she knew that as a dancer she had to be in New York City and the “only way to afford to live here was to be a student.”

“If I wasn’t a dance major there is no question in my mind that I would be at a different school right now,” she said. Delgadillo said that she received more financial aid from Fordham and Ailey after her father lost his job in May, which allowed her to stay at Fordham. “The classes are challenging and there are a lot of different subjects to choose from. I still don’t think that that makes it okay for it to cost over $50,000 a year though. I never will.”

“There is certainly a problem,” Grimes said. “The price of higher education can’t keep going up and up.”