<p>Look up MASA on the internet for many programs in Israel.
Also, with the college search, see where your colleges in mind have study abroad in Israel.
Not all colleges have programs in Israel if that makes a difference in your college choice.</p>
<p>Adding to what mdcissp said, when our daughter went to Israel for two volunteer stints (Magen David Adom and volunteering at another camp that no longer exists), her college did NOT have any study abroad options in Israel. The college had a policy that no countries with State Dept. warnings could have official study abroad, and Israel had such a warning at the time (Intifada had ended, but warning had not). So, she went outside of the purvue of an official study abroad from school, but she still would have been able to get credit if she had kept a journal, done a presentation, had a “preceptor” etc. (which she did not; she did not need the credit.) She was able to forego summer income because she had a scholarship, was an RA, and had well paying jobs during the year teaching Hebrew. So, she found volunteer programs in Israel for which she did not have to pay; she was given housing and food allowance; in one case they even paid for her airfare. This is why I am saying…check with your partnership if you have one because they can set you up with such an opportunity and you may not have to pay! (She did not go through the partnership for Magen David Adom, but when the people from the partnership found out…she was suddenly reassigned to our sister city.)</p>
<p>I noticed there was no study abroad in Israel option at Salisbury. Study abroad in Israel from Towson and the U. of Maryland College Park is at U. of Haifa. The study abroad options are all different depending upon the school.</p>
<p>Study abroad (SA): I didn’t realize some of the issues with studying abroad until my daughter was already in college. If this is something your kid is interested in doing that should be another item that you look for in prospective colleges. Israel is an issue for SA because of the state department alerts (as a precious poster suggested). Also, colleges generally recommend that you attend the foreign universities they sponsor. The benefit with that option is that all your courses count for credit at your local U. The drawback is that sometimes they are in countries you have no interest in visiting (I went to Miami of Ohio and ours was in Luxembourg and I wanted to study in Spain.) My daughter at Tulane wanted to study in Italy and to enter their program in Florence you had to have 1 year of Italian, which she did not have. She ended up going out on an independent program in Rome, which was only fair, and before she left, she spent countless hours in the registrar’s office getting the courses approved. One other note, after she graduated and wanted to apply to grad school she had to get separate transcripts for the SA program (which I think was sponsored by the U. of Minnesota) in addition to the Tulane transcript. If you attend a local sponsored program it is all part of one transcript. Little details that make a big difference later on. Lastly, my middle daughter would not be able to do SA because of her pre-med requirements and so she went to Israel for two weeks on the Birthright trip in May after her freshman year and had a great time (plus it was paid for by Birthright.) One other issue and I’ll stop. If you go to a private U. and attend their own SA program the cost is the same as a semester at private U. If you choose a different program it could actually cost you a LOT less, as did my daughter’s in Italy.</p>
<p>I thought this NY Times essay about accepting a child may have academic motivation or skills than you did was very well done: [A</a> Father’s Acceptance: His Son Won’t Follow His Ivy Footsteps - NYTimes.com](<a href=“A Father's Acceptance: His Son Won't Follow His Ivy Footsteps - The New York Times”>A Father's Acceptance: His Son Won't Follow His Ivy Footsteps - The New York Times)</p>
<p>And after psoting it, I saw that Rodney had started a thread about it, whcih has featured some very hot debate</p>
<p>Moltobene has a lot of good points about study abroad. It really does vary by school. A lot of the programs do have language fluency requirements. My older daughter did one of her school’s programs in Florence this past summer. She took classes in Art History and Italian History that were taught in English. While the program was expensive, the credits that she earned will allow her to graduate early or be a part-time student her last semester. We will recoup the cost of the program (but not the travel expenses) that way. Some schools also offer short programs during winter break, or in May.</p>
<p>Article from today’s Wash Post re the benefit of adding a football program:</p>
<p>[Small</a> colleges find that adding football pays off in a lot of green, and more](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/26/AR2010102607105.html?hpid=editorialpromo]Small”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/26/AR2010102607105.html?hpid=editorialpromo)</p>
<p>IN STEVENSON, MD. Stevenson University was another small liberal arts school with a surplus of female students. Women outnumbered men 2 to 1, an extreme example of the imbalance that pervades higher education. </p>
<p>Then came football.</p>
<p>Stevenson spent $500,000 this year to create an intercollegiate team from scratch, largely as a means to fill the campus with tuition-paying men. The program has drawn 130 players, raising the male share of the freshman class from 34 to 39 percent in a single year at the 3,075-student university.</p>
<p>The suburban Baltimore school is one of at least a dozen small, private colleges in the United States that have added or rebuilt football programs in the past three years, usually with the dual purpose of feeding the bottom line and narrowing the gender gap.</p>
<p>For many small, regional colleges facing a bleak admissions landscape, the gridiron is a beacon of hope. The college-age population is leveling off. The economy is sluggish. Private colleges must offer ever-larger tuition discounts to fill the freshman class.</p>
<p>Male students are particularly scarce because of several factors, including higher dropout and incarceration rates. The national college population is 58 percent female. At private institutions, the gender gap is slightly larger.</p>
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<p>Maybe bring more men in by starting a license plate factory?</p>
<p>Gwen - funny! I just find it interesting that the issue of attracting boys is getting more and more press of late. As a mother of a boy - I’m just hoping this gives him a little extra boost next year. :)</p>
<p>Clearly we should be starting a match making service. (I am the mom of 2 daughters!)</p>
<p>rvm-- I think the imbalance should be very helpful to your son-- at least at our school I have seen lower-ranked boys do better than the girls year in and year out-- especially at LAC’s.</p>
<p>uskoolfish - maybe a collegiate version of J-Date? :)</p>
<p>gwen - I hope that is the case. He is wrapping up the quarter with a B, rather than a C, in his honors English class - so at least I have that to rejoice over. Looks like 4 Bs and 3 As - fairly typical for him - so if being a boy helps - we’ll take it!</p>
<p>Folks may be interested in the new Campusvibe trip reports on Drew and Muhlenberg by a prospective theater major</p>
<p>Congratulations to Rockville Mom’s son for his great grades. Plus the B in Honors English is weighted up to an A. Right on!</p>
<p>So glad it worked in English RM. You are a great mom and role model.</p>
<p>Just wanted to share some naches…S led his academic team to victory today! He looked so handsome on the TV monitors… I’m still beaming!</p>
<p>RM - congrats to your son for pulling out the B. I know how stressful it is! I am so annoyed with my D’s english class. I think the teacher is great. But there are 2 out of class essays which have not yet been graded that will account for 60% of her grade! Those grades will determine her quarter grade. I hate not knowing!</p>
<p>Tomorrow we find out her SAT score. Good luck to everyone else who is getting that score tomorrow. D is really anxious about it. </p>
<p>Regarding the gender imbalance, I also read that article in the Post this morning. Who would have ever thought that being a male would give you a leg up in admissions for being under represented! My how times have changed, colleges want to increase the number of Jews on campus, others want to increase the number of men!</p>
<p>MoltoBene - thanks for the info on Tulane. Currently it is on our list. Also, we have Miamo of Ohio on our list and I noticed you went there. Would you recommend that school?</p>
<p>RM and College4: Congrats on your son’s accomplishments.</p>
<p>MdMom: I hope your daughter is happy with her SAT scores.</p>
<p>As a result of our wonderful discussion thread about appropriate colleges for B plus students who wants some Jewish life on campus, I wanted to suggest that people list where their kids are applying, or if not yet seniors, where they plan to apply.</p>
<p>D did well on the SAT but not as well as we had hoped. She did great on CR and W. Math is her weakness. Real disparity between the reading and math scores. I think that we will need to find a math tutor for the SAT. I suggested to D to give the ACT a try, she doesn’t want to. She may do it anyway!</p>