<p>A Jewish student asked on the High Point forum what people thought of High Point for a Jewish student. I responded with what info I have gathered and also provided a few links. I’m just posting that thread here as well so any who is wondering about religion at High Point can easily access the various links.</p>
<p>Well the visit to Miami U in two weeks just took on a bit more significance, D got a very nice letter from them today saying they wanted to tell her in advance of 2/1 that she was accepted. I’ve written to the Hillel Rabbi and director to try and set up a meeting and meet some students butI 'd already made reservations to visit IU the next day so it looks like we will miss the first Spring Semester Shabbat Dinner.</p>
<p>In another vein, my son is home from Michigan and we were watching basketball together on ESPN the before Chrismas. Elon was playing Navy and throughout the whole game the announcer kept calling Elon’s team “The Fighting Christians”. Elon says they abandoned that name and mascot back in '99 but I guess no one at ESPN got the memo.</p>
<p>I think large schools often have more options of courses for the student who wants to explore broadly before selecting a major or who wants majors that the typical small LAC does not offer (certain tech majors, occupational health, engineering).</p>
<p>I have not seen an example, however, of a type of support available at a large school which is not available at a small school. Tutors and writing centers are certainly widely available at small schools.</p>
<p>Obviously, it much depends on the individual student–the student who simply refuses to work will not survive in a small school and the student who actively seeks help will find it in a large school. The real question is whether the student who is not refusing to work, but is not seeking help will be spotted and given help more readily in a small school with smaller classes.</p>
<p>Similar issues apply to extracurricular activities–the stars and highly driven kids will become sports stars, club presidents, editors in chief, lead actresses, etc anywhere. The less talented and less driven will benefit from being in a smaller pond.</p>
<p>As for “The Fighting Christians” of Elon, even if that were still the name, I had no qualms about being a Quaker (obviously not “The Fighting Quakers”). I think kids are only amused by such sports headlines as “Fighting Christians Smash Holy Cross” or “Lions’ Offense Feasts On Sacred Heart”.</p>
<p>Yabe, I don’t know if there were any “qualms” hearing all night about the Fighting Christians, since my D wasn’t there with us. And it wasn’t as if they had a big red cross on the front of their jerseys. But I did get a lot of ribbing from my son and his friends on the choice of Elon as a place for her to apply. And teasing that he was going back to their school to ask the Principal and their mutual Rabbinics teacher what he thought. I finally had to haul out the laptop and Wikipedia to prove that I was right. I guess it was okay for a laugh but if she gets in or decides to go I’m sure I’ll hear about it again at the Seder table. Probably right around:</p>
<p>" And Jacob went down to Egypt, and dwelt there with few in number.</p>
<p>(though I suppose the same may go for Miami or JMU)</p>
<p>Yabeyabe - welcome back - always good to see you on CC.</p>
<p>MHC - congrats on Miami - wonderful news. When we visited Elon for the very first time - in 2008 with S1 - they did explain that the Fighting Christians were now the Phoenix - I’ve never had a problem with it. Ten years ago - Elon did not have much in the way of Jewish life. It is amazing to me the strides they have made in a relatively short period of time and I’m only going to judge them based on that. Hope you have a good visit to Miami and Indiana. I have a cousin who graduated from Indiana 3 years ago and she just loved it.</p>
<p>Thanks, Choc and Roc! My wife and I were enjoying a trip to NYC–fortunately, pre-blizzard.</p>
<p>One thing you may find if your child goes to a “few in number” school is that you will be scouring your child’s Facebook friends list (if it is public) to check the names of their new friends to see if they are meeting the few. Lots of parents do this just to see if their child is in photos with alcohol.</p>
<p>mhc: Congrats on Miami. I’ve heard good things about the school. I met some really nice parents who attended a club gymnastics meet at Penn a few years ago.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about the Elon “Fighting Christians” thing. It’s actually a good sign that they decided to change it. You’d think that ESPN wouldn’t be 10 years out of date!</p>
<p>Umich: I always root for Michigan when they play. I’ve been a fan since they accepted my daughter early and relieved the stress of her senior year. I’m now a Pitt fan also. (This is what happens when you attend a school where lacrosse is the main sport. You have to latch on to other teams).</p>
<p>Hope I didn’t sound concerned about the Fighting Christians, it was just funny and my son really milked it all night. </p>
<p>yabe: You have access to your kids FB account? Is that common? (I don’t even have a FB account of my own)</p>
<p>Right now I have access to the g-mail account we set up for my D’s college applications, but only because she didn’t want in the beginning to check it all the time and it made some things easier. Since she’s started using it regularly it’s a verrrry difficult temptation not to read e-mails back and forth with her friends.</p>
<p>Umich: the game will be interesting. But Miss State is really good, and we were just talking last night over dinner whether the Gator Bowl will be the farewell or salvation for RichRod.</p>
<p>Facebook accounts are set by default to be public, but the individual can make any or all parts private. Nonmembers can access FB pages by simply going to Facebook.com and using the search engine.</p>
<p>Wow - I was away for a few days and it took a very long time to catch up with this thread!
momjr, best wishes to your daughter as she recovers. Please read her the riot act about avoiding alcohol! And contact sports, of course. Mono is so common among this age group, as is alcohol, and we should all remind our kids of the dangers of DWI (drinking while infected)! Please continue to update us about your daughter, as well as whether she gets onto another Birthright trip.
And, glad to hear that you are a Pitt fan! Let’s Go Pitt! What do JHU lacrosse fans say? I have to learn this!
Congratulations to mhc’s daughter on Miami of Ohio! It is a popular school here and most students love it.
Whom did I miss? Someone was admitted to SUNY Binghamton - who was it? Congratulations!
kathiep- that is a fascinating story about your grandfather’s burial. I hope that you are able to learn more.
DeskPotato - thank you for posting that wonderful article! To add to it, Israel also sends search and rescue experts to countries where earthquakes and disasters occur. Some countries refuse Israel’s aid, to the detriment of their citizens.
I think that we should all thank store managers or owners wherever Sabra hummus and other Israeli products are sold. (I particularly like the cilantro and basil in little cubes at Trader Joe’s)
Muhlenburg: I actually had the opposite reaction to Allentown - I was expecting much worse because of the song, and thought that buildings were in good shape, occupied, renovated in a historically correct way. We stayed right downtown and I went jogging around and was favorably impressed. Yes, some of the business cater to the lower-income population, but they are active businesses. There is a large Hispanic population. I tend to react very negatively, though, to sprawl with fast food joints, big box stores, or fake-looking construction, etc. - I much prefer to see a “real” area with small businesses like that which surrounds Muhlenburg.
Regarding the large vs. small schools - I agree that all students need to be proactive. I also know a young man who recently flunked out of a small college that has been mentioned on this thread. Do not count on anyone at college noticing or reaching out to students who are slacking - this is just not going to happen anywhere in my opinion. It is of vital importance that we somehow get our students to go after the help that they need, no matter where they go. It sounds like RVM’s son has already done that in high school - so he is well on his way to succeeding.
But this is another challenge with “youngest child syndrome”. How have you gotten your youngest child to go after what he or she needs? So many family patterns delay this behavior for these youngest children. They are so used to being cute and catered to by other family members, that this pattern can continue way beyond the age where it is useful. Thoughts, anyone?</p>
<p>My name is LINYMOM and I am a college-confidential-aholic.</p>
<p>My S (hs soph) got his PRACTICE psat scores back and I’ve started obsessing all over again (did I ever stop?).</p>
<p>Just got the 2011 Best Colleges magazine (book) from US News. Those on this thread may be interested in the section “A+ Schools for B Students” - just need to cross-reference this list with the URJ list from their fall magazine issue (referenced earlier in this thread). If anyone has any specific questions about that section, just pm me.</p>
<p>(Side note: RVM: I saw one of your responses on another thread - I think we are kindred spirits. But, a lot of us here on this thread think alike already…)</p>
<p>Hummmm Levirm, S2 just came home about 30 minutes ago with his brand new driver’s license. …Maybe that’s not exactly what you meant but he is on our way to further independence. I’m on my way to more worry.</p>
<p>LINYMOM…I have to say checking this site has become part of my daily (multi-times) routine…I, too, am addicted.</p>
<p>I received my S2’s (freshman) practice PLAN results a few weeks ago and was very unhappy. Keep telling myself he has plenty of time. I signed him up to receive the SAT Question of the Day through the College Board, and told him he has to do them (he says he is, but who really knows?). Also bought him a fictional book modified by Stanley Kaplan to bold frequently tested words, w/ definitions on the opposite page. Don’t think he’ll start it until summer, but it’s in the house.</p>
<p>A friend was just telling me that Michigan State Univ. is included in the A+ schools for B students. That’s looking like a much more likely prospect for my S2. It also has a pretty significant jewish population and is in-state for us. Unfortunately (maybe), it’s a huge school, but does have a few highly regarded residential programs.</p>
<p>S2 starts his paid ACT prep tomorrow - woo-hoo! He has a good attitude about it (more than half the battle right there) and I have told him if he just gets his score up a little bit in February - we will be done with this piece of the puzzle.</p>
<p>On CC addiction - my family has noticed that I frequently pepper my conversations with - well Yabeyabe said this and Rodney said that - and mhc48 has a lot of the same schools on their list that we do - and college4three also recommends Susquehanna, etc. I talk about all of you guys like you are real people - well you are real people - but you know what I mean. DH and sons think I’m a little nuts!</p>
<p>We live in Allentown and my wife works at Muhlenberg. It is a great school that has a great Jewish population. For what it is worth we never consider the downtown area to be part of the Muhlenberg campus setting. Everything seems to go from Muhlenberg and west toward the more affluent neighborhoods. Certainly a good choice for the B student.</p>
<p>Yes - on the national universities list. Other schools on that list that we’ve talked about here are: Syracuse, Clark, Hofstra, Purdue, Temple, UAB, Delaware, UMBC, UT-Dallas. There’s also a list for national LACs and regional universities (all A+ for the B student).</p>
<p>BTW - I check in here all the time, but if I started talking about all of you to anyone in my family (or even to my friends) they would think I’m absolutely nuts. I’m really between kids now and should just relax, but I guess it’s just not my nature :)</p>
Hope everything is okay.</p>