<p>We didn’t stop at Towson Hillel when we visited the school, but I did talk to them ahead of time. Just didn’t work out that day.</p>
<p>Binghamton - agree - Hillel not an issue (for me) since the college is 1/3 Jewish. </p>
<p>Temple - DD did not like it at all (whatever she saw of it). High security in the residence hall she stayed in. Didn’t like the area. She didn’t really get around campus - they went down to South Philly, shopped, etc. But, she is anxious to get back to her own school now!</p>
<p>Just curious - what’s the city of Pittsburgh like? I was looking at CMU (for my A student - I think someone here suggested it). DS did not like the urban atmosphere of Penn - is CMU area like that? I was in Pittsburgh once for business a while ago, but can’t remember the city at all. If it’s very urban, probably not worth the trip for us.</p>
<p>CMU is a great school for both science and acting (a rare combo), but on my last visits to both, Penn had more green space (although still urban). Pitt, while almost certainly too urban for your D, is less surrounded by dangerous areas than Temple and is a good B option, but Penn State is the best large public nonurban (indeed, not suburban, but very rural) option in PA</p>
<p>You guys are fast! I’m thinking that CMU won’t make the list for DS. If we’re going to take any trips for college visits for DS, I’d rather go to Tulane, Wash Univ and Northwestern. Just that CMU has been mentioned since he’s interested in science/engineering. Not sure the location will work for him. Penn State is going to be on the list - and I want to take a (long) drive out there to check it out. It has a program he is interested in (combined business/engineering) and I want to see how he feels about such a large school. Plus, I really want to see the school! According to their admissions chart, it will likely be a match for him. </p>
<p>(Sorry for the digression for my A student.)</p>
<p>LINYMOM: Both Penn and CMU are fantastic schools. Do not eliminate them because of location, unless you are looking for warmer weather. I don’t like the area outside of Penn.
You can walk off campus at CMU and feel safe. I would evaluate those schools much more for match of academic fit and interests. Penn Hillel has a wonderful reputation. My issue with CMU is that you apply to a specific major, and if you change your mind after starting your major and want to transfer, you have to apply to transfer and there is no guarantee that you can transfer It depends if there is a space available. How many 18 year olds know 100% that they won’t change their mind?</p>
<p>You Tube of Binghamton Chabad: Shows the facilities without students (fitness room, game room, etc. plus with the students-rabbi dancing with a group of kids, kids look nice, wholesome group activities. I compare this with some other You Tubes on other campuses, and Binghamton comes out a winner. Clearly, Binghamton Chabad attracts a lot of kids–it is lively, vibrant, and just a great place to be.</p>
<p>I would love to hear from parents who actually visited the Hillel at Towson. Agree with Rodney that Binghamton has a large Jewish population, but not sure how it really is at Towson.</p>
<p>Linymom: Have you considered JHU for your son? The campus is really beautiful. Although it’s on the edge of the city, it has an enclosed campus with lots of trees and grassy quads.</p>
<p>For those of you who haven’t visited Penn recently, the surrounding area is much nicer than it was years ago. Campus security is excellent. Campus police even patrol the surrounding off-campus area where a lot of students live.</p>
<p>Mdcissp: An old BBYO friend is on the Hillel staff at Towson. From the looks of her Facebook page, they have a lot of programs. A lot of Jewish kids from the Baltimore and Columbia areas choose Towson, so I’m sure that there is a good number of Jewish students.</p>
<p>Pittsburgh is a great city. We visited Pitt for my B son and PSU also. I was surprised how much I liked the city of Pittsburgh, it’s much smaller then Philadelphia and has a different feel, somehow more like a mid-west city, similar to Chicago. I like Philadelphia and Drexel is pretty high on my son’s list right now, but we both liked Pittsburgh and CMU is an excellent college. If you read “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch, you can get an idea of the caliber of faculty at CMU. </p>
<p>We visited Pitt for a special IST info session and during a small group session one of the people asked the Professor to compare Pitt and CMU’s CS department and the Prof said flat out that it was like comparing apples and oranges and that people that would be applying to CMU would not be applying to Pitt. I don’t think the Professor understood himself financial aid strategy to think that, but it was an interesting comment and a compliment to CMU.</p>
<p>I was away for a couple of days and there is so much to catch up with on this thread!
Socal, you are doing a great job!
LINYMOM - please visit Pittsburgh, the best-kept secret in America!
Pitt and CMU are both in the neighborhood of Oakland, which is adjacent to Squirrel Hill, a heavily Jewish neighborhood right in the city. Because we are so anachronistic here, we have not yet had the amount of flight to the suburbs that many mid-sized cities have experienced, so our city life is enriched by the presence of a vibrant and close-knit but extremely welcoming Jewish population. This population supports Hillel and the universities way more than you can even imagine. The Hillel, which serves all of the colleges in Pittsburgh, is extremely well run with its own building and great staff.
Physically, CMU has more of a campus with quads. Pitt has buildings mixed in with businesses and hospitals but still has trees and green spaces. So, it is not “urban” like NYU or BU. There is also a huge park adjacent to the campuses with hiking trails and woods, along with the usual city park amenities that you would expect like tennis courts and soccer and baseball fields (of course, the universities have their own facilities for these). Students ride the bus for free so they can easily access downtown and the cultural district, with special pricing for tickets - but of course, the universities also have their own cultural events.
As far as switching majors at CMU - I know students who have done it without a problem. But, Computer Science is a very tough major to get into or switch into.
Bottom line - students love it here! Many do not want to leave after they graduate!
I was invited to someone’s sukkah and met some transplants from NYC with their friends who were visiting, who were saying - “Move to Pittsburgh - as fast as you can!” Haha!
The unbelievable support for the STEELERS (can I talk about it now, everyone?) just demonstrates what a cohesive, spirit-laden place this is!</p>
<p>Temple is very urban and not in the greatest neighborhood. Drexel, on the other hand, is adjacent to UPenn, and the neighborhood is great…nothing like it was years ago. There are fantastic shops and restaurants, places to walk, etc.
Re: visits to Hillel. With my kids, I avoided scheduling meals at all. My kids would have felt too much pressure to engage. As long as I know that there is Jewish life on campus, I am comfortable dropping by, but leaving it at that.
I have not been to Towson, but I know lots of Jewish kids who have applied there and think that it is a comfortable situation for them.</p>
<p>Socal, AU is much more suburban- looking than Pitt, but I think Pitt is in a much better area than Temple. You might look at Goggle Earth to see the campus and surrounding area…
Pittsburgh is a much better college town than many suspect.</p>
<p>My Ds toured CMU and Northwestern (and D2 has applied to both as reaches for theatre).</p>
<p>CMU is a beautiful campus with quads and a big park with trees - when you’re there, you feel like you’re at a college. Then right across the street is the “city”, which is a really wonderful part of town. NU is in a suburb, much more green space, much quieter. </p>
<p>D1 doesn’t like “city” schools, but I think she would have thought twice about CMU. She did like NU. D2 likes “city” but not “storefront” and adores CMU’s campus. </p>
<p>As for applying to CMU, you can apply to several of their schools simultaneously at the get-go, so I would say if he’d ever consider switching, or isn’t 100% decided, he should apply to any that he might ever be interested in, and have the acceptance. I don’t know about how the switch goes, but they do have some interdisciplinary programs, too, so they claim that the walls aren’t that thick. D2 is only applying for theatre, but she considered applying to Humanities at one point, because she loves the school so much. Ultimately she decided only to apply to programs where she can definitely major in theatre, so she dropped that idea.</p>
<p>I think if he really likes the programs, you probably should visit. I think Pittsburgh is a wonderful city.</p>
<p>As I life-long Pittsburgher, I can confirm that Pitt is a very safe campus. It is very urban, with very little greenspace. CMU is a wonderful school for engineering. It does not have an urban feel to it. Lots of greenspace, and a well defined campus that borders on Oakland at one end, and Squirrel Hill on the other. The local Hillel is excellent, and highly regarded in the Hillel circles. Happy to answer any specific questions. Feel free to PM.</p>
<p>I mentioned CMU to you for your S. That was the very first college we looked at for S1. It’s a beautiful green campus in a beautiful area of Pittsburgh. Gorgeous Hillel building in-between CMU & Pitt. Pitt is more city-ish, CMU is a big, flat green campus. Our orthodox cousin is a freshman there now and loves it!! I would highly recommend a visit there.</p>
<p>This is a little off-topic, but I just wanted to say it anyway to my virtual friends:
Years ago, when my kids were toddler through school age range and I was already lamenting how fast they were growing up, I asked a co-worker with grown kids how she could stand being an empty-nester without her kids in town.
She answered that as wonderful as every stage of development is to experience as a parent, when your kids turn into these people with ethics and good values and menschkeit that you can engage with on an adult level, having discussions and sharing adult experiences, it is just so rewarding that I couldn’t even imagine it.
I have often kept her wise words in mind as my kids grew older and more and more independent.
I have to say that after returning from a great visit with my three older kids, I see what she meant!
We are all facing a transitions in our families - some to empty-nesthood, some launching an oldest or middle child - and it will be an adjustment, so I just thought that I would share these sentimental thoughts!</p>
<p>socaldad: I would not compare Temple to GW or BU or NYU. But it does not have a campus like American either. If you google “Temple images” or “Temple pictures”, you can find pictures that people have posted on the web.</p>
<p>LINYMOM - Re: CMU. We visited in the fall and we all loved, loved, loved, CMU and the area around it. The campus has a real campus feel to it and when you are on campus you really feel the college vibe…then you have the benefits of a great city surrounding the campus. Personally, I think it’s the best of both worlds. Great campus with lots to do both on and off campus. I could easily see either of my D’s spending 4 years there and not running out of things to do. It’s a reach for D1 but, one of her top choices.</p>
<p>Thanks all for the temple answers. I looked on google maps and the other suggestions. I think it might not be what my D has in her mind. Too Bad. I think Philly would be a cool place to go to school. I will now take a look at Drexel Does anyone here know if oyu must do the co-op thing at Drexel?</p>
<p>Tomorrow Feb. 1 is the first day Towson accepts housing deposits. Single rooms are of limited, if any, availability. I called Towson to find out the procedure. My son has to first commit to Towson with a deposit, then send in the housing deposit.</p>
<p>He is also accepted to SUNY Binghamton. To be frank, Jewish life at SUNY Binghamton looks superb. My only concerns with Binghamton is my son is accepted to Harpur (for actuary science). If he changes his mind, he has to go through re-application to the business school for accounting and it is very competitive.</p>
<p>If we delay on Towson, there is no guarantee that he would get housing. It is first come, first serve until all housing is assigned. </p>
<p>Is it legal to double deposit?</p>
<p>My son wants to hear from UT Dallas, and do not anticipate a reply until late Feb. or March. I hesitate on UT Dallas as Jewish life looks weak.</p>
<p>Please advise. My husband wants my son to commit tonight to Towson and not take any chances on housing. I think we should head to Binghamton this week-end, but with another major snow on its way, not sure this is realistic.</p>
<p>You can give multiple deposits to different schools. I know this is going to sound crazy, but my daughter gave deposits to Maryland, Penn St. Indiana, Wisconsin, and her eventual school UT. She wanted to be high on the list for housing. She first gave depoist to her safety Indiana. Then Penn St. Then she got in to Maryland, and thought she would go there. Then Wisconsin deferral came and she was going. At the last minute she saw Austin and everything changed. We got back 75% of our money. If you are not sure, give to both.</p>
<p>My own opinion, not that it counts for anything…Binghamton. it has more of a reputation than Towson. Not to denigrate Towson, as we are now looking at it for D2, but Binghamton is more known, and may have a better perception upon graduation. </p>
<p>As for UT Dallas, you are right. I know a bit about it, as we are now Texas parents. For many kids who go there, it is a stepping stone to UT Austin. They have an instate program called CAP. If you go to UT Dallas , and get a 3.0 GPA, you can transfer after two years to Austin. For many kids, they are looking to move before they get there. Also, you are correct that there is barely a jewish population. I researched it for D2, and have ruled it out. You should know, if you do go there, it is easy to get instate residence and tuition after one year. Takes a little work, but well worth it. That is for another day.</p>