<p>chocchipcookie- yes I am the one. The main jesuit school in contention is Seattle University. I think it is going downhill fast on the list. The brochure came in the mail yesterday. D didn’t like the 39% male and pretty much was ready to cross it off due to that. H didn’t like the note that it had been founded by the Society of Jesus. So while I think it has some positive things going for it I don’t know if it will stay on the list.
Rodney- Due to the nature of 16 yr old girls the criteria for the list changes daily. Now snowboarding is topping out horses. She loves the idea of Boulder. I don’t like the cost of Boulder. U of Denver is on the list because she should get some merit aid from them. Colorado State I don’t know much about but I think they are part of the WICHE which is a tuition exchange program. Boulder and Univ of Washington are not tuition exchange eligible so while they are nice city though large schools I think they will come out as being costly.
She is finally ready to sit down and make an actual list. I am curious to see what she puts on it without any imput from me or her Dad.</p>
<p>Anyone have any experience with RIT? DS just got a mailing from them today; it looks like it’s going to be easier to get into than other schools he is considering – could even be for a B student for certain majors (with ACT scores 23-27). Wondering about the Jewish life there. I will check Hillel to see what numbers they have, but for real life experience, of course I need to ask you all!</p>
<p>LINYMOM, I have no idea. Just wanted to let you know that my son has a friend from HS that atttends RIT. According to my son he is very happy there. Sorry that I don’t have any other info.</p>
<p>my D ACT score is only a 20 but she is takingit againin Feb,april andJUne. Her GPA is weighted 3.7 cheerlader, soccerplayer andmany extra
My son is a freshmenat UCFandis in AEpi andloves it- he has made so many Jewish friends- I dontknow if my D will get into UMD or delaware: We also saw Florida Atlantic has a good number- She wantswarmand there are not as many Jewish schools with a 10% of students in the south-</p>
<p>Linymom:</p>
<p>Remind us again what your S wants to study? He’s a bit more studious than your D? </p>
<p>Depending on what he wants to study, I would recommend Univ. of Rochester over RIT. However, Univ. of Rochester tends to be a very quiet campus, studious, intellectual kids, large Jewish population…it was on my S’s list and he really liked it a lot. Do not know as much about RIT, but our gc seemed to think it wasn’t for my S, who is very intellectual and needed more of a challenge than RIT would provide. Plus, since it’s a technical school, it’s heavy on male students, not something my S would care for! (Mom60: We completely understand why your D would not want a college with 39% men!) Also, don’t know, Linymom, if your S is looking for a quiet campus, but we really liked the school (Univ. of Rochester) a lot. We know someone here who is a Dentist, Jewish (of course) who did his undergrad at Rochester, he grew up on Long Island! He loved it back then too.</p>
<p>Mom60: What year in h.s. is your D? Interesting how the list changes and what was once a priority then takes the back burner. Maybe without the equestrian she will find herself with many more choices. A school founded by the Society of Jesus would not sit well in my household either! I’d love to hear about your D’s list when you guys put it together! :)</p>
<p>Mom60 - You may already know this but the Society of Jesus is the name for the Jesuits - they are one in the same. You will see that at every Jesuit school Just an FYI:)</p>
<p>Welcome to the new posters! You will find that this a great thread!</p>
<p>We’ve visited a couple of schools recently mentioned - RIT and UVM. I may have done a visit report on one or both of them. RIT is a really neat college for techy minded kids. My nephew is a sophomore there and my son has applied and is awaiting a decision. They have a very good summer program called Colleges and Careers [RIT</a> College & Careers Homepage](<a href=“http://www.rit.edu/emcs/admissions/careers/]RIT”>http://www.rit.edu/emcs/admissions/careers/) where kids choose a couple of potential majors and then go to 45 min. presentations by the professors about the major and what careers they could lead to. Both of my sons did it and thought it was quite helpful. It’s only offered to rising Seniors. They have information for the parents at the same time. I wish more colleges offered a similar program. One thing that is impressive about RIT is their co-op program. Co-ops are paid jobs and mandatory in (I think) all majors.</p>
<p>UVM is a beautiful small (for a public) college but they do seem to have a lot of large classes. My son decided not to apply there after visiting mainly because of that and also it’s quite expensive for OOS. They have been known to give merit aid, but I don’t think it’s a lot to OOS B students. Son did apply to the other two Burlington area colleges, St. Michaels and Champlain. He’ll hear from Champlain soon and was accepted at St. Mike’s with merit aid.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, not being Jewish, I don’t know about that angle at any of the colleges.</p>
<p>I can’t give you statistics but there are plenty of Jews at UVM. I know of 3 kids who are freshmen there from our Long Island high school and all 3 are Jewish. There is an active Hillel. Lots of kids who applied there also applied to Boulder. Burlington is a great city and there are direct flights from LaGuardia.</p>
<p>mom60, a friend of mine from synagogue has a D at Seattle U and they have an active hillel that is a joint entity with (I think) University of Washington. Her D went on a service trip during a school break with Hillel and has made great friends, both Jewish and nonJewish there. I could find out more details but I know her religion is important to her and that she is leading an active reform Jewish life there. It may not be the right fit for other reasons but you might want to inquire further before dismissing it based on its Jesuit origins.</p>
<p>choc: DS is my A student. Interested in science/engineering. Loves Lehigh (honors integrated business and engineering program). Other schools we will look at: JHU, Tufts, RPI, Wash Univ, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, maybe Tulane, Binghamton (must have a SUNY on the list). Penn State has an integrated business and engineering program too - not sure how he feels about a huge school but we need a range as the other schools are so competitive (Penn State is too but he will have the stats). We will probably make a trip to Rochester (one of my college roommates lives there; her DH is a prof at UofR); if we go, we will visit both schools. UofR has a big Jewish population; the Hillel website shows that RIT doesn’t, but we may just go and find out for ourselves. Schools for the B+/B students will likely be his safeties but you know what they say: Love thy safety!!</p>
<p>Hi again Linymom:</p>
<p>We looked at many of those schools too. One thing I will tell you about U of Roch is that it was named in 2007 as a “New Ivy” by Newsweek Magazine. … The adcom that has posted on college confidential is Mike Conklin. Oh, you probably know all this info. already if your roommate’s H is a prof there! :)</p>
<p>My nephew is a senior at Vanderbilt…loved it. Several of my S’s friends from up here in the Northeast have applied to Vandy RD and are awaiting their acceptances.</p>
<p>Jeez, everyone, cc CAN be addicting! I can’t seem to stay away from it this weekend! Well, the football games will be starting soon and I’ll be busy with that!</p>
<p>Linymom: Forgot to ask you:
You don’t have Carnegie Mellon on your list? Is that a possible? We looked there and liked it but it was too far of a drive for us…big in Science and in Business…great Hillel building.</p>
<p>We seem to go around and around with many of the same colleges on this thread…</p>
<p>Regarding UVM - Peonies - My soph S went to UVM to study Environmental Science, definitely a strength of the school. Since then, he has made a complete turnaround and is likely majoring in English and History with an eye toward law school. He has had some wonderful professors. His largest classes have had around 100 students, however, the majority of his courses have had between 25 and 50. He enjoys the class discussion and accessibility of the majority of his professors. He definitely feels like most of his profs know who he is.</p>
<p>S is a very bright kid who was extremely uninspired in high school. He is a kid who loves to learn, but is not into chasing the grades. If he felt the homework was useless, he saw no reason to complete the assignment. I have seen none of this in college. His grades have been great and he feels challenged by the coursework and his classmates.</p>
<p>I can’t really talk to Jewish life on campus since my S has not participated. I can say that there is a significant Jewish population on campus, probably 15 -20%, and he certainly has made some Jewish friends. He did attend a Hanukkah party at a friend’s house… lit the menorah, ate chicken soup and latkes! </p>
<p>Burlington is a wonderful place to go to school, if you can stand the cold! S has never once complained about the weather. He says that he has learned to dress for it and it doesn’t bother him. The scenery is beautiful, and it sounds like the kids take advantage of the town. S frequently goes to concerts, clubs, restaurants, skiing etc.</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Vermont has had a close relationship with folks from the New York City tri-state region. It’s right up the Hudson River Valley, so was a popular vacation spot/direct shot from NYC into New England. For some it was the fastest way to get from NYC into Northern New England, driving or by train due north from “The City.” </p>
<p>Starting around 1970, many second homes and ski vacations occurred which increases a family’s comfort zone with a cold Northern state like Vermont. Some second homes became year-round retirement locations for Jewish families, and there are some vibrant synagogues in Vermont small/medium sized communities. </p>
<p>Vermont’s liberal/green consciousness has been there a long time, with many progressive state laws passed early on re: the environment, for example. </p>
<p>It doesn’t surprise me to hear the UVM is now a popular destination for Jewish college-bound kids. My brothers and mom live in the next-door, upside-down state of New Hampshire where the Jewish migration derives more from the Boston metropolitan area. But NYC is so much more populous, Jewishly, than Boston! Jewish/NYC patterrns have had a big impact on Vermont since l970; plus being a good cultural blend with a lot of native-born Vermont Yankee values. </p>
<p>Cholent = chowdah = chili (often vegetarian), warm slow-cooked on a cold Russian, I mean, VERMONT winter day. I don’t think Tevye (from Fiddler On the Roof) ever skiied - downhill or cross-country - but some of his descendants have learned how to enjoy the winter.</p>
<p>Mom2009 writes:
</p>
<p>My kids at LAC’s never had a class with over 25 students and many classes had 15. When we were visiting colleges, we got used to hearing 25 as the maximum number at just about all LAC’s,so when we visited UVM and heard about their “small” classes meaning less then 50, it was a turn off for my son, especially when the cost is the same as the LAC’s with smaller classes. I think we both figured that if he was okay with the larger class sizes, why not just go to an in-state public?</p>
<p>However, we both loved Burlington and I think son’s first and second choice colleges may both be there, just not UVM. BTW, this is not to knock UVM, just that each person has to figure out what they want from a college.</p>
<p>Wow, I am new to this particular thread. I have spent the past 18 months on the University of Texas site. I was informed of this thread via email, and have spent many hours reading the history. Quite dense. I am most interested as D2 is a junior in high school. By way of introduction, I am a culturally jewish, hardly religious dad, who grew up in Mass. and has lived since post college in LA. My wife is also jewish from NJ. My oldest d, is a soph. at UT. She absolutely loves it. For those who do not know, or for Spectrum, there is a large jewish population at UT. Hillel claims 4k, but I think that is an overstatement. Like many large publics, many of the jewish kids stick together. My d lived in a private dorm that housed 750 kids, and I would estimate that 80% were jewish. She pledged a jewish Sorority, and now lives in the house. She socializes primarily with all the jewish greeks. She loves Austin, UT, and the communication school. She chose UT, over Wisconsin, Maryland, Washington, Indiana, Penn St., And Delaware. She got into others as well. We looked at all of the above, and spent a great deal of time traveling to look. She just got back from Birthright last week, and had the best week of her life.<br>
We live in a very jewish suburb. I would estimate that it is 50- 60% jewish at our public schools. We have sent our three kids east every summer to Maine, where they attend summer camps that are 95% jewish, though no religious affiliation. That is a long winded way of saying that they live and socialize among jews. Each D wanted or wants to go to a school where this a decent size population of jewish kids.</p>
<p>Enough history. D2 is a true B student. As I have read, most of your kids are not really B students. They are much higher than you give your kids credit. If a 3.0 is a B, and 3.3 is a B+, and 3.7 is an A-, most of you here have A- students. Congrats. Your kids are doing great. D1 is among most of your kids. D2 is a 3.2 GPA. She works her ass off(much harder than her sister) to get mostly B’s with an occasional A and C. She does not take AP or Honors. She is middle of the road. Her PSAT’s were dreadful. She is being tutored, but I would venture to guess she will end up with 450-500 on each part. She has great EC’s.
D2, like her sister, does not want to attend school in Ca. She wants to have an adventure. They like East coast kids. D1 discovered that Texas Jews are great as well. Her dream school is Indiana(I doubt she will get in,thoughts?). I think Pitt and Delaware would also be great for her, though I doubt those are obtainable. Thoughts? I am trying to develop some more ideas. My general feeling is that Private schools are worth it if you are going to a top 25 school. If not, you can get better value in a public. D1 wanted to go to Syracuse, I showed her how Wisconsin, Maryland, and Texas were higher ranked. I feel this way for D2 as well. I am not totally closed to private, but would prefer public. (D1 became instate this year at UT, and Tuition is only 9k, instead of 31K).
D2 will apply to Arizona(prefers not to go), Kansas( a large midwest Jewish population, this is the new Indiana. Easy to get into, rah rah, private jewish freshman dorm) and Boulder.</p>
<p>SO this is where I need help. I need to expand her list of schools to consider. How is U-Mass? I hear they are hurting from budget cuts. Any thoughts? How hard is Michigan St. to get into? Miami of Ohio? long shot for her? Is Florida St. in her realm? Does anyone know about the jewish experience at USF? Is UCF any good? What is a better school Hartford, Quinnipiac or Ithaca? Could she get in to U Conn?(saw this for D1. Very remote. not sure D2 would like remote nature, but it is an up and coming institution, I think). Is UVM out of her reach, and how cold is it?</p>
<p>I realize that I went on. Sorry. I have posed many questions. I am sure many will get answered. Thank you for starting this thread RVM, and I could use some help for a true Jewish B student.</p>
<p>Warm regards</p>
<p>socaldad: alot of the schools you list for D2 are going to dependent on her SAT/ACT score…please, please have her try the ACT as well; my daughter was running near your daughter’s numbers on the PSAT as well, switched to the ACT and ended up with a decent score…of course, if not, there are a bunch of test optional schools as well on [The</a> National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org%5DThe”>http://www.fairtest.org)</p>
<p>While you mention that she wants an east coast school with a decent Jewish population, the ones you mentioned are all quite large for the most part…are you sure that she wants a very large school?..(of Hartford, Quinn, and Ithaca they are each strong in different areas of study, but all for the same caliber of students (although I think? Hartford may be a small step below the other two-these are not large schools though)
…</p>
<p>UMass definitely fits the bill as does Towson, College of Charleston, University of Rhode Island</p>
<p>interesting about Kansas; I had known about the large Jewish population but could never get a true read on academics, etc…thanks for those comments!!</p>
<p>oh, and btw, there are still alot of us on this thread whose kids veer more towards the 3.0 rather than the 3.3 or higher…but we welcome all comers…</p>
<p>socaldad: Welcome to our thread. You have already contributed so much in that one post! As background for you, my DD is at UDel; I consider her a B (B+) student as she had a 3.6 weighted GPA; ACT 26 (SAT CR/M was 1130).</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Florida schools, but I would make a fairly educated guess about these three: (1) Ithaca (2) Quinn (3) Hartford. Of those three, I have only visited Hartford and I think it is a great school for a student of that academic level. Very jewish. Nice campus. We liked the feel of it. A lot of kids from here go there for musical education. We also visited UMass - DD didn’t like it, but that was probably bc it was Presidents Day and admissions was not prepared for the huge crowds and our tour group was HUGE. I know someone whose DD goes there (was her top choice) and she loves it. She’s Jewish but I have no idea if she is involved on campus. I think it’s worth a shot for your DD. It’s not near a city, but it’s in a major college area. My DD liked UConn, despite the location (and was accepted) It seemed to us that it was a big enough school with a lot going on that she wouldn’t be looking for off campus activities. Has your DD tried the ACT? Perhaps that test will be better suited for her.</p>
<p>choc: CMU - I need to look into that…thanks.</p>
<p>Cross-posted with rodney - totally agree on Towson and URI!! My DD applied to both as they fit our needs with Jewish population and level of college rah-rah (which the SUNY schools don’t have).</p>