As fall draws near , we here at the Prep are spending our days preparing for the arrival of the class of 2021 . I am happy to report that this year ’ s recruiting season , my second as Director of Admissions at the Prep , was as exciting as the first .

At our annual Open House in October , we hosted over 1,300 people including 590 prospective students . Feedback from that day was overwhelmingly positive as the entire Prep community welcomed our guests . We are thankful that some inclement weather held off until the very end of the day ! As always , the people who make our Open House truly special are our faculty and staff , student volunteers ,

parent volunteers , and our incredible Physical Plant staff !

Fordham Prep was represented at over 50 high school fairs and in-class visits this fall . I always enjoy going out on the road to speak directly to prospective students and their families . I am grateful to Mr . Pedro , Dr . Gelpi and Mr . Brian Carney who stood in for me when I was double-booked !

All of this hard work yielded the Class of 2021 on March 1 , Registration Day ! It is interesting to note that over 45 % of our new freshman class will come from one of the five boroughs of New York City : 25 % from the Bronx , 20 % from Manhattan and 1 % from Queens ). Speaking of New York City , the class truly represents the diversity found in the New York metro area : 38 % of the class identifies itself as young men of color , and we are excited to welcome five new freshmen from the REACH program ! Additionally , we saw a 2 % increase in yield over the Class of 2020 and a 5 % increase over the Class of 2019 .

It is important to me to understand how prospective students and their families first hear about Fordham

Prep , and it was no surprise to learn that well over 70 % of the Class of 2021 first experienced our community through someone in it already : a current student , parent , alumnus or feeder school teacher / administrator . This is a remarkable statistic . It shows the power of the Prep community , and confirms something I say often , that we all have a hand in admissions .

Fordham Prep continues to attract highly qualified candidates , and I have no doubt they are attracted to our long-standing commitment to faith , scholarship and service , our outstanding facilities , and our dedicated faculty and staff !

I am so very grateful for the efforts of the entire Fordham Prep community this year , but especially for Mrs . Tina Porco . This cannot happen without all of you .

As admissions work is never ending , we have already begun work on recruiting for next fall .

Onward to the Class of 2022 !

Brad Serton ’ 95 Director of Admissions