Fordham Waitlist

[curious]

I know of two people who were accepted off of Fordham's waitlist last year.  They happened to be roommates at their undergrad university.  Based on the odds, I think that it is EXTREMELY unlikely (more like impossible) that only two students were accepted off of Fordham's waitlist last year (and I happen to know them and they just happen to be roommates).  From where did the prior poster get that information?

[rickjames]

It is also completely illogical that only two people were taken off of Fordham's waitlist last year. Wouldn't that essentially mean that only two people of all the original acceptances decided not to go to Fordham?? If you think through the whole process, it just doesnt make sense, more especially with such a huge applicant pool last year.

[Louder Than Bombs]

It is also completely illogical that only two people were taken off of Fordham's waitlist last year. Wouldn't that essentially mean that only two people of all the original acceptances decided not to go to Fordham?? 

Actually, no, it wouldn't mean that at all...a school will typically accept 2-2.5 X the amount of students that actually enroll. For example, say Fordham wants to enroll 400 students - then they will admit 1000 applicants, and of this 1000 roughly 400 will accept. So, using these numbers as a guideline, that would mean that last year, out of 1000 accepted applicants, 398 actualy enrolled (meaning 602 declined admission)...then, to make up the difference, two people were selcted off the waitlist and granted admission (which they accepted)...

Chris

[jas9999]

When I got my waitlist notification from Fordham (shocked, since my LSAT was above their 75%), I called up the admissions office and spoke to one of their staffers. I didn't get a name, though it was a man. I asked about what the odds were, so I could decide whether it was worth it to add my name to the waitlist. When I pressed him about last year's results, he said that over 200 people were put on the list, and only 'about two' were offered seats. So it may not have been exactly two, but it was very, very few.

[Revenant]

Chris is on the ball.

It is also completely illogical that only two people were taken off of Fordham's waitlist last year. Wouldn't that essentially mean that only two people of all the original acceptances decided not to go to Fordham?? 

Actually, no, it wouldn't mean that at all...a school will typically accept 2-2.5 X the amount of students that actually enroll. For example, say Fordham wants to enroll 400 students - then they will admit 1000 applicants, and of this 1000 roughly 400 will accept. So, using these numbers as a guideline, that would mean that last year, out of 1000 accepted applicants, 398 actualy enrolled (meaning 602 declined admission)...then, to make up the difference, two people were selcted off the waitlist and granted admission (which they accepted)...

Chris

[Louder Than Bombs]

Chris is on the ball.

Thank you! You are very wise - no wonder they made you a Senior Member!

Chris

[rickjames]

Yeah, that was pretty dumb of me! Thanks for setting me straight. Although, now that I am a member of that waitlist as of yesterday, I'd definitely prefer my interpretation! Anyone else on the waitlist now??

[falconred]

Yeah, I'm on the waitlist there too. 

When I called them on the phone to set up a campus tour, I told them I was on the waitlist.  When I got to the campus, they didn't have my name down on the tour sign-up sheet, but they certainly had the names of the admitted students written down.

I still got the tour, and maybe it was just a coincidence that they forgot to put down my name, but it didn't make a good impression on me.   

[Louder Than Bombs]

I still got the tour, and maybe it was just a coincidence that they forgot to put down my name, but it didn't make a good impression on me.   

I wonder if you had the same guide I did. I had some 1L who didn't bother to shave, comb his hair, or iron his shirt. He looked like he got wasted the night before and had just rolled out of bed...that made a bad impression on me.

However, I did like the campus quite a bit, and will be pretty disappointed if I wind up not going there...but, as I see it, they'd have to give me at least some merit $ to go as of now...

Chris

[Louder Than Bombs]

Wow - so I just checked my status @ Fordham, and it seems I got waitlisted! I am completely dumbfounded...I got a 170 - that's the 98th percentile! According to LSAC's official guide, over 90% of people with my numbers got in during the 2002 admissions cycle! They were my safety - I wouldn't have even gone unless they offered me $!!Very unusual...and supposedly Fordham are 'LSAT whores'...

This admissions year has been tough, and very strange, IMHO...I expected to get into Fordham easily, and at the very least get waitlisted at GULC (where I got flat out rejected)...I spoke to a friend who is a first year associate at some firm in NYC - she went to Northwesten with a 3.6 from Brown and a 163...she was completely convinced I would get into GULC, hands down, and in fact was advising me to attend there!

Frankly, I am very disappointed...I am going to St. John's on a full scholarship, so I guess it's kind of ungrateful for me to female dog, but they were really my last choice - I only applied there to see what kind of money I would get! This isn't where I thought I would end up, and that's more than a little depressing. I guess I will have to make the most of it.

It's just bull - this year and last year were two of the most competitive years for law school applicants in a long time. Had I applied in 2000 or 2001 I would have been able to go anwhere I wanted.

Instead, I graduated college to an economy that was just about to decline into a recession/depression, was unable to find work, and now have to 'settle' on attending a school that, quite frankly, I didn't want to go to in the first place. I'm sorry, but I truly feel the students at SJU are pretty mediocre - most of them are Long Island mooks who were too afraid to go into the city (or couldn't get in good schools)...not the caliber of student I want to surround myself with...

I'm pissed.

Chris