Colleges for the Jewish "B" student

rockvillemom · May 2010

I have been debating for a time about starting a thread such as this. On one hand, I want to make sure I have considered every college this should be on my son's list. On the other hand, every time this topic comes up there a lot of posters who criticize the need for such a thread. So, I make this request - if you are interested in this topic - have good ideas - please contribute. If you feel this type of thread is not necessary - then I guess there is no reason for you to post on it, right? (Said gently!)

So, for my "B" student - considering Elon, College of Charleston, James Madison and Muhlenberg. All have a reasonable number of Jewish students and an active Hillel.

Ithaca has been suggested - not sure that he wants to head that far north - but it is a maybe. Drew is another possibility - but it might be too small.

I also like things I have heard about Gettysburg and Susquehanna in general - but not as sure about the Jewish piece. These schools have Hillels, but their reported Jewish populations are under 100 students.

Considering Salisbury as our in-state super safety school - but have no data on number of Jewish students.

So, I'd love feedback from parents and students who are familiar with Jewish life and the Hillels at these schools. If I have overlooked some - please fill me in. We are trying to stay in the mid-Atlantic region and trying to aim for colleges larger than 2000 students and below 15,000. He might be a business/management/marketing major - but that is certainly not definite.

srco14 · May 2010

I would definitely add Clark and Goucher to your list. Both might seem a little smaller than what you've initially identified but they are both very special schools. Clark has the smaller Jewish population but has an active Hillel

SlitheyTove · May 2010

Sizes might not be right, but possibly Goucher and Pitt.

When we visited Muhlenberg, D1 loved their Hillel. Don't know much about the others you've listed.

Is FA/merit aid a consideration? How "B" is his GPA: is that weighted or unweighted?

rockvillemom · May 2010

Yes - FA will be a consideration for any of the pricier schools - such as Gettysburg. Right now, finishing up 10th grade with a 3.5 UW and about 3.9 W. Many honors classes - trying first AP next year. Hoping he will get 28-29 on the ACT. Active in BBYO - but not a lot of ECs - no hook or other extraordinary achievements. Just a nice average kid!

rap_mom · May 2010

Check out Guilford College. although it's outside of your target area. Seems like a super school for B students, one of the "Colleges that Change Lives." My nephew (a Rabbi's son) goes there. Seems to have a pretty active Hillel and he feels very comfortable. Of course, I don't have any direct observation.

2boysima · May 2010

I know a number of Jewish students from Long Island at Towson. Could this be an in-state safety, also? Looked at their Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 calendar...seemed to be an event almost every week....and a Shabbat event at least once a month.

rockvillemom · May 2010

I think Towson is an interesting example of negative in-state bias - I have kind of a negative perception of it - but it is not really fact-based - you make a good point - if Salisbury is on the list - I should think about Towson as well.

green678 · May 2010

I have heard that Franklin & Marshall is a good one too.

CountingDown · May 2010

I'll put out URochester, if he's willing to head north, and add another vote for Clark and Elon. I take it your S doesn't want to be some place as large as UMD. Would he look at UMBC?

A couple kids from our shul are very happy at Pitt.

jym626 · May 2010

Have you seen this from the Reform Judaism magazine? http://reformjudaismmag.org/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=1518&destination=ShowItem
Be sure to scroll all the way over to the right for a list of the top 20 by percent. I wasn't familiar with Lesley University.

monydad · May 2010

This might be helpful to you:
Hillel's Guide to Jewish Life on Campus

wjb · May 2010

Some possibilities: American U, Goucher, George Washington U, Lehigh, U of Pittsburgh, Franklin & Marshall, Syracuse, Boston U, Clark.

JHS · May 2010

1. 3.5uw/3.9w at the end of 10th grade, especially for a boy, isn't what this particular Jew would describe as a "B student". Of course, you know your kid and his school, and I don't.

2. More votes here for Pitt (especially its honors program), and Franklin & Marshall. Also, the other "hot" second-tier LAC in Southeastern Pennsylvania these days seems to be Ursinus. The Jewish kids I know there all seemed to be happy last I heard, although I know zip about Hillel there (and quite possibly neither did they). Ithaca, too. Rochester, absolutely, especially if he is a very academic sort of B student.

3. Heading south, I know that Jewish kids have gone from here to Elon, but I don't know how they liked it, and they were closer to 2.5 than 3.5 students. I would think about Tulane and Emory (the latter being something of a reach). I have fairly observant relatives who moved to South Carolina a few years ago. Their B-student youngest child applied to College of Charleston, but ultimately decided she would rather not go to college than go there -- I'm not sure why. (Rochester took her off the waiting list, so her resolve was never tested. She really liked Rochester.)

PRJ · May 2010

I second (third? fourth?) the suggestion of Clark. We were prepared not to like it given its location in Worcester MA, but D and I both loved it. D was amused by the "Hookah in the Sukkah" posters we saw on our October visit

Also, hands down the best food we ate on any college campus.

rockvillemom · May 2010

JHS - not sure I followed your comment - he gets mostly "B"s - so I refer to him as a "B" student. I'm looking for colleges that are not ultra-competitive - but still considered decent schools.

Tulane has been a thought - just concerned about the distance. Pitt really seems to be up and coming - I hear so much about it lately. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Any comments on Jewish life at Susquehanna or Gettysburg?

barrons · May 2010

I guess I don't see Rochester, Tulane, or Emory as place where B students have much shot today. I think you are looking a tier lower at American and the like. Indiana seems to be hot for those who used to look at Wisconsin.

jym626 · May 2010

U MD Baltimore County is a good option. As is U Delaware, though Delaware might be too big? Assume you've considered these, as they are in your back door, yes?

roshke · May 2010

It really depends on the school and the rigor of the classes taken- Montgomery County, MD has some extremely competitive school districts where a weighted 3.9 would not put one out of the running at ANY of the schools mentioned (even Brandeis, if a boy and ED).

I'd add Syracuse and Union to the list. Delaware has an undergrad population just slightly over your range and has a very pretty campus and the feel of a private school. Drexel and Northeastern (for their business coops). BU and GW (for business).

Arizona is another hot place for those who used to look at Wisconsin.

I happen to know a Jewish kid who is not too happy at all at Susquehanna, but that is just anecdotal.

fendrock · May 2010

Maybe Boston University?

SlitheyTove · May 2010

"B" student encompasses a lot of territory, and a "B" student with a 3.5 UW/3.9 W does have a shot at Rochester and Tulane. Given the OP's son's ACT scores, possibly more Tulane than Rochester, and I get the impression that Tulane may be more generous with merit money. Emory is reachier (as JHS says), but a lot will depend on how similar students at the OP's son's school do in admissions.

Would going west be of interest? Lots of Jewish kids from the west coast at U of Arizona and ASU. But these are larger schools than desired. (and I just looked at roshke's post which makes the same point).

rockvillemom · May 2010

Interesting comment about MoCo - that's the kind of thing I really don't know about - having been in this area for so long - I know it is very competitive as far as students applying to college - but how a 3.9W GPA from a MoCo hs is looked at by admissions counselors - that I don't know.

Delaware is interesting - we visited 2 years ago with S1 and were not blown away. But I keep hearing great things about it and maybe need to give it a second look.

barrons - I agree with you - to me - it is not just getting in - but being successful and happy. Nothing could be worse than having your kid get into a school like Emory or Tulane and then either flunk out or just be so miserable that he wants to transfer. Fit is very important to me - more so than "prestige".

Colleges for the Jewish "B" student

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