Colleges for the Jewish "B" student

[samtalya]

If time and money are an issue, I would hold off on summer visits until after acceptances and use the visit for final decisions. If applying ED and just to be sure that it is the right choice, then it makes sense to go for a 2nd decision before applying.

On the 2nd visit, ask to sit in on a class, stay over with a student if possible, have coffee with students, attend organization meetings or sports events if interested. Just walk the campus and stare at people. Sit in the student lounge.

[EvanstonDad]

Hi All,

Just wanted to let you know that D and I came back today from a visit to Beloit College and were very impressed. I think it is a wonderful option for serious/eclectic Jewish students looking for a small liberal arts college. Kids looking for a "party" school should stay away.

For those of you not familiar, Beloit is a "College that Changes Lives" and has about 1300 students. Even though the Hillel website says that there are only 120 Jews on campus, we met plenty of Jewish students during Junior Visiting Day and met other Jewish high school students. I don't, however, think that Beloit has a "Jewish scene."

Don't let the obscure location scare you away. It is a one 1 hour bus ride from Chicago O'Hare.

Next week is University of Illinois (not my choice), Wooster (another CTCL), Oberlin (reach) and Case (lisztserve - thanks for comments)

[rockvillemom]

Interesting time to skim various CC threads - lots of sad stories of high stat kids who were rejected or waitlisted by top tier schools - and many who have no options they are happy with - at least today.

Unless I am mistaken - everyone who has been reading and posting on this thread has had a reasonably successful admissions process. If there is someone who is not in a good place today - let us know - so that we can simply lend a shoulder or make some suggestions.

I think we have all learned from each other and we have really stressed the need to have several safety schools that would be an acceptable option. Applying to a "safety" school that you hate defeats the purpose.

I've said this before - but I enjoyed the college process with my "B" student much more than I did with my "A" student. Multiple reasons - but a primary one was simply less pressure. I found it more enjoyable exploring schools that were a bit off the radar than trying to compete with the masses for a spot at a top 25.

So - I'm glad we don't seem to have any of the angst that is going on elsewhere on CC right now - but if there is someone reading this who is not a happy camper tonight - let us know.

[lisztserve]

Thinking, thinking...S's top choice acceptances are Dickinson, Lafayette and Case Western. Three great choices! My impression is that all three offer small classes, good liberal arts, attention from professors and supportive environment. Case offers the positives of a diverse population and broad social experience, in a city, but has a reputation for hard work that some find oppressive. Lafayette feels like a comfortable, happy fit now, but maybe less intellectual culture and room to grow academically & socially? Dickinson, with serious academics and an interesting global orientation, is the smallest of the three, with a campus that "felt quiet" when S visited. Lafayette and Case have more of a "pre-professional" atmosphere than Dickinson, I believe.
Where will this work-in-progress find his passion, engage with other curious original thinkers, be challenged, have fun and hone his skills?

[SlitheyTove]

EvanstonDad, thanks for the note about Beloit. There's a lot that sounds great about the school, but I do have in my notes that there's pretty much nothing when it comes to organized Jewish activities, just a Jewish Students Organization with a moribund website. But with more Jewish students and prospies, maybe that'll change.

D2's school year starts August 14. I'm thinking that we may do a family short vacation in August to Colorado, and hey, look, the University of Denver! Since we're here, let's take a look!

[cherryhillmomto2]

Yes Rockville, I am in complete agreement! I think our "B" kids did very, very well

[LINYMOM]

So interesting how it changes from year to year, and not only in increasing competitiveness.

From checking out (ok, stalking, I admit it) the open FB group for kids graduating from DS' HS this year, I've seen some interesting admits/rejections.

- In at UD, rejected from UConn
- In at UConn, rejected from UD (kid really wanted to go UD!)
- In at Penn State, waitlisted at UConn (what's going on at UConn this year? Less OOS?)
- In at Geneseo (full ride?) and UVM, deferred to spring at Binghamton, waitlisted at Drexel, rejected at Tulane (my guess is he applied close to the absolute deadline)

I don't know these kids' stats or when they applied, so I don't have the full picture. I do think that it does make a difference to:

- Apply early in the process, esp if there is rolling or early action
- Follow socaldad's advice re: "marketing" your DS/DD to the adcom rep

You just never know.

[champs2004]

Thanks for everyone's input regarding college visits. Very helpful.

Glad to hear that those on this thread seem to made well thought application decisions, hence successful results. I appreciate a valuable comment from RVM: apply to safeties that your S or D wants to attend, otw it defeats the purpose. The gc at our hs seems to suggest the same safeties to tons of students, not considering anything other than admission chances!

Good luck to all the the rising college Freshmen - hopefully we'll have a group of hs Senior parents to keep this thread going - I know I'll need it, and it sounds like it was a wonderful tool for those who recently went through the process!

[umich8790]

Re: Beloit. There's another College that Changes Lives, Lawrence University, in Appleton, WI. We met w/ an admissions person at a college fair last week, and my son seemed interested. The website shows that there's a Hillel and that it organizes holiday events. Don't know the jewish population or how active it is, but may be worth considering as well.

[LINYMOM]

hopefully we'll have a group of hs Senior parents to keep this thread going

That would be me!!

[rodney]

UConn this year has been bizarre for OOS students, especially in to their biz school......kids accepted to much higher ranked programs, denied from there......

I think the most glaring change this year from my examination: top kids being waitlisted at their matches......in other words, let's say a kid is at the top of his/her high school class (top 5-10%) with test scores to match.....reaches are obvious and are a crap shoot; we all know that......but schools like Boston College, GW, Lehigh and that level......of course, not safeties, but should be matches........tons of kids waitlisted; based on preliminary data, there are going to be a ton of kids attending their safeties this year.

Net-net: mantra repeated: pick your safeties first.....

[LINYMOM]

rodney: When you're talking about those top kids, it's really tricky. My friend's DD got in to MIT (EA) and Cornell; waitlisted at her safety, Lehigh. Mother was perplexed (but it ended up not being an issue). You can tell from the Lehigh board that tippy-top candidates who Lehigh believes are using the school as a safety (and would thus hurt yield % once they get into their match/reach schools) are just not getting accepted; in many cases they get the WL. Lehigh is known for wanting prospectives to "show the love." I'm sure that Lehigh is not the only school like this (is that "Tufts syndrome?"). So if student is serious about a school in this level (and is obviously at the top of - or above - their acceptance stats), they've got to make sure that is clear to the admissions people. After reading CC for so long, I get this. But to the regular parent, it's probably really confusing.

It is definitely the hardest to pick your safeties - regardless of where you fall stat-wise.

Does PSU seem like an easier admit this year than in the past, due to the scandal? Just curious.

[rodney]

LINYMOM: how about top kids who did show Lehigh the love and still were waitlisted? Never thought it was a safety, honestly......saw all those waitlists last year and previously.........

PSU is always difficult to assess....the summer session, different admission criteria for different majors, branch campus confusion on Naviance.....all convolute the process....I have seen branch campus acceptances with higher stats than Main campus from neighboring high schools......Summer session acceptances that completely shocked me; very, very low stats.

Another weird one this year was Syracuse in RD....alot of kids still haven't even heard; waitlists for some; others were given their second choice schools (Syracuse has you rank which school there you have an interest in)........No rhyme or reason for either

Don't even get me started on Tulane......I could write a book (with rvm's help of course)....

[familyof3boys]

On the safety school subject... For the B student, it is often the local in-state public, for financial reasons. However, these schools are becoming much more selective. In our case, my DS was WL at his safety, the local directional state university.

We didn't see that coming. And, it is not as if his stats are so good that it was obvious that he would not attend. Thankfully, my DS cast a wide net, and was successful with admissions (and even merit $$) at a number of private OOS schools.

So, on the safety school front, do NOT assume the in-state schools which sound like a match (or even a safety) are a shoo-in for your kid.

[lisztserve]

Re summer visits - did several visits during summers and college breaks with my S - they were counterproductive. He could not imagine the campuses populated, came away with a negative idea of life on campus. I found them useful, though, and used the info gathered to convince him to take another look in a couple of case. We stuffed several visits into the end of August/ beginning September after college term began but before high school started. That worked better.
Now as we're making a final choice, planning another round, but with specific questions in mind.