<p>samtalya - re JMU - my biggest concerns center around academics - the difficulty (?) of getting the courses you want/need, the difficulty (?) of getting into the business program - the 10 courses that one is required to take freshman and sophomore year look very demanding. I am also curious to hear about the sports mgmt major - they just created a new school combining hospitality, tourism and sports mgmt. So any tidbits on those topics would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>My son was not at all bothered by the size of the campus, the fact that Rt 81 divides it in half, the train running through campus or the different sections of campus with varying styles of architecture. I thought these elements peculiar - did not bother him a bit.</p>
<p>We thought the student energy and school spirit looked good, impressed with the retention and graduation rates, food is supposed to be very good and the new rec center was impressive.</p>
<p>So - can’t wait to hear what you think. Are you going to meet with anyone from Hillel or AEPi?</p>
<p>In terms of dream school on the East Coast, for those kids who don’t want to be in a city, it seems that so many of them want to go to University of Maryland. Keep hearing that over and over and over and over.</p>
<p>Regarding % Jewish: I had to resolve this as well. Then again, any percentage was higher than what my kids had in HS!</p>
<p>LINYMOM: I have to laugh at Maryland as a dream school. I guess the grass is always greener. It’s a very good school, but a lot of kids around here want to go anywhere BUT Maryland.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is one East Coast “hot” school. University of Vermont is a cool public for kids that like to ski and snowboard. There are those Ivy League Schools… At my kids HS, tons of kids apply to Pitt, not so many to Maryland. The in-state discount is a real draw!</p>
<p>Coming from LI, your kids don’t have high numbers of Jewish students in their high school? I’m surprised!</p>
<p>Momjr and Linymom: Many kids from up here in New England have gone to Univ. of Maryland too. The ones we know that have gone are Jewish. (and very happy with their experience) Actually we know a couple of kids at Pitt too, Kathiep, and have enjoyed that experience as well!</p>
<p>Momjr: My S1 did a summer program at NYU and did not feel like he could go to college there for 4 years. My nephew from Miami is dying to live in NYC…everyone has a different perspective! Many kids don’t like going to their state school as they view it an extension of high school. Who know if we’ll end up there for S2…I’m hoping that won’t happen…</p>
<p>This is a question for Linymom and HollieSue: I happen to see a thread on the college search forum about Stonybrook vs. Binghamton. The posters seem to indicate that Stonybrook is better overall for Sciences. Does that include Engineering? I thought Binghamton was great for Engineering…does Stonybrook have Engineering too? I did hear that Stonybrook is by and large a commuter school…true? Thanks for your input! :)</p>
<p>Choc, for what it is worth, a grad from 2 years ago, told me Stony Brook was very much a commuter collge. A current freshman at Binghamton finds it is very much not a commuter school. YMMV.</p>
<p>CCC-don’t think I am qualified to answer questions about the engineering dept at Binghamton. Sorry! now, shopping in town, access to medical care, jewish stuff in town, crime etc…I can help you there!!!
I do know that BU is opening a brand new building having to do with engineering!</p>
<p>RVM, we were supposed to go this weekend, but had to push it back. We were invited to a Purim Shabbat and had a lunch set with one of the AEpi guys. We will try to meet both next week again.</p>
<p>I think JMU is too big for S, BUT how can he only look at 3 schools, with only 2 really fitting? It might be that he likes one and that’s all it takes, but it seems others look at many and apply to a bunch, so it seems strange that my S will apply to 2. Now of course, it just means that I did a super phenomenal neurotic job of eliminating all the other schools before having to visit :)</p>
<p>samtalya - I am with you - I also have size reservations re JMU and I wish we had more in the range of 6 schools he will definitely apply to. I tried going through the list of possibilities again the other day with him - he was willing to add Virginia Tech - which does not improve the situation as far as I am concerned - why add an even larger school to the list? And why pay OOS rates - if he’s willing to go that big - he should apply to Maryland, which he does not want to do. I like aspects of Tulane and Univ. of Miami - but really don’t want him that far away and those are very expensive schools as well. I’d love to visit Muhlenberg - he refuses. So - we basically have 4 schools in mind - 5 if you count Towson - which I now feel he is overqualified for and could easily drop. I looked further at Univ. of Richmond - and I just don’t see it fitting - if he thought Gettysburg seemed too academically intense - I don’t see how Richmond would be less so.</p>
<p>But on the other hand - if he has 4 schools that he really likes and he appears to be above the mid-range at all 4 - I guess 4 is ok. So - same for you - if he has 2-3 that are match/safeties - I guess you can do that, particularly if they are all EA and you will know by January - you have time to add more if you had to - although that would be an awful result.</p>
<p>Congratulations to kathiep’s and 2flipper’s sons! Thanks for the whole list, 2flipper; it is nice to see all of those choices.</p>
<p>Equivalent of UC Santa Cruz? I always think of the gorgeous view, so I would pick College of the Atlantic in Maine! Of course, it is not at all equivalent in any other way - it is only for environmental studies or marine biology or similar subjects, and it is extremely tiny. If your view can include water but not necessarily the ocean, I agree with the poster who said University of Vermont. But, I would say that there really is not a true equivalent. </p>
<p>Study abroad: it is almost always less expensive to enroll directly in the foreign university and pay it directly. Of course, your student may not get credit, which can be problematic. But if she or he just wants the experience, you might consider this.</p>
<p>An Israeli soldier visited my daughter’s school today and spoke to students who were interested in attending his talk. Unfortunately, no Muslim students or Palestinian sympathizers attended. I would think that on some college campuses, where he also speaks, some might attend just to disrupt the talk or protest. In response to the question about what to say to people espousing anti-Zionist views, he said that the most important thing is to know your facts!</p>
<p>I think that it is interesting that UC Santa Cruz has this issue, along with many other colleges and universities, because it seems that there is a lot of political variance among different Muslim Student Associations. I remember when my daughter was busy planning a joint Yom Kippur/Ramadan break the fast at Penn State with Hillel and the MSU, her friend at UC San Diego was commenting, “That would NEVER happen here.” Perhaps Imam Fethullah Gülen has a wide reach over PA, with his belief in friendship and outreach activities and moderate political views.
Question: does anyone else’s high school have a Muslim Student Association? Ours does, and it is politically moderate. We have a Jewish Student Union too, and an Israeli Cultural club. Of course, since this is a public school, anyone can join these. Have any of your high school students experienced or witnessed anti-Zionist incidents? The ones that my daughter has witnessed here have NOT come from the Muslim students. They have come from white protesters.
I remember when protesters (all white) went to Trader Joe’s here and tried to take Israeli products off the shelves. That very day, I visited an Arab-owned store and found… Israeli products!</p>
<p>Samtayla: I know that you have done a lot of research, but it’s really important to actually visit the chools. Some schools look great on paper, but feel different in person, and the reverse can be true. Both of my daughters changed impressions of schools after visiting. I recommend visiting more than 2 schools. I tried to show my daughtger’s different types and sizes of schools. We are lucky to have pretty good variety within an hour or two, so we started nearby. </p>
<p>I really think that a kid should apply to at least 4-5 schools unless they have a definite safety that they love. The process is very unpredictable and it changes a bit each year. A school that looks like a pretty good match might have a spike in applications next year and raise their ranges. I also really recommend applying to at least one rolling safety school so your child has an acceptance in hand in the fall. There are a few parents on the 2011 thread who now wish that their kids had applied to more schools. (Just My Humble Opinion)</p>
<p>Mom Jr., you are right. We are actually looking at 4 over the spring break for that reason, I just don’t think 2 of them are really contenders, but will apply to get that acceptance as you suggest. only the two I mentioned previously are the serious contenders. Now add JMU and we will go to 5 where we will look seriously at.</p>
<p>My S competed nationally last year in tae kwon do and we were at several different campuses of all sizes, so he does have an idea of what college campuses are like.</p>
<p>I am actually feeling pretty good about being able to narrow our choices down. But you are right and that’s why going to JMU is important in case my S has that AHA moment there and not at the other schools.</p>
<p>Too hard to get to as a criteria to cross off schools from the list is fine. It wasn’t an option for us, as everything is far. I do complain and feel like a travel agent sometimes but both my children went away. The reward is they picked the right school for them. So my question would be who is going to have a hard time. Just thinking out loud.</p>
<p>RVM: I think the changes Elon is making seems more in line with other schools we looked at. Did they give you a rationale as to why they are making changes?? The buzz I kept hearing at most schools was they wanted their students to have more depth of knowledge. This applied mostly to the private schools.</p>
<p>yabeyabe and Holliesue: Thanks for your input :)</p>
<p>Samtalya: Is your S the one interested in entreprenurialship? Are you only looking south of where you live? He doesn’t want Boston, ie; Babson or Bentley at all?</p>
<p>LOL - Don’t believe everything you read about Long Island! There are plenty of areas with very few Jews. My temple is dying! Thank goodness for URJ summer camps! But DS (soph) went to a mixer with all the temple youth groups in our county last weekend (only about 25 kids there) and, from what I can tell on his FB page, met a ton of Jewish girls!</p>
<p>Info I have on Stony Brook and Bing is really just anecdotal (although I did visit Bing with DD - she was waitlisted, but definitely wanted to go OOS - and will visit with DS for engineering). DD has many friends at Bing - including one from MA - and it does not seem to be a commuter school. Of her friends who I know who go to Bing, they are really top kids academically.</p>
<p>I have never considered Stony Brook for my kids, but I do know of it as a top science school. My guess is that a lot of kids are close to home and can come home more often, but I really don’t have good info to share beyond a few anecdotes of friends/neighbors.</p>
<p>re: Elon and minor/2nd major…I know that alot of accredited communications schools require a 2nd major or minor; it is possible that this was part of the impetus for the changes…not all, but part…</p>
<p>From what I can glean, this is really in the preliminary stages and will be tweaked often before it is finalized…alot of details seem to still be vague…</p>
<p>Binghamton’s engineering dept was never it’s “shining glory” but I’m sure that has changed over the years…StonyBrook was always a commuter campus…Binghamton was never one, even 30 years ago…</p>
<p>I live in Stony Brook. My h went there several decades ago. It is not a commuter school, but there are alot of kids from Long Island and NYC who leave campus on weekends. Stony Brook was never a commuter school in my husband’s time.</p>