Colleges for the Jewish "B" student (Part 1)

<p>spectrum2: I’ve been through this once with D1 (HS class of 09) and am gearing up to do it again with D2 (HS class of 12). for basic info, you can start by searching a college’s website for a Jewish students group/Hillel, and checking out the calendar to see how active the group is. (IMO, the national Hillel site is really unreliable - info is often out of date or otherwise incorrect.) someone upthread suggested Googling “Jewish life at xyz college”. there have been many articles in the media about Muhlenberg’s Jewish population, for example.</p>

<p>agree with LINYMOM - it really was the campus visit that helped. at one LAC we attended Shabbat services and D felt very much at home with the students. at another LAC with a very small but active Jewish student group, she had lunch with some Jewish students, but couldn’t see herself fitting into this group. all very subjective, of course, and it really depends on what kind of Jewish involvement your S is looking for.</p>

<p>Thank you for your descriptions. You saved me the time and money to take some schools off our to visit list.</p>

<p>Here are some descriptions: George Mason has a nice campus and good majors. There is a shuttle between the Metro train station and campus to D.C. However, we did not like the dorms, did not like the food, the area walking distance of campus had little there for a student (need a car for more resources), and I honestly feel resources for a Jewish student is extremely limited (did not see Hillel advertised). I think there are better choices if you want a reasonably active Jewish community. I do not see the value of paying OOS tuition. It is a good choice for in-state Virginia, non-Jewish person who wants to be close to DC.</p>

<p>We love UT Dallas which has a beautiful, new, modern Business school and the best student housing I have ever seen in a pleasant neighborhood. However, we heard the school uses Hillel at SMU which is far away and might start a Hillel next year. I did not sense an active Jewish community, and did not understand why given that it is driving distance of a Jewish community in Dallas. If you get a $1,000. merit scholarship given by UT Dallas, you can get in-state tuition.</p>

<p>Salisbury-nothing there for Jewish students, the surrounding area is nothing special, but the campus and programs were very nice.</p>

<p>Towson-has what Rockville mom is looking for, but might be too big for her son. The building for the Business school is very old. Surrounding neighborhood is nice.</p>

<p>UMBC-does not have a Business school. Thought it had the best food for the Maryland schools we visited. Off the main highway.</p>

<p>I appreciate everyone’s input. Now we are down to just 3 schools to apply to: UT Dallas,
Towson and USC (reach). One thing to consider is going to the local community college and then applying as a transfer student to a better school such as USC. Marshall Business at USC is one of the best, and the Jewish resources are adequate at USC. My older son goes to USC and loves it there. With the addition of a second child in college, I have to keep my costs down.</p>

<p>George Mason: Lacking for Jewish students.</p>

<p>Towson: Has all that Rockville mom is looking for.</p>

<p>UT Dallas: Fantastic school, new Business school, beautiful housing-limited for Jewish students although may start a Hillel next year.</p>

<p>USC: Great Business school, adequate for Jewish students (Hillel, Chabad, Hebrew Union College offers classes, study abroad in Israel).</p>

<p>Sallisbury: Nothing there for Jewish students</p>

<p>Thanks for the info on this thread. We are dropping JMU and U. of Delaware from our to visit list.</p>

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<p>Why dropping U Delaware? Posts here seemed to sound positive?</p>

<p>The big plus of U. Delaware is the Amtrak train has a stop there. However, we heard the surrounding area is not great. Please correct me if mistaken about the surrounding area.
My son wants a nice, middle class surrounding area with some decent (not fast food) type of restaurants plus a grocery store. Also, my son is interested in a major in Actuary Science which I did not see on the U. Delaware web site. This major is offered at UT Dallas.</p>

<p>Thought some parents might find this interesting. Union for Reform Judiasm is coming out with their 5TH ANNUAL RJ INSIDER’S GUIDE TO COLLEGE LIFE - FALL 2010</p>

<p>Looks like it has a lot of good content. I am not sure if we can post links or how best to do it.</p>

<p>If you google the title you will come to the page and how to order it.</p>

<p>Disclaimer, I am not affiliated with the publication…I am not even Reform…LOL!</p>

<p>^^We found the articles to be very helpful in 2007 and 2008, prior to D’09’s college search. You can search for college issue articles from their home page: [Reform</a> Judaism Magazine - Home](<a href=“http://reformjudaismmag.org/]Reform”>http://reformjudaismmag.org/)</p>

<p>Original request was for mid-Atlantic…so I didn’t include Miami of Ohio…but seems to fit the profile for some others on this site. They have a minor in actuarial science.</p>

<p>The have a Jewish studies program, Jewish Frat, Jewish Sorority and very active Hillel programming - based on the calendar on their website.</p>

<p>Price instate is very good. Price for out of state isn’t as high as most privates.</p>

<p>DI sports…but…mostly not national television. Still trying to get someone from my house to consider this school…</p>

<p>We found the RJ Magazine guide to be extremely helpful in D’s search. She used it to “triangulate” against schools on her list. In addition to the list itself, they also have a number of useful articles each year about transitioning to college, options for establishing Jewish identity, etc. I also see that URJ Press has recently published a book called Jewish U. – I haven’t seen it but may order a copy for D.</p>

<p>We came at this from a somewhat different direction than rockvillemom. I would also describe D as a strong B student although she had a few significant EC’s and spent a semester in Israel. We’re in CA, in the suburbs with a pretty small Jewish community. D has spent every summer since 4th grade at Jewish camp. When she came back from Israel, she was determined to go to a college with both a strong Jewish presence and strong support for Israel, which for her meant heading east. Support for Israel is important — there are a number of schools in CA where you could find a significant Jewish population but not feel comfortable being pro-Israel.</p>

<p>^^srco: be especially careful about looking at schools with supposed “pro-Israel” support; the number of Jewish students on campus is not necessarily an indication ( as has been evidenced by the recent incidents at Emory University)…</p>

<p>2boysima: I have looked at Miami of Ohio a number of times; is it a match for the “B” OOS student or more of a reach?</p>

<p>

I really don’t want to turn this into a political discussion, but simply being in the east does not guarantee campus support for Israel. There was significant protest this spring at *Brandeis<a href=“!”>/i</a> against the commencement speaker, Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the US. Danny Gordis has written a couple of excellent columns in the Jerusalem Post about the declining support for Israel on US college campuses. [If</a> This is Our Future | Daniel Gordis - Dispatches from an Anxious State](<a href=“http://danielgordis.org/2010/05/07/if-this-is-our-future/]If”>http://danielgordis.org/2010/05/07/if-this-is-our-future/) and [The</a> Storm Ahead | Daniel Gordis - Dispatches from an Anxious State](<a href=“http://danielgordis.org/2010/05/28/the-storm-ahead/]The”>http://danielgordis.org/2010/05/28/the-storm-ahead/)</p>

<p>It’s not so much unquestioning support for Israel that D2 will be looking for, but a campus culture that is open to constructive and thoughtful debate. The best way I know to gauge this is to read the campus newspaper and talk to current students.</p>

<p>This is one of the things I’m trying to figure out how to research.
My daughter wants to study Arabic and Middle East Studies, but doesn’t want to be in a floridly anti-Israel atmosphere. It doesn’t have to be monolithically pro-Israel, but she doesn’t want to feel awkward and uncomfortable as a Jew.</p>

<p>When we draw a Venn diagram representing:</p>

<ol>
<li>Schools that offer Arabic/Middle Eastern Studies without an anti-Israel vibe</li>
<li>Schools with a vibrant Jewish community </li>
<li>Schools that are small enough to suit my daughter’s preferences</li>
<li>Schools where she has a shot at admission</li>
</ol>

<p>We wind up with a concerningly short list!</p>

<p>DeskPotato, one of those criteria may have to go, and it looks like the “small” criteria is the most likely one. Please know that many larger universities have strategies to create smaller communities within them. You can look for special interest housing, residential college systems, or just good attention to student life for indicators.
As for indicators of relations between Jews and Muslims, perhaps you could look for food service venues that are jointly Kosher and Hallal, a Jewish-Muslim-Christian dialogue, and joint Yom Kippur/Ramadan break the fast events when they coincide. If these things do not exist, perhaps our students could start them!
DeskPotato, would your daughter consider going to school in Israel?</p>

<p>She wants to spend a year in Israel before college.
She would probably spend junior year in Arab-speaking countries.
Her objective is to become fluent in both Hebrew and Arabic. She also took a little continuing ed class in Farsi and might try to pick up some more.</p>

<p>We have identified four non-huge schools (three we think are matches and one reach) that fit the bill, and our local public flagship (although huge) has a good program as well and a huge Jewish enrollment. She hasn’t ruled it out, but doesn’t want to look anywhere else huge. (She says, “If I’m going to go to a huge school, why go out of state?”) Otherwise, I think UMass, Indiana, and Wisconsin might need a closer look.</p>

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<p>I know someone who’s there now. Her weighted and unweighted h.s. gpa was 3.4. Not any special hook or anything, either. Does that qualify as a B student?</p>

<p>Here’s a list of schools recommended so far. Not all of these meet the OP’s specific question, and some have received more positive comments than others.
Adelphi
Allegheny
American
ASU
Bard
Bentley
Boston U
Brandeis
Bryant
Bucknell
CS Northridge
CS San Diego
CS San Francisco
Carnegie Mellon
Case Western
Chapman
Clark
College of Charleston
Colorado State
Davidson
Dickinson
Drew
Drexel
Duquesne
Eastern Connecticut
Eckerd
Elizabethtown
Elon
Franklin & Marshall
George Mason
George Washington
Gettysburg
Goucher
Guilford
Hampshire
High Point
Hofstra
Ithaca
James Madison
Juniata
Lafayette
Lehigh
Mary Washington
McDaniel
Miami U Ohio
Muhlenberg
Northeastern
Pitzer
Pomona
Quinnipiac
Rhodes
Roanoke
Rutgers
Salisbury
Shippensburg
Skidmore
Springfield
Stanford
Stevenson
St Mary’s
SUNY Albany
SUNY Binghamton
SUNY Brockport
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Cortland
SUNY New Paltz
SUNY Stony Brook
Susquehanna
Syracuse
Temple
Towson
Tulane
U Alabama
U Arizona
U Boulder
UCLA
U Delaware
U Denver
U Hartford
U Kansas
UMass Amherst
UMDCP
UMDBC
U Miami
U Michigan
UNC Greensboro
U Penn
U Pittsburgh
U Puget Sound
U Richmond
U Rochester
USC
UT Dallas
U Washington
U Wisconsin
Ursinus
Vanderbilt
West VA U
William & Mary
Williams
Yeshiva
York College of PA</p>

<p>Cool list has been brainstormed here. I’ve gotta say, though, that Stanford, UPenn and Williams on a list for B students is unusual. Other than that, a nice result from this thread!~</p>

<p>To quote (don’t know who): “A camel is a horse put together by a committee.” Good camel!!</p>

<p>I also look forward now every Fall to the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) publication [<b>RJ Insider’s Guide to College Life</b> - URJ](<a href=“http://urj.org/feeds/youth/?syspage=bookmark&item_id=6637”>http://urj.org/feeds/youth/?syspage=bookmark&item_id=6637&lt;/a&gt;) every year since it began doing that service. And I wouldn’t always hold Hillel to task for inaccurate Jewish registration. A lot depends on how the college asks for that info. Some students just don’t want to write that down, anywhere. It’s up to the students to come out and show up to an event. Nobody can read their minds if they spend 4 years everywhere but Hillel.</p>

<p>Case in point: when we took son to Chapman in So. Cal (which, BTW, is good for a business as well as film major…) we already knew their official statistic for Jewish population was l0%. My H looked around at so many kids unpacking wearing identifying clothing, from Chai and mezuzah necklaces (boys and girls) to baseball caps with Hebrew letters, he felt it <em>had</em> to be more than 10%. But he has selective vision for that dynamic, so who knows.</p>

<p>Other sources for exploring: if you have in your home region a Jewish Youth Group advisor, clergy, or anyone adult who’s seen several years of h.s. students coming and going to college, you can ask where people have found a happy result. Those would be the kids who are alert in h.s. that they want Jewish activity on campus, so it’s a good feedback. The adult Synagogue/Temple Youth Group advisors, if they’re good, have more years of experience than any individual student or family. You don’t have to know them, but can phone or email them to pick their brains. Or ask the rabbi which teacher (religious school or public) or parents (that temple or a different synagogue…) seems to know the older Jewish teen students of the community best. There’s often one adult who is just in tune with that demographic, that the teens like best to talk with.</p>

<p>Can someone tell me more about Elon?</p>

<p>^ College4three, welcome! Have you tried the search function on this thread? </p>

<p>Go up to top right of page, click “search this thread” and type in searchword “Elon” to see what’s already been said. It should put the word ELON in bright colors throughout the thread so you can pick out posts that mentioned it very readily.</p>

<p>Then if you have more questions, I hope you’ll come back here to ask away !!</p>

<p>^ thank you. I’m actually not new to this thread, just wondering if anyone had any specific impressions. I will do the search you recommended!</p>