Colleges with a large percent Jewish students - Page 4

Bay · 08-10-2008, 12:22 PM

Does anyone know how this data is obtained?

Rachacha · 08-10-2008, 02:33 PM

When we toured Muhlenberg the tour guide quoted the Jewish population as being about a third, so the 25% on the OP's list is not an exaggeration. Also - in case any prospective Jewish students are interested, F&M is currently renovating a huge house next to Admissions into a Hillel/Center for Jewish life that looks like it will be absolutely gorgeous when completed.

gettinin · 08-10-2008, 02:41 PM

I agree that no matter how the data is obtained or how accurate it is, you need to check out the school for yourself. When I decided to go to a school with a very small Jewish population, my parents were happy that there was at least a Hillel--but the Hillel could not have been less "Jewish." Desperate for members, they started advertising themselves as "not really a Jewish group" and even had a St. Patrick's Day condom sale. (The condoms I don't mind, but St. Patrick's Day?) And while I personally am not religious, it didn't occur to me that A) Diversity is great (not that there was ANY where I went to school; it was mostly white and Christian/Catholic), but it's nice to be able to connect with something familiar while you're away from home, and B) While I didn't have much of a problem being around non-Jews, I did have a problem being around many people who had never seen a Jew, assumed all Jewish people are Kosher, and would rather see me come to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and find Jesus than practice my own religion.

Bay · 08-10-2008, 04:00 PM

I am curious about the source and accuracy of the statistics (and those about Catholic schools as well) because I would be surprised if colleges actually collect this data. I don't recall being asked about my religious affiliation in college or grad school, so there is at least one person who was ignored twice in the data. I think many people might not respond to such a question and even challenge a university's ability to ask it.

Chedva · 08-10-2008, 09:10 PM

The data is generally from those who self-report as Jewish (either ethnically or religiously). There is no "requirement" that students report; if they don't, they're not counted.

Brown man1987 · 08-10-2008, 09:12 PM

So if anything... these numbers are lower than the actual numbers. After all, why would somebody lie about their religion?

MidwestMom2Kids_ · 08-10-2008, 10:05 PM

Not that they lie. Lots of people choose not to answer the religious preference question.

Brown man1987 · 08-10-2008, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Not that they lie. Lots of people choose not to answer the religious preference question.

If that's true then, these numbers are lower than the actual numbers. We can only expect the percentage of Jewish people at these universities to be higher than the given number, since they don't lie and some Jews probably did not report their religion.

Bay · 08-10-2008, 11:42 PM

When you say the data is "self-reported," to whom is it reported? Does every college ask the religion question? I have never seen religion data reported by any college, have you? Same for your reference to "the religious preference question:" Where are you seeing that question? Just very curious.

Chedva · 08-11-2008, 09:03 AM

There are all sorts of surveys given around campus. Dorm questionaires often ask for religious preferences. One obvious place to look for more religious Jews is the number of students who request kosher dining. Hillels and other Jewish organizations around campuses collect data on who comes to services (at least numbers).

Many Jews also consider being Jewish to be an ethnic category, and not merely a religious one. They will select "Other" and put "Jewish" when asked about ethnicity.