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

Parents Forum
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<p>socaldad: we are in NJ; and my daughter’s GPA was lower than your daughter’s currently is…but Elon really loves our school and they understand the rigor…
so don’t count Elon (or similar school)out; fwiw, they record weighted GPA’s on their common data set and North Carolina weighting is insane…</p>

<p>like I said MUCH earlier, alot is going to depend on the ACT/SAT score even for the rest of the schools on your list; her GPA is fine for Indiana, Miami of Ohio, College of Charleston,etc, but they are stats driven places…anything below a 26-27 on the ACT and the equivalent on the SAT may be a stretch…at least from this person’s perspective…and that is corresponding to the GPA you state…obviously, kids with higher GPA’s have a little more leeway with the standardized test scores…</p>

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<p>Rodney, thanks. Used to spend summers on the jersey shore. LBI. fond memories.
I think you are right. We will have to see if tutoring helps her SAT scores. This will be one long journey. Happy to have all you along for the ride</p>

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<p>well, if you are going to keep us “in your thoughts” PLEASE have her take an ACT at some point during her tutoring…you may be pleasantly surprised (as we were)…</p>

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<p>I visited York with my oldest son a few years ago. The campus is very nice and compact but there’s really not a downtown or anything to walk to. A friend of my son’s is planning on attending there. In fact, it was the only college that he applied to. My impression is that they had a nice endowment and used their money wisely. If I remember correctly they don’t build anything until it’s already paid for. Fendergirl, who posts on the parents cafe, graduated from York about 5 years ago. It looks nicer then it did when I visited - [York</a> College of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.ycp.edu/12175.htm]York”>http://www.ycp.edu/12175.htm)</p>

<p>I think going ED at Elon is a huge boost. Isn’t the accepted percentage much higher for ED applicants?</p>

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<p>socal: On UT vs TAMU. It actually surprised all of us how warm and inviting TAMU was. I am so glad to hear that UT has such a cohesive Jewish community. When visiting UT there is really very little that tells a student it is a tight community. After going on visits with both of my S’s each time I got the feeling it was up to the student to find their own community but that there were infinite options and possibilities. Contrasting this, TAMU conveys that they are one large community in a way that no other large school I’ve been to does. There seems to be an Aggie bond that crosses generations. They immediately tell you about their numerous traditions that I guess (as in Judiasm) bond the community. S2 is the kind of kid who doesn’t cross paths with many strangers so I think he would find his way in either school. It is in some ways a relief that he loves TAMU because his chances for admission in general and to the B-program specifically are much better for TAMU. He will probably apply to both but I am not going to attempt to explore the strengths of UT with him until he is admitted. Its much better to love a match than a reach! It seems like you have done a fair amount of searching so I expect that you know that the TX schools aren’t right for your D. I just want to be sure you understand that Texas Tech and Lubbock has a very different feeling than UT San Antonio or Texas State in San Marcos. I think most will find the latter two locations much more enjoyable college towns. I can however, clearly see where none may be right.</p>

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<p>Just a quick detour from college talk…
I was in my mom’s senior citizen’s apt building today. In the lobby was a snow man made out of white sheets. He was holding a sign that said “Think Snow”. I’m just guessing that many of you have thought about as much snow as you would like to by now. As for us, this is probably as close to snow as we will get this season :)</p>

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<p>Very cute, Spectrum! ;)</p>

<p>Yes, most of us in the rest of the country have had way more than our share of snow this winter! And weather reports say that more is on the way…I believe we are going to have floods when this starts melting! I also saw on the news that the same weather pattern is going to continue for the Spring with continued storms in the form of rain showers, oh boy! :)</p>

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<p>kathiep - yes - Elon is a good example of a school where there is a huge boost for applying ED - which is why S2 may very well go that route. He loves the school - DH and I do as well - it is at the top of our budget - but not out of the question - has the majors/minors he wants, climate, within driving range, etc. We are going back again in April to visit again - just to be sure. On some level - I’d prefer he apply to 6-8 schools and see where he is accepted, where he gets merit money, etc., - but I would hate to have him apply EA and be deferred - he is too borderline to take that risk. Plus - he does not want to visit more schools. I would still like to see Muhlenberg, for example, but S2 seems to be done!</p>

<p>He has been diligently working on the ACT - and his practice test scores are going up! Keeping fingers crossed for 2/12.</p>

<p>On snow - their 2nd semester started Tuesday - and we were closed Wed - Fri! So, off to a bumpy start. I know he is getting some work assignments on-line - but not sure how effective that is. School tomorrow for sure - and then - the next storm hits! I think they are out of snow days as well.</p>

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<p>My DD is visiting a friend at Temple University this weekend… made me wonder about Jewish life there (DD’s friend isn’t Jewish). From what I know, it would be appropriate for a B student. Just checked Hillel website – despite the name of the school, looks like less than 10 percent Jewish (according the website, FWIW), although there seems to be a lot of Jewish activities there. And it’s in Philly, so you’re not isolated from the rest of the community. I don’t know if we’ve talked about Temple U at all here. Might be a fit for some. Does anyone have any experience? </p>

<p>RVM: how do you implement “practice ACT” with your DS? I’d like to try that with my DS. I will have time to do this with him before his sport starts in March.</p>

<p>BTW - I built my first snowman yesterday in a loonnng time! LOL! If I can’t see my lawn – and I don’t think I will see it for a long time; more snow coming this week – I might as well pretend to enjoy the white stuff!</p>

<p>One more BTW - For the most part, we stick to the topic of this thread. I have absolutely no problem chatting about cosmos and snow and anything else every now and again. Everyone can join in.</p>

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<p>LINYMOM - I have purchased several ACT prep books - but the red one - the Real ACT - is the best one - most closely correlates to real ACT test. And I just tell him that he will be doing a practice test this weekend - we usually break it into 2 sittings of 2 sections each - and he picks when to get it done. Then we score it together and he goes over the answers he missed. I paid for 3 private sessions of tutoring just on the reading section - since that is his weakest area - he didn’t think it helped that much - not worth the money in his opinion - so we have discontinued that. I do think the ACT is a test you can practice for and improve on as timing is so crucial. When we started this journey back in July - he could not finish any section consistently. He now finishes every section except for reading and almost finishes that one.</p>

<p>So basically - it is the two of us making a commitment to do this and then me letting him have control over when he does it - as long as we have a test done at the end of the weekend. We have been doing this for the past few weekends - doing one more next weekend - and then we are done! We have agreed that 2/12 will be it. I’m hoping for some improvement over September’s scores - but whatever the outcome - we have agreed that this is it. I have seen a lot of statistics that students don’t generally improve on a 3rd or 4th try and I think we are both weary of ACT practice tests. The April and June test dates are already busy weekends for us - and I do not want testing hanging over his head into senior year. He’s made a great effort and I am proud of him no matter the score.</p>

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<p>Looks to have quite a bit of Jewish life:</p>

<p>[Welcome</a> to the Edward H. Rosen Hillel Center for Jewish Life at Temple University](<a href=“HILLEL AT TEMPLE UNIVERSITY”>HILLEL AT TEMPLE UNIVERSITY)</p>

<p>Many Jewish groups beyond Hillel:</p>

<p>“The Rosen Hillel Center for Jewish Life at Temple University is comprised of the different Jewish student networks on campus who have varied and diverse interests in Jewish life. On any given day, students belonging to these networks may hold meetings, organize programs or work with staff consultants to plan the direction for the future of Jewish students on campus. Some of the Jewish networks already flourishing on campus include, JOB(Jewish Organization of Business), QJew(GLBTQ), Koach(Conservative Movement), Kesher(Reform Movement), JLife, TSI(Temple Students for Israel), and JIGL(Jews in Greek Life).”</p>

<p>This article is from Sept. 2009 - but gives a good overview of Jewish life at Temple Univ.:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/19589/[/url]”>http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/19589/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>"For decades, many considered Temple to be Philadelphia’s “Jewish school,” as it not only drew from the region’s hearty Jewish population, but because it was less expensive compared to other schools in the area.</p>

<p>For many years, though, Jewish life on campus meant little more than a preponderance of Jewish students; but now, as the current academic year gets under way, all signs point to a renaissance of Jewish activity at the university.</p>

<p>What may be most significant about the current spate of Jewish renewal on campus is that it’s all come to fruition at about the same moment.</p>

<p>Chief among those developments is the long-awaited completion of the new Edward H. Rosen Hillel Center at Temple University, a $6 million construction project to replace the existing Hillel."</p>

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<p>I apologize in advance if this question seems unusual but welcome feedback from other parents. Do you think it is sufficient to briefly visit Hillel on a campus visit, or is it better to plan to attend a Friday night dinner to get a better picture of what it is like before commiting to the university?</p>

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<p>Linymom: My daughter had good luck with the red “Real ACT” prep book, and the Kaplan ACT prep book. The Kaplan book gave a lot of helpful tips and strategies. </p>

<p>Please let us know your daughter’s impression of Temple. I considered this school for D2, but was told that it is in a bad area of the city. My older daughter loves going to school in Philly. Drexel is another option for “B” students. A lot of students from my daughter’s class applied as a safety because they have rolling admissions and reply very quickly.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice on ACT prep. I know my cousin had his daughter practice a lot and it really helped. Got her up to a 28 and she got into her 1st choice for the Fall (UCF). DS will start on this next week (not that he knows that yet!).</p>

<p>My DD’s first impression of Temple (she called me last night) was that she would not be happy going to school in the city. She also didn’t like having to pay for parties. Picking her up at the train station soon so will find out more.</p>

<p>If you have time, it’s definitely worth having dinner at Hillel and attending a service. Just nice to talk to the kids. At one school (I talked about this way up-thread), a couple of Hillel freshmen gave us the campus tour because there was none available that day from admissions. That gave us some good insights too.</p>

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<p>mdcissp - the technique I used for S1 and am using for S2 is to e-mail the Hillel president or other officer and make plans to have a current Hillel member meet us for a chat/lunch. Trying to time our visit to coincide with a Friday night service or dinner never worked for us. Since I have boys I always try to set this up with a guy if possible - if I can get a guy who is in Hillel and also has the same academic interests - I’ve hit the jackpot! Although S1 is not active in Hillel at Wake (unfortunately) the meeting I set up for him to meet a Jewish student at Wake as he was making his final decision was very helpful. He later told me that was one of the best things I had done in conjunction with his college process!</p>

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<p>mdcissp,</p>

<p>I think going to a Shabbat dinner is a great idea. For one thing, you would learn a lot about the students just by observing them! And it would give you and your son a chance to meet students who could answer questions in a conversational atmosphere, about the school, various programs he might be interested in, and Jewish life on the campus. A lot of what parents and students hear from official reps of any school or organization is somewhat canned, rather than candid…so any chance to interact in an informal and unprogrammed environment is a good thing.</p>

<p>Congratulations to your son for scoring so many excellent choices…you must be very proud of him!</p>

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<p>I am anxious that a visit to Hillel Shabbat dinner could be a deal breaker or deal maker with the final college choice. For example, we looked at a You Tube of Binghamton Chabad, and it looks phenomenal. On the other hand, one Hillel we visited, did not feel like a fit at all, and no application to that particular university resulted.</p>

<p>I like Rockville Mom’s idea of contacting Hillel in advance for lunch with a student. But, I can envision my son looking at the big picture–this looks good and I am coming back, or the opposite can happen. Not sure that meeting one student will make a big difference.</p>

<p>Parents here–have any of you been to Hillel at Towson and Binghamton? I would like to hear more about these Hillels.</p>

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<p>^^I am honestly not sure of the benefit of contacting Hillels at schools where the Jewish population is enormous (like Binghamton)…I think it would be much more beneficial to go to the new student union food court and just sit there and see the students at the school; go to College in the Woods and see who is hanging out on the stairs etc…go to the library first floor and the basement of the library building where alot of kids hang out…there is a huge Jewish population of all shapes and sizes and religious backgrounds for everybody…</p>

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<p>

Were these comparing similar situations (Shabbat meal, for example?). Youtube as posted by an organization is guaranteed to show a vibrant moment, and more power to them for putting their best foot forward. If someone stops into a Hillel lounge or office midweek, it could be a veryl dull, random moment with no energy. It’s an office, after all. </p>

<p>I suggest you or your child email the Hillel president or advisor well in advance. Ask that person what are “some” (several) suggestions for visiting at times where “the best energy” can be seen. Perhaps there is a Shabbat meal, Sunday bagel brunch, Saturday night folkdancing, or even an interesting planning meeting midweek. Perhaps they want to have several people meet your child by appointment. I always recommend sending to the student president with a copy to the advisor. </p>

<p>Ask them what is the best time to see them, and try to fit into that, is my suggestion. If you can only visit midweek, offer to take one or two students out to lunch. If you pay for a simple meal off-campus, you will always get a “yes” from busy students. This is what I learned</p>

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<p>Re Temple–it is VERY urban, but security is taken very seriously and remember that 10% of a very large school is a lot of Jewish kids. Drexel is equally urban (although the surrounding area is not as bad as Temple–Penn is almost adjacent and the heart of downtown is not far). It is much more expensive (although a strong co-op program helps earn some $ back).</p>

<p>Re Binghamton, a close friend’s freshman son loves it there–but, although raised almost orthodox, he gives no thought to visiting Hillel. I respect that your son may be very concerned about the Hillel vibe. I believe Rodney’s and RVM’s advice is excellent.</p>

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