Colleges for the Jewish "B" student

[chocchipcookie]

^^I know we haven't talked about Penn State too much on this thread, so I'm curious as to who can answer your questions. With a school that size, there has to be an active Jewish population! You can always call their Hillel office directly...

My H's cousin's D is a Junior at UMaryland now and LOVES it! She began at Elon and transferred. I never got a definitive answer to why she transferred except maybe she liked the larger size school? I don't know about UMaryland enough to tell you, but I'm sure many posters here can answer questions........

Also, UDelaware seems to be quite popular from posters on this thread too. The cousin at Maryland's brother is a freshman at UDel now and loves it too!

Where did your D1 end up and is she happy? Where else is D2 looking? Does she know yet what she may want to study?

[stradmom]

We have cousins who are Orthodox - one child goes to Maryland and has found the
Jewish community there to be vibrant and welcoming. They looked at Penn State but despite a large Jewish community, they didn't feel that there was enough of an observant community there to meet their needs.

[cherryhillmomto2]

I also posted on the 3.0 thread but would love to hear from online friends here -

Does anyone have any advice/opinions on how college admissions react/reflect on their opinions about seeing a "withdraw failing" on the transcript?

We are in the position that a final grade of a "d" or even a "f" is the only option. We are thinking that it might be best to raise the red flag of "withdrawn failing" and retake the course online. (this is geometry!)

or is it better to hang in and then take credit recovery? This option to me looks like a slacker student and it is not the case at all.

There are so many variables as to how we got into this mess - school, student and parents missed so many opportunities to pull it together. Now as the parent, I have to make a decision and my gut says withdraw but I know no one who has ever done this.

[lisztserve]

cherryhillmomto2,
I don't know the term "credit recovery", but if you have plans to retake the class via an accredited online program, my impulse, like yours, would be to withdraw. What year is the student?


Mom24boys,
I have heard that engineering is one of the 2-3 largest majors at George Washington U.
Union College is urban, engineering also one of popular majors but small overall #s (2200 students).

[pamom59]

don't know the facts about Jewish life at Penn State but offer this perspective- Penn State ishugely popular with instate students from Central PA. Here in PA we have a saying, PA has Philadelphia in the East, Pittsburgh in the West, and Alabama in the middle. There will be a significant contingent of students at Penn State from "Alabama" who have grown up in small towns where racism and religious intolerance are prevalent. If you are looking into PA public universities with a Jewish presence, I'd look at Pitt rather than Penn State.

[rockvillemom]

Interesting comment on Penn State and one that I had not previously heard. From our area in Maryland - Penn State is a popular option and I know a number of Jewish students who attend and have been happy there. I am sure there is truth in pamom's comment - but perhaps the result is muted at such a large school?

One interesting thing I have seen at Penn State is weaker students who are accepted - but required to attend a summer program before freshman year officially starts. Generally - kids are not thrilled with this - but later - they have positive remarks - it gave them a jump on acclimating to campus, learning their way around, making friends, etc.

[rockvillemom]

cherryhill - if the choices are a D, an F, or a WF - I would go with the WF. Particularly if retaking the class is an option. Will the WF remain on the transcript? If it does - this is something that can be addressed in the counselor letter or by the student. If the overall transcript is good - and this is the only grade at that level - I would imagine the colleges would read this as an anomaly and not penalize too heavily. If the student retakes the class online and does better - then you can turn it around - use it as an example of overcoming a challenge, learning from failure, learning how/when to seek help early on, etc. Hope it works out.

[phillyartmom]

Rockville, I think I live nearby Pamom, and that saying is quoted here a lot too. That being said, we know a lot of Jewish kids/liberal kids (not necessarily observant) that go to Penn State and are fine. It is a huge place. If there is a concern, really, contact Hillel. Also, the summer program seems to be great. From the experience of the students here, the kids may be a tad weaker, but they are qualified to attend. Some kids opt for the summer program too, as you start classes and for the rest of your time at Penn State, you are "in front" of the regular starting kids, particularly for registration purposes. Not a bad reason to start early!

[rodney]

I'm coming in late to the mom24 convo, but Union is in no way urban.......Liszt, have you seen it?....beautiful grounds; the surrounding immediate area I would characterize as upstate suburban; farther is a bit gritty......but I wouldn't characterize it as "urban" the way one would describe a city school.....


Know oodles of Jewish kids at Penn State.....have not ever heard of an issue...other stuff, yes, but not religious stuff......

[crester]

I thought I had posted about our visit to UM Baltimore County but it must have disappeared into cyberspace. From the depths of my addled brain....

We (DS2, HS Junior) toured the school over spring break. We were the only ones from California, or West of the Mississippi, grin. DS2 is mainly interested in Computer Science. UMBC is abet.org accredited for Comp Sci - and UMPC is not - but that doesn't seem to stop the recruiters at CP. He is also interested in business - he wants to be an entrepreneur, ha - and the Fiske guide mentioned one teeny tiny blurb about the 'Brown Center for Entrepreneurship'. Otherwise UMBC does NOT have much to offer for business.

We did not ask about Jewish life at the campus tours, but I will share that the dining facility, "True Grit's", had a nook with a kosher kitchen that served daily kosher dinners. There was a flyer posted on the window that students who wanted kosher for Passover meals should sign up for them. So there must be a significant Jewish population.

Other notes - I think UMBC could be the next hot school/Elon if they fix their commuter reputation. The campus buildings are VERY spread out so there is room for more dorms. Lots of walking, I hope its doable in the winters. UMBC is five minutes away from BWI. It is a stones throw away also from downtown Baltimore for internships/jobs. Speaking of jobs, at the info session, the adcon said that the Shriver Career center (named for the Sargent Shriver family) was a great resource - you tell them what you want for a job/internship, then they go and find it for you. Who else does that? Last nugget - we asked what students were like at the school (coming from the point of view of 'Comp Sci') the answer made me and my son howl - he said 'think redditor'. If your kids are on the net, they will know what that is.

With regards to my note above about not asking about Jewish life on campus - I leave that off the table when I'm helping my kid put together a college day itinerary, and we don't ask during visits, but it usually comes up anyways. It doesn't hurt when *I* know/pick the schools to look at (whistle, whistle), but when the UMCP tour guide said 'we are 30% Jewish' I just looked distracted when my kid's eyes lit up and then looked at me, 'you knew and planned this, didn't you' (batting eyes, so devious). I just told him 'East Coast school, ya know, more MOTs out here, cough cough'.

Hope this helps with UMBC.

[Mom24boys]

Cherryhillmomto2 - No advice on what to do about geometry, just wanted to tell you I still get a pit in my stomach reading the word "geometry". I just could not get it in HS, algebra, trig the rest of it came easy, but not geometry. (All turned out ok in the end.) Good luck to your son.

Will look into GW, very expensive - have no idea what merit aid is like. I read the engineering classes could be in Ashburton (sp) which would be a hard commute from DC. Will try to visit Drexel - he didn't like the one co-op school he visited, but I would like him to think about it a little more.

Regarding Union not being urban, the one school still on his list that is not urban is Denison which is the antithesis of everything he says he wants, but being on the campus and around the students felt "right" to him (he sat in on 4 classes) - so if a place feels "friendly" all other criteria seem to go out the window. And if it feels "unfriendly" even if it meets as the other criteria it is off the table ie CMU. CMU doesn't allow juniors to sit in on classes, maybe we should only visit schools he can sit in on a class or two.

My cousin's daughter just committed to Penn State for next year and I know Jewish life is important to her.

[lisztserve]

Union is urban (schenectady ) but smaller than the others you're considering.

[Vitrac]

UMaryland-I know it's been discussed before, but D2 and I just visited yesterday and we were particularly struck by the number of what appeared to be observant (and other) Jews celebrating the beautiful weather saturday afternoon at the college's beautiful "mall." Lots of socializing and frisbee playing and just walking and talking. The school wasn't for D2 for many reasons but we quickly contacted our observant Jewish friends and recommended UMaryland. The groups looked to us to be friendly and happy.

[champs2004]

Actually, I'm kind of surprised that Penn State does not get much talk here?? It's quite popular in our area. Lots of Jewish kids from our town go there, (not overly religious families), and seem to have found many Jewish friends there - many involved with Hillel. I do know a few kids who transferred out, both felt it was too big, and never really found their "place" there. This is why it is not on my S's radar, but I think for the kid who doesn't mind a really big school, this could be an option.

About UMBC... am I correct that it has a reputation of having a lot of commuters (or am I mixing it up with another school)?

Just have to add Mom24boys... it took me a while to figure out that you don't have 24 boys!! I get it... mom to four boys...ha!

[mumof2]

Thanks chocochipcookie and others who responded about Penn State. My D1 is a freshman at Tulane and couldn't be happier! Now I just need to find the right school for D2. For some reason she does not have any ineterest in Delaware, not sure why. She looked at U Mass and we have seen U Miami and Tulane. She also wants to look at Indiana. She has no idea what she wants to major in and she wants a campus, not a city school. Any other ideas? Thanks!