<p>The opinion of Reb Brooklyndad ^ is the Law. I was trying to sound Talmudic there.</p>
<p>Said differently: Terms of Service of College Confidential (see FAQ) prohibit disparaging remarks against any group based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability…).</p>
<p>Nobody here has overstepped the rules above but I want to steer the thread away from comparing antiSemitic and antiAsian sentiments. All it does is attract ■■■■■■ to the threads who’ll post along those lines. Then I have to shoot them down. Big waste of time. Let’s not.</p>
<p>Remarkable thread – keep up the great work!</p>
<p>This is the Small and Mighty campus link from the national Hillel website. Someoe else mentioned it a few pages back. I think we all know some of the info is out of date - but it may give you a few new ideas.</p>
<p>Tulane has a Greek presence. There appears to be drinking going on at Tulane. If drinking is not one of your values, or something you don’t want your kid getting into, do you want your kid attending a school with a drinking/peer pressure party presence? Like Rockville mom, I am looking for a similar type of college with a good Business program and a pleasant Hillel with some fun activities. However, my son would not fit in a school with an active drinking/party atmosphere, even if it is a minority part of the school culture.</p>
<p>As someone already said earlier, there is drinking everywhere. Your S/D can find friends who want to drink/party or friends who don’t. At this point, just a few months away from my D going off to college, I can say that I trust her decision-making ability. Nothing I can do now; the foundation is laid.</p>
<p>What’s a drinking school? What’s a party school? It is everywhere if you want to find it.</p>
<p>I went to Northwestern. Top school, right? From my point of view, while I got a great education, I think it was a HUGE party school. Yes, I looked for it and it was there. I take the blame (credit?) but it was up to ME. I learned to balance and so did my friends. Some partied more, some partied less. My point is that it is everywhere. And NU had a very large Jewish population and a Hillel back then too.</p>
<p>This point about drinking is a completely separate issue from “colleges for the Jewish B student.”</p>
<p>I think the opinions/input here on schools where Jewish students would be comfortable is very useful; the drinking input - not so much.</p>
<p>Loved seeing the OP’s link to “Small and Mighty” Hillels in Post #362.</p>
<p>To repeat, this official designation means that the Hillel on that campus does more than required; perhaps creating more events or networking with other campuses’ Hillels, all to overcome their smaller numbers or percentage of Jewish students on campus. </p>
<p>That opens up schools for exploration that, as OP Rockvillemom says, might have been missed when making up one’s list of colleges to visit or apply.</p>
<p>Rockvillemom - did you look at Mary Washington in VA? It is on the small and mighty list and I am pretty sure that they have a business program.</p>
<p>You know, I haven’t. I have sort of a negative view of the school, and I really have no idea why. Has anyone looking at this thread visited or know anything about Mary Washington?</p>
<p>Mary W has a good price and rep, but I was concerned about the low rating on college prow ler and a lower than expected graduation rate. I heard there had been some isues with funding and presidential leadership which may be resolved.</p>
<p>In my next life, I will understand how VA, which I am sure has lower taxes than NJ, has a stronger and cheaper state university system.</p>
<p>Looking at some of the college FB groups will scare you silly. (I speak from experience x 2.) The campus papers at least had some sort of fact-checking/confirmation to what was being written.</p>
<p>Colleges with a larger Jewish population are likely to have Jewish-affiliated frats/sororities. It’s another way to identify with the Jewish community, but one that can have its issues, too. </p>
<p>My older S has never stepped foot in Hillel at college, but he goes to the annual Latkes-Hamentaschen debate every year, Jewish a capella group concerts and Purim festivities (he just doesn’t drink). Reads Torah when he’s home and at High Holidays. The values surrounding ethics and education are firmly engrained. </p>
<p>Sometimes they have to step away and decide what it all means to them so they can then come back and embrace their choices enthusiastically. (Same applies to majors, drinking, sex, smoking, etc…)</p>
<p>"In my next life, I will understand how VA, which I am sure has lower taxes than NJ, has a stronger and cheaper state university system. "</p>
<p>you havent driven our roads lately? :)</p>
<p>I dont know how our state k-12 funding compares - we live in a bubble in Fairfax County. We have lots of issues with FCPS, but mainly over policies, bureaucracy, etc not $$. </p>
<p>Thank goodness I have never had to avail myself of social services in the Commonwealth. I cannot speak to their quality.</p>
<p>I will not speak to local grapevine comments about our State U’s, both for the unreliability of such comments, and to avoid flamewars.</p>
<p>On the surface - looks like a potential safety. Only 6 kids from our large public hs have applied there in the past few years - all 6 were accepted. WGPAs in the 3.5 - 3.9 range and average SAT of 1100 and average ACT of 25. About 4000 students - does have undergraduate business program. Hillel webpage shows about 75 on Hillel e-mail distribution list and they state they have about 20 active members. So, it looks promising - I just can’t really explain why I never considered it before - I have heard of it - it is in Princeton Review…</p>
<p>Brooklyn - would you, as a VA resident, give a little more info on this school? I know you mentioned the unreliability of “grapevine comments” - but I am really puzzled why this school does not get more buzz here in MD.</p>
<p>There are several threads about avoiding party schools; they may have valuable information/opportunities for posting relevant to that issue.
Here is one:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/845978-where-drinking-non-issue.html?highlight=mamaroneck[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/845978-where-drinking-non-issue.html?highlight=mamaroneck</a>
(I am not sure that this is how to post a link to a thread; maybe it will work?!)
That being said, I do want to mention one thing about “substance free” dorms relevant to Jewish students. A friend was assigned to a substance free dorm at a large state university. (She did not apply for this dorm.) She found that half the residents were court mandated to be in that dorm because of substance abuse issues and the other half were evangelicals. I have since heard about this phenomenon at other colleges. So, you may find that these dorms are substance free but they may not be the best fit for Jewish students.</p>
<p>not sure how accurate the Small and Mighty list is- just checked out SUNY Cortland as my d just graduated and I was curious what it said about cortland.
According to the list, there are 0 Jewish kids on campus. I personally know a whole lot more. Just from my Temple, there are 3 attendees- and my educated guess is that there are at least a few hundred as it is becoming a pretty popular SUNY for downstate kids.
point is: though the info may be interesting, don’t put too much faith in the info that is listed.</p>
<p>Sadly, the Hillel site’s info is frequently years old and wrong. And what kind of proofreading to they do if they do not find it odd that a SUNY school has 0 Jewish kids?</p>
<p>Another plug for Pitt. I have a daughter who is looking at many of these schools and I just happened upon this discussion. I actually work at Pitt’s Hillel and can confirm that there is an active Jewish life here, offering diverse opportunites for students from different backgrounds. I would be happy to speak with you if you are interested. You can find me through our website at [Welcome</a> to the Hillel JUC of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.hilleljuc.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.hilleljuc.org).</p>
<p>if possible- it’s a good idea to visit the school during passover. In NY, kids usually get off that week, so it was a good time for us to do our college tour roadtrip.</p>
<p>when we visited William and Mary for d # 1, we were pleasantly surprised that during the tour of the cafeteria, the “Passover” table was pointed out to us. I don’t think the tour guide knew we were Jewish, but my Brooklyn accent may have given us away.<br>
Though d # 1 did not go to W & M, I appreciated that the college made the effort to provide a “Passover food section” for the students.
You can learn alot about the school and how accommodating they are to Jewish students if you can make the visit during Passover break.</p>
<p>Pitt is really an up an coming school. Over the past ten years, it has made the biggest jump of any public university in the USNews rankings (not that those are the best determinant). It has been attracting a lot of top students with generous merit aid (including for OOS students).</p>
<p>Anecdotal about Pitt. A friend of my D’s goes there and really loves it. She is from a conservative family, but has lately become much more religious. She feels the Pitt has good Jewish options for her.</p>