<p>What is an MOT?</p>
<p>Marny1, yes, at Alfred costs do depend on your school/major. </p>
<p>[Alfred</a> University : Undergraduate Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://www.alfred.edu/finaid/undergraduate_cost.cfm]Alfred”>http://www.alfred.edu/finaid/undergraduate_cost.cfm) </p>
<p>NYS students will pay less for School of Art & Design, Biomedical Materials Engineering, Ceramics Engineering, Glass Engineering & Materials Science. </p>
<p>C.O.L.A. and School of Business & undecided, mechanical engineering & electrical engineering are not affiliated with State of New York. </p>
<p>One plus is AU made some cuts & kept the costs down next year for students, we are receiving a very minor cost increase in the tuition for a returning student. From what I have read on CC, there are some colleges that seem incapable of doing this, but just pass on big increases to the students & parents. (Providence College was one) </p>
<p>Oops, sorry to have gone off the original topic!</p>
<p>Every college has a certain vibe and social feel to its atmosphere. I can’t say if Tulane has more or less drinking than other campuses, but drinking is part of the social scene. I also heard that James Madison has a lot of drinking and therefore, we are not even going to look at the school. We saw UT Dallas which appears to be a very serious, academic place not into drinking. These are just perceptions and not based upon any published facts. I just don’t want my kids going to schools where alcohol is a significant part of the school’s social party atmosphere. Some parents might feel strongly one way or the other about how much drinking is going on at the chosen school.</p>
<p>I think drinking is a problem on many college campuses. I know my sister had a problem with my nephew at KU (I posted earlier about the party atmosphere there) but I really think given my nephew’s personality and goals, he would have found this kind of culture anywhere he matriculated. At this point in our children’s lives, I think we just have to trust them a little.</p>
<p>Of course this worries me tremendously since I don’t really believe that 18 year olds are adult enough to make many of these decisions, but there is nothing I can peronally do at this point.</p>
<p>I think you have it exactly right Queen’s Mom. Kids will make good decisions and bad ones, and we can only hope that the bad ones are not so horrible that they cross the line into terrible consequences, and are instead “just” learning experiences. Judging by the fact that most kids get through college in the end, it works out in the vast majority of cases. Personally, I think mdcissp might be kidding herself to think they can know the social scene at any school, because in fact that social scene is quite diverse for a school of any size. There are partiers, extreme study nerds, straights and gays, ethnic considerations, sports types, all sorts. I would say in any school of over a thousand students or so there are more social scenes than can be listed, certainly those of 5000+. I commend her for wanting to research as much as possible, I would just caution that there is no way to pidgeon hole most schools as having a single or even a small number of social scenes, drinking and otherwise.</p>
<p>^^Spectrum: ‘MOT’ = member of the tribe, just another term for ‘Jewish’</p>
<p>Re party scene - I peruse college pro wler (remove the space) for kid’s comments about drug use on campus. Also, I’m sort of looking at schools that have honors dorms or floors, hoping that those kids would tend to support each other in this regard.</p>
<p>On the drinking/partying issue - this is actually one of my motivating factors for looking into Hillels. S2 has a nice core group of friends - mostly from BBYO - and they are good kids - nice, well-behaved, etc. No issues of drinking that I have ever heard about. I am comfortable letting him be driven home by older kids in the chapter. So, I guess I am extrapolating that and thinking that Hillel would be a good niche at college and one that would lessen the influence of the “party scene”. </p>
<p>JMU, for example, does have quite a party reputation. But it also has about 800 Jewish kids and an active Hillel - so I am keeping an open mind for now - we are visiting at the end of June.</p>
<p>crester - that’s really the $6 million dollar question - how do we determine which schools really want Jewish students? One of the things I have been doing is to google a simple phrase like “Jewish life at xyz university” and the results have been interesting. When I did this for Susquehanna, I got a link to a job posting for an Asst. Director of Admissions, whose job responsibility was to recruit more minority students, including Jewish students. I got a similar result when I did it for Eckerd College - got a link for an article in a local Jewish newspaper about the existing Jewish population and the area population of Jewish students, etc. So, google and contacting the Hillel rep - that’s been my technique so far - and of course, the anecdotal info that this thread provides.</p>
<p>Thanks also for the physical therapy comments - one of my problems is that S2 has no idea whatsoever what he might want to do - business was kind of a maybe after he eliminated everything else I suggested - but he’s young - so I’m not too concerned - just trying to pick colleges that do have business and a wide array of other majors as well.</p>
<p>crester - I think that is also spot on. My D is at Tulane (just completed her freshman year, maybe I should have said that right off) and has met a lot of friends in the Honors dorm that, like her, do not drink. They find tons of stuff to do and she has gotten involved in other activities. Like a lot of Tulane students, she has been very involved in rebuilding efforts for New Orleans. That is why the hair on the back of my neck goes up a little when I see this Tulane stereotype of the “always drunk student” perpetuated. Not saying there are not hard partiers at Tulane, of course there are. Just saying there are lots of options without feeling left out because one does not drink.</p>
<p>Anyway, you are right that there are strategies that make it easy to find other students that have similar interests.</p>
<p>fallenchemist: yes, welcome to this thread! …but Tulane is no longer a school for the “B” student…not chasing you away, but I think mdcissp is misguided in even mentioning it here…and the thread is starting to get away from it’s goal…</p>
<p>carry on…</p>
<p>yabeyabe - “Palin will vote for Obama before my son tries swing dancing” - omg - that was my morning chuckle.</p>
<p>I think posters above are correct about the immense academic pressure felt by Jewish and Asian students - and I agree - proably even worse for Asians. But I also believe that the emphasis on education is what has made so many Jewish people successful. Like many of your families, my paternal grandparents came over from Poland in the early 1900s with a grade school education, no English skills and no money. But all three of their children went to college and pursued professional fields. So, I do defend the values we hold which place a premium on the importance of a college education. One of the reason I started this thread was to recognize that not every Jewish kid is aiming for Ivy League schools, or Vanderbilt, Duke, etc. I want to be enthusiastic about the colleges I am considering for my son - not apologetic.</p>
<p>rodney - when you are right you are right. Everyone back to regular programming.</p>
<p>fallenchemist - complete tangent here - but how do you do it? You are so on top of everything Tulane. I kind of picture you sitting at your computer with a Tulane filter on CC and as soon as anyone posts about Tulane - there you are - ready to jump into the fray? I’m just teasing - but it is kind of funny - you are omnipresent! I do think Tulane, as Rodney stated, is out of reach for most B students - but you never know. And for B students who want a reach on their list, I say go for it.</p>
<p>rm: fallenchemist has a feature (that exists on CC for everyone) that she is notified whenever Tulane is mentioned in any thread…I have NO idea how to activate it; lol…and yes, Tulane is on my daughter’s list as her uber-reach (and I don’t even think it’s a good fit so it’s there at her request!!)</p>
<p>Some data from our large public hs Naviance - in 2009, 30 students applied, 21 were accepted and 2 matriculated. The average accepted student has a 4.24 weighted GPA and a 1316 SAT. But, many students in the 4.0 wgpa and 1250 SAT/29 ACT range are accepted. So, while I still think it is a reach for the typical B student - it’s not absurd - and with that fast free app, why not?</p>
<p>rodney - a couple of clarifications, lol. I am a he, and I have activated no such feature. If it exists I am unaware of it. I simply search on Tulane every now and then, precisely because such incorrect information is often put forth about the school.</p>
<p>^^sorry…I really did think there was a way to subscribe to any threads that have specific schools in their posts; your way works too though!!!</p>
<p>rockvillemom,
We found that picking up a copy of the campus newspaper (or finding it online) is an excellent way to find out the real scoop about college life on a particular campus. Those student reporters are out to break a story!</p>
<p>I found the student papers had a somewhat unvarnished view of what happens on campus vs. the official dog and pony shows. For example, we went to a top LAC and got the admissions presentation about how their endowment was fine, yada, yada. Picked up a copy of the campus paper and there was an article about the cuts in teaching staff, services, construction, etc. It was quite a contrast!</p>
<p>Of course, most college papers also report the local crime reports, busted parties, etc., too. My kids, who somehow inherited my editor’s gene, also paid attention to the quality of the student reporting as a proxy of critical analysis and writing skills expected by the school.</p>
<p>On the positive side – in one issue of a campus paper, we saw advertisements for four free lectures/speakers in that week, all of which my S would jump at the opportunity to attend. Made him feel that he’d find his place there, in and out of the classroom. Also saw a lot of articles on interfaith and intercultural outreach at several schools.</p>
<p>If your S has friends at any of the college he’s considering, he should contact them, too. Both my kids have benefited from HS alums and friends from various activities who have generously shared their experiences.</p>
<p>slitheytove</p>
<p>you need to clear your message inbox, if you want to receive other PMs. :)</p>
<p>countingdown - agree - excellent suggestion on student newspapers. I have actually been loking on-line at back issues for some of the schools my son is considering. Another suggestion someone else made is that when visiting - pay attention to the signs, flyers, etc. that are posted around campus - will give you another way to guage the level of activity and events going on.</p>
<p>…another suggestion for when visiting schools. Look on the bulletin boards. Among the things we saw at various colleges: posters for Purim Carnival, Jewish subject matter lectures, interfaith colloquia.</p>