Jewish Life on Campus - HELP!!

[huskem55]

(ok...not a female and not nyc...let me try again!)

wesleyan, brandeis, goucher, skidmore, emory, muhlenberg, oberlin, tufts, yale

[hopeful1]

Emory is more than 1/3 Jewish with a high percentage of northerners. A beautiful new Hillel is in the works.

[Mommy_Dearest]

I'm also interested in some ideas. My son says now he wants to study engineering. A strong Jewish presence is a requirement for us. The only school I can think of that meets both of these requirements is MIT ... and I know that's a lottery ticket even for the most qualified applicants.

He'll also apply to Penn Engineering, Columbia engineering, and Cooper Union. But all of those are also competitive programs. My son is definitely qualified, but we do understand these schools are reaches no matter who you are.

Does Maryland have an engineering program?

[Motherdear]

What about Carnegie Mellon? Lots of Jewish kids are there and there is a chapter of AEPi.

[kinshasa]

It's way too big for the OP, but Boston University has a fabulous new Hillel and a kosher dining plan. There's a daily minyan at 8 a.m.

http://www.bu.edu/hillel/

[wjb]

Mommy_Dearest --

I second looking at Carnegie Mellon for engineering. Another mid-sized U with a fine engineering program and a great Jewish community is Wash U. Also hard to get into. One rung down on the selectivity ladder, has your son considered Lehigh? Lehigh’s foundation is in engineering. And depending on your son’s needs, it might work from the Jewish standpoint: According to the website, there are 600 Jewish undergrads and an active Hillel with bi-weekly Shabbat services, holiday programming, etc. No Kosher meal plan, but Kosher meals are prepared at Hillel on Shabbat and holidays.

[mattmom]

Duke has a great Jewish center (the Freeman Center) and an engineering program. And after this spring's publicity perhaps it won't be quite as hard to get into next year.

[mommusic]

For engineering I would recommend UI at Urbana-Champaign. My son chose it over C-M for Computer Science--their tuition is less and they give merit scholarships as well--and he is very happy there. The Hillel is very active, (something like 5 choices for upcoming Passover Seders) and there is even a Jewish Engineers group! They do things like create electronic menorahs, graggers...

[twinmom]

Cornell has a great engineering school as well and would likely meet needs - obviously also very selective.

[hopingtohelp]

Washington U. is within the eruv, or will be soon when metrolink is opened. The Chabad website is helpful for info on closeby Jewish life. http://www.chabadoncampus.org/templa...tml?AID=362673 Bais Abraham is walkable from the residential quad.

[Mommy_Dearest]

Does anyone know if University of Maryland has an engineering program?

[mommusic]

I just googled U of M engineering & got A. James Clark School of Engineering.

[twinmom]

Mommy_Dearest: Strongly suggest that your child goes to the web sites of these schools and start doing some first-hand research.

["just"aMom]

Yes, if a female student, Mount Holyoke. They even have a female Rabbi on staff, and it has a very active Jewish population. This was/is a big consideration for my active (jewish) daughter, who is also liberal, and was looking for a mind-stretching academic atmosphere.

Best of luck.

Whoops. Sorry, now I see, a male student.

[pokey318]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but Bucknell has a Rabbi on campus. I don't know how active the Hillel is, but it might be worth looking into. For the person looking for an Engineering program, Bucknell does have one.