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<p>Not that these are schools for B students 
but I’d say yes definitely to Georgetown which does have a “significant” Jewish population. Quite possibly to BC–would have to take a look, plus we have a Jewish family friend who’s a prof there. Don’t know enough about Villanova’s Jewish life.</p>
<p>This will help address the DePaul question, too.</p>
<p>My Ds looked at some Catholic schools but decided in the end that they just couldn’t go that far. I think many of the Catholic schools are extremely open-minded; in fact, they force students to study religion in its broadest spectrum, and often employ experts in all faiths just for that purpose. But there is a “presence”; I did a Master’s at a Catholic school and regularly had priests and nuns in my classes, running the offices, walking around the buildings, etc. So there are ups and downs.</p>
<p>“Christian” schools are another matter: Many are very faith-based and do not focus on exploring other beliefs. Others are religious in name only - a friend of mine once said about a “Presbyterian” school that “it’s Presbyterian like some hospitals are Presbyterian”(!). You just have to look closely at each school.</p>
<p>I am sure that Jews at many of these Catholic schools feel plenty comfortable and happy. My Ds just decided early on that they would avoid any overt religious affiliation so they wouldn’t have to deal with any discomfort they might have been able to predict -there are plenty of unpredictable discomforts already!</p>
<p>EmilyB: Congrats on the two new acceptances with merit scholarships. </p>
<p>Catholic Colleges: My older daughter was interested in Georgetown until we visited. GT does have about a 10% Jewish population. I think they have a Jewish Student Union instead of a Hillel. We did see some fliers up for Jewish programs. However, we were turned off by the atmoshere. There are crucifixes in every classroom and you see nuns and priest walking around campus. The day we visited, it seemed like everyone else visiting knew each other from some Catholic prep school network. It was also the most pretensious school we visited. Definitely not a fit.</p>
<p>I spent a few days at Villanova for a summer course. The campus is beautiful and it could be a nice fit for a B+ student. Again, I thought the atmosphere was too Catholic. There are crucifixes on the outside of most buildings. I went on a tour, and the tour guide mentioned that “everyone” goes to Sunday night mass. Enough said.</p>
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<p>You can also go to hillel.org and search for DePaul. Then email the person listed as Hillel director - I did this for University of Maine, which was recommended by a college counselor and found out they have about 50 Jewish students there. LOL! You might also get a good idea of the activities if the Depaul Hillel has a website or a facebook page.</p>
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<p>I definitely wouldn’t. I remember visiting BC as a HS senior and being taken aback by the crosses and statues. I had no idea (and neither did my parents). Interestingly, my D has a friend at Brandeis (NJB from NY) who she says wants to go to more of a rah-rah school and is going to look at BC. What? Doesn’t make sense to me (and I can’t believe his parents would go for that). There may be a Jewish “presence” there of some sort, but it is not the atmosphere that my kids (or I) want. If D’s friend wants rah-rah, I would suggest going from Brandeis –> Northwestern or University of Maryland CP. Not BC.</p>
<p>One more thing: Congrats to all on the latest acceptances!</p>
<p>My vote on the Catholic school question - absolutely not. I had a very negative experience at Georgetown many, many years ago - was on campus often visiting my (non-Jewish hs)boyfriend at the time - attended a supposedly non-denominational prayer service with him - held on Sunday evenings - very popular - at one point in the service the priest leading it urged people to forgive the Jews for killing Christ! I was so horrified and upset - and stuck in the middle of the row - no way to leave. It really was an epiphany for me - while I remained with that boyfriend for a while longer - I knew the relationship was not going to last - he absolutely did not get why I was so upset. I never dated a non-Jew again after that relationship ended.</p>
<p>Thanks for input re: DePaul and other Catholic schools. I’ll get in touch with Hillel director as suggested. The crucifixes etc. won’t phase my son who is one of many Jewish kids who attends a rigorous Catholic High School and we’ve been delighted with the open-mindedness and diversity that they encourage. A bit of a freakout for me, though, was going on *****.com this morning and seeing that the second largest religious group at DePaul is Moslem! Not the issue I thought we may be dealing with. The whole Israeli/Palestinian conflict was not looming large … and now it is. Who would’ve thunk it, so many Moslem students at a Catholic school. We’ll keep researching. </p>
<p>If a kid can graduate in four years from a SUNY, maybe Purchase will land up being better for my son. (And yes, I know that anti-Israel sentiment is everywhere, but the DePaul numbers just scare me.) A plus as far as Purchase goes is that we have family in CT where he can go for the seder and to break the Yom Kippur fast, etc. He’s not religious, but would like the option…
As big and little envelopes arrive, we’ll keep re-evaluating.</p>
<p>My son is at a Catholic prep school and the only thing he really doesn’t like is that he has to go to mass once a month. He doesn’t have to do anything but sit there and he usually uses the time to sleep. He also had to take religion for four years but it was philosophy of religions rather than dogma. He didn’t, however, want to go to a Catholic College, not because of the Catholic presence but because the student body tends to be more conservative in their politics and he has had enough being in the minority on political issues.</p>
<p>There was an article in the post this morning on the increasing Muslim enrollment at Catholic Colleges. [Enrollment</a> of Muslim students is growing at Catholic colleges in U.S.](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/19/AR2010121904265.html]Enrollment”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/19/AR2010121904265.html)</p>
<p>^^^this really gives me pause.</p>
<p>Congratulations to Collage1 on Elon and to Emilybee on Hartwick & Allegeny… kathiep and mhc48 - Best of luck with your deferrals. Congrats to anyone else I may have missed.</p>
<p>Was the question about Catholic schools directed only at Catholic or to all actively Christian/Evangelical/Baptist etc. oriented schools?</p>
<p>I’d heard good things about Marist a year ago but couldn’t bring myself to take my daughter up for a visit. I’m not sure I’d want to have to justify this but it would probably be the same for Regent, Pepperdine, Notre Dame, St. Johns, BYU et.al. I just remember once being hospitalized for an emergency years ago while on a trip and put in a room for a few days with a crucifix on the wall directly in front of me and an ill brother of the order in the next bed. Not to mention spiritual shows on the TV in the room, very kindly but distinctly Sisterly nurses and aides. The treatment I received was unassailable, but it was those things primarily which got me healthy and checked out quickly.</p>
<p>It’s nothing else but what we talk about here all the time: comfort and fit.</p>
<p>my dad graduated from St Johns in the dark ages…it never occured to me that it was Catholic until I was an adult…</p>
<p>I know Jewish kids at BC and Villanova that are very happy (but they weren’t the observant type of kids in the first place)…Georgetown is a whole other ball of wax IMO; I like the description of momjr particularly; spot on…</p>
<p>fwiw, there are a number of articles in the Boston Globe re: Jewish population and faculty at BC over the the years for anyone who is interested…</p>
<p>I had issues with my D’s guidance counselor. The very first time we sat down together to talk about colleges, my D talked about what she was looking for and she clearly stated (much to my surprise) that the Jewish population there would be important to her.</p>
<p>For the next two years, the GC continued to suggest Marist (her alma mater) and Loyola (in Maryland; also Catholic). “But there are Jewish students there” - yes, there might be, but being a token Jew, like in HS, was not what D wanted.</p>
<p>Let’s see what she suggests for S, when we start to talk about his plans in 2011. I can’t wait.</p>
<p>emilybee- congrats on the great news!</p>
<p>This reminds me of a debate we had in our county re graduation sites. Our typical public hs graduating class is 650. Way too big to hold at the hs. We have been schlepping downtown to the DAR hall for many years - which is a pain in the neck - no parking - have to take charter buses - lots of steps. As suggestion was floated a few years back to use a large church facility - ample parking, great acoustics, less stairs, etc. - but a few Jewish families objected - so the idea was shelved. Personally - I would have been fine with it. Once they covered the crosses - it would have suited our needs perfectly. Oh well.</p>
<p>I just want to ask for thoughts again about having Muhlenberg on S2’s list - which is presently Elon, CofC, JMU, Towson and maybe Susquehanna. We have been planning to visit Muhlenberg in March or April - obviously a large Jewish population and an active Hillel - but I am getting cold feet regarding the price tag. I just don’t know that I want a school that expensive on the list. Does anyone have strong opinions either way? In other words - do you think it is so fabulous that we should visit and consider it - assuming FA was available? It’s about $47,000 this year - so I have to assume it will be well over $50,000 by the time S2 is a freshman.</p>
<p>I guess what I am asking is do you see Muhlenberg being worth that much more - in comparison to Elon, CofC, and so forth.</p>
<p>If I did not know what Muhlenberg might offer, I’d let my child consider the school. I let my kids apply far and wide, but I let them know that at the end of the day money does matter to us. Any school that had a pricetag that was too high was just taken off the table and that was not a problem for us (my kids did not have dream schools that they felt they must attend at any cost. They knew that any school would be a stretch for us).</p>
<p>RVM: I believe in keeping my options open, so I would go ahead and visit Muhlenberg. It’s one of the few schools of its size with a good sized Jewish population that is a match for “B” students. You can make it clear to your son that it would only be an option with appropriate aid.</p>
<p>Did you eliminate Delaware?</p>
<p>Congratulations, emilybee’s daughter!</p>
<p>calv1n, was that me who brought up state budget concerns? I honestly don’t remember, but I don’t think NY is as bad as CA in terms of college funding - correct me if I am wrong, anyone. I don’t know about Purchase, but I know plenty of kids who have gone to Binghamton and graduated in 4 years; they never had trouble getting the classes they needed. </p>
<p>Regarding Catholic colleges: I probably would avoid them, except that I might have considered Georgetown if my student really wanted the School of Foreign Service, or some other aspect not available elsewhere. Some of my tendency to avoid these is because of dating/relationship issues, and some is because of my own experience teaching years ago at a Catholic college. I know that this is supposed to depend on the Order, but I just found that questioning was not treated the same way as it was at secular or minimally affiliated colleges, and this particular college continues to have this reputation, even though it has a rabbi as a faculty member and seems to attract kids of local rabbis!
RVM, what has your son’s Wake Forest experience been like in this regard? Does the Baptist affiliation affect anything?
Muhlenberg: since I have never visited Elon or C of C, I do not know how to compare. I think the only way to compare is to visit and see if it is offering something for this price. I do remember that a lot of the kids get financial aid and merit scholarships. It is also a pipeline for medical school and some professional programs such as podiatry and optometry - and has “feeder patterns” for these, or arrangements with these programs. I think that it is interesting that a college with the average SAT scores that it has - and SAT scores are optional there so the average scores reflect only some of the students- has such success getting students into medical school! I know that medical school is not on your son’s radar, RVM, but I think that it indicates something about the college. OTOH - perhaps the businessman in him would like the idea of optometry as a way to start a good business?</p>
<p>Congrats on all the acceptances! D1 who is a very happy sophomore elsewhere, applied to Georgetown and, while didn’t love the crosses that were present in the classrooms, etc., loved GT. During the tour it was explained that the school is a Jesuit one and it was formed bc Catholics were not welcome at most colleges back in the day and that, while catholic, it was welcoming of all faiths and did a have a rabbi on staff, I think, at .5 time. I’m going from memory as this was several years ago but d felt that she could be comfortable there. </p>
<p>D1 has a very good hs friend at BC, not Jewish, who was asked by D2 (2011) if she thought D2, as a Jew, would be happy/comfortable at BC and, fwiw, the friend said she definitely could…said there was access to services, etc. And that people were open, etc. At the time we toured there, d’s criteria for a jewish presence was defined by whether she could attend high holiday services on campus with other Jewish students–that there would be enough interest–and also an occasional Friday night service. That tells me that, if the friend was correct, services are available and held on campus. Ironically, d was admitted to elon which is the only school she applied to where she’ll have to off campus for the high holidays!!</p>