<p>Just a suggestion…for many to help start the process of our kids , for the most part, be on their own: let the kids go to the admitted student days by themselves. Especially if you are planning on taking your student to school when it starts, and the school has an event or two during orientation for parents.</p>
<p>Our oldest went to the other side of the country for admitted student days – and we wanted that child to know what it would feel like to be on a plane, alone, for that length of time. And, the need to be resourceful enough to follow directions on how to get from airport to campus, go to the right place on campus etc. And get back to the airport and home.</p>
<p>Especially with cell phones, it should be easy to allow our children to take this journey on their own.</p>
<p>Congratulations on admissions decisions to UCSC and Towson. We are facing the issue I thought we’d face.</p>
<p>ShawWife and ShawD visited one of her two schools. [She only applied to two and was accepted at both). ShawD absolutely loved it. Small-ish, warm, professors mentor the good kids. She would thrive there. Academically, I think it is a great fit for her. A girl she knows is a sophomore there. Turned down Harvard to go there and is a real star. Delightful kid who would be both friend and role model for ShawD. She asked ShawD, “Is there anything that would cause you not to go here.” ShawD said, I’m not very religious but I’m very culturally Jewish and there don’t seem to be any Jews here." (There are but very few – no Hillel but a Jewish students association). ShawSon wouldn’t care but her sense of Jewish identity is much stronger. Even though she is no longer active at the synagogue in any way, a significant percentage of her friends at a private HS are Jewish or have one Jewish parent. None are particularly religiously observant. We’ll visit school number 2 in April. Much bigger, less warm and fuzzy (though also with fabulous school spirit), mentoring not part of the culture, but lots more Jews and big Hillel. Not sure which way she’ll go. I really like school number one, but it is her choice.</p>
<p>Mdcissp: Mazel tov on Towson! It must feel great with DS making the decision after a very organized, well-researched college search process! I’m sure you feel great about this decision, having done all your HW.</p>
<p>Shawbridge - I guess I am a little confused. You have known all along that this smaller school had very few Jewish students, right? So - if she only applied to 2 schools (very brave of you) she must have felt ok with the Jewish situation - I mean - it’s not new information. Has she spoken with any Jewish students there to see how they feel? I made a point to have S1 do this since there are not very many Jewish students at his university either. I guess I’m just puzzled as to why she would only apply to 2 schools and then have serious concerns about one of the two having very few Jewish students.</p>
<p>Good questions, rockvillemom. I don’t know that she’s spoken to any – though to the friend of one. That is part of what will happen in the next couple of weeks. </p>
<p>It wasn’t so brave. She spent two weeks there in a science program last summer and loved it. It is a perfect fit academically. She already knows several key science professors, one in her specific area of interest who is keen to work with her, and the president. It was rolling admissions and she decided she would apply there and, if she got in, only to other schools that seemed equal or better. We talked about the low Jewish population at the time. I went to a school with a small percentage of Jews (not as small, though) but with an ancient history of institutional anti-Semitism and was quite happy (actually much better than that). So, I figured that she would have that as a choice. She didn’t see other schools that she like nearly as much, but that is what hit her when she was there.</p>
<p>From my standpoint, I think she will thrive there. She didn’t want a high pressure school school (like her brother attends) and didn’t want the hyper-competitive admissions process we have in the US and so she decided to apply in Canada. This is the best liberal arts college (they call it an undergraduate focused university in Canada every year). She will be a strong (but not the strongest) student, will get mentored and pushed by the institution. She’s attended a very pressured private HS that has taught her very good work skills, which will help her immensely in that environment. And, she loved it. Life is about trade-offs.</p>
<p>You guys know Canada pretty well because of your dual citizenship. However, depending on where the school is located, there may be lots of pockets of Jewish communities there, right?</p>
<p>I’m sure you may have investigated stuff around the area of the school for her? Synagogues, JCC’s…are there neighboring colleges that may have a Hillel accessible to her? Would the school have number of possible commuting students that could “take her home to their synagogue”?</p>
<p>What does the Jewish Student Association do? That may be enough for her for the 4 years!?!</p>
<p>What does Shaw wife think?</p>
<p>Maybe if she does go to the smaller school with very few Jews, she could take it upon herself to introduce herself to the local synagogue or JCC, depending on how far away from the campus it is…</p>
<p>Well it sounds like a fabulous fit in every other way - so maybe the Jewish piece will be weak - but not a dealbreaker. As you said - it might be a trade-off she is willing to make. Hoping she is very happy there if that is what she chooses.</p>
<p>Shawbridge: I agree that there is always a trade-off. The small school sounds like a great fit for your daughter except for the Jewish issue. As long as there is a culture of respect for all religions, it is probably worth the trade-off. She can participate in the Jewish Students group and go on a birthright trip, and get her Jewish fix at home during breaks. Would the logistics work out for her to come home for an occasional Jewish holiday? My daughter can celebrate holidays easily at her school, but she still prefers to come home when it works out.</p>
<p>Looks like the Shaw family might need to spend Shabbat in Canada very soon I’m routing for the smaller school where she can enrich her Jewish life with birthright, visits home, etc. </p>
<p>Curious if there is another Hillel close by where she can join?</p>
<p>@mdcissp and calv1n: mazel tov and yasher koach to you and your families. Now you can take a deep breath/ @collage: not a bad predicament to be in! you guys have some awesome choices and can’t miss with any of them.</p>
<p>re accepted student visits: I agree that it is a good time for the kids to go on their own. Especially if getting to the school in question requires a bit of travel, it’s important for them to see how to navigate the process.</p>
<p>Butler University, was named one of the “Best in the Midwest” by US News & World Report. Butler emphasizes a liberal arts-infused education. Located 5 miles from downtown Indianapolis, Butler has a small Jewish student population estimated to be about 2%-3% out of about 4500 entire student population. It is for this reason that students established a Hillel – there was perceived to be a need – on campus – to provide a Jewish experience and a Jewish environment for this group.</p>
<p>Indianapolis has a small, but vibrant, Jewish community of about 11,000 people (about 1% of the metropolitan population) and a rich Jewish history. There are five Synagogues within 4 miles of Butler’s campus, comprising the Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform and Sephardic traditions. Rabbis and members of the Synagogues serve as adjunct professors in Butler University’s Jewish studies courses. All of the Synagogues have opened their doors to Butler University students for Torah study, Shabbat services, High Holy Days and holiday celebrations. There is a weekly Jewish newspaper — the Jewish Post & Opinion.</p>
<p>Thanks, Rockvillemom. How do you get national Naviance data? We don’t have Naviance, so I really appreciate it whenever you post these statistics.</p>
<p>levirm - when you have access to a Naviance website for your high school - you can see your own hs scattergram - and then you can also look up info on the college’s admissions statistics nationally - which I’m assuming come right from the Common Data Set.</p>
<p>ShawD has a grandmother and aunts/uncles and family friends 2 to 4 hours or so to the large school – they run free buses to Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa every weekend. No one near the small school. However, I found one of the nicest houses I’ve ever seen on a lake 1 1/2 hours from the small school at a relatively attractive price. Unless we buy it (which I don’t think we will), she’d have to fly home or to Toronto or Montreal or Ottawa.</p>
<p>Good question about local Jewish communities. There is a big Jewish community two hours from the small school, but we should (and will) investigate whether there is anything nearer. chocchipcookie, we actually haven’t yet investigated but we will. It is in the middle of no place. The relative isolation, with a well-run school with a president who explicitly focuses on the quality of the undergraduate experience, means that there is tremendous bonding, though this is true of the larger school as well.</p>
<p>So I take it then that the two colleges are not near each other?</p>
<p>You mentioned that your D was at a pressurized h.s. that taught her well for college…but what about the second college that is not quite as warm & fuzzy? I’d be curious to know her impressions of that college too. How many kids at each college? How do you know that she would not be mentored as well as the smaller college if she chose the larger one?</p>
<p>How would SHE feel about going to a college for 4 years in the middle of nowhere without much of a Jewish connection? What is the Jewish Student Assoc. role on campus?</p>
<p>Will she be going to grad. school? Can she go to larger school inititally and then get a grad. degree from smaller school? (Just talking out loud here)…</p>
<p>You guys live in a Boston suburb? Isn’t she exposed to many Jewish people everyday just by where she lives? Would it matter to her if she misses certain Holidays or foods or social connections?</p>
<p>Sounds like you guys will a much better feel for which direction to go in after you visit the larger school in April. Good luck & keep us posted! :)</p>
<p>If you search this forum (parents forum, not all of CC) with the keyword, “Naviance” you’ll see a few threads where people have shared Naviance passwords. I’ve found a couple of schools within an hour of my son’s school where the likely Colleges were by and large, the same ones that kids from our HS would apply to. While not nearly as good as using son’s own school, it’s better then nothing. Our HS just got Naviance, but it’s not up yet.</p>
<p>Gee, I don’t know about that kathiep, my last two kids went to schools about a mile distant from eachother but so different that I doubt the Naviance reports about SAT/ACT and GPA of one carries over to the other. In Long Island or the Five boros schools quite close can be vastly different.</p>
<p>mhc48 We toured Butler two years ago. We loved their programs - they had both programs our d was looking at. There seemed to be great support and special programs for the students who were undecided. It is located in a beautiful neighborhood and they offer a shuttle to a trendy shopping area nearby. The campus is pretty. They were proud of their b team even back then. I talked with people from the University about Jewish life.They were proud of their Unversity and very willing to talk. It seemed on the verge but not enough structure our d.</p>
I’m routing for the smaller school where she can enrich her Jewish life with birthright, visits home, etc. </p>