<p>momjr- Delaware is on our list to visit next! I like the location its an easy 1 hour drive for us and is also on commuter rail line.</p>
<p>As to Towson- apologies if this might offend anyone- but as we are PA residents I don’t know if it would be worth going out of state for this school- it seems to have a reputation as a back-up school for UMD-CP. How would Towson compare, say, to West Chester University of PA (which would be very cheap for us)?</p>
<p>pamom - I am not very familiar with West Chester - but I agree with you in concept. It surprises me that students come from OOS to Towson. I think we had a previous discussion on this topic and it turned out that many NJ residents are unhappy with their in-state choices and found Towson to be a reasonable option. I do think Towson is improving and when we visited last year - it was nicer than I expected - but I still see it primarily as an in-state option.</p>
<p>St. Mary’s College - I wish it were a little bigger and more diverse as well. As it stands - there was no way to even consider it for our son.</p>
<p>Well the sun was out, the trees were all dotted in pastel shades of green and purple and violet and the flower beds were in bloom in North Carolina. They were all beautifully set off by the low, three story brick buildings and fountains at Elon. Phoenix Friday was surprisingly well attended (I would have thought that most people would have gone to Orientation) . It was also Mutlticultural Weekend at Elon.</p>
<p>First, because many of you said you wanted to know, I was told that the Multi-Faith Center will be built despite the Pendulum article about financial difficulties. I was also told that the funding questions may result in ground being broken in Fall rather than in May as they had hoped. If so, in turn, that will mean that the turnover of the current Truitt Center to a full time Hillel House may be delayed until incoming students become sophomores.</p>
<p>We both loved the commitment to service and engaged learning that is constantly talked about at Elon and the opportunities for Winter Term study, both on campus and some very interesting destinations overseas. Several students we talked to even had their trips to other countries during Winter Term paid for by the school. Students really do attend those classes, go on trips and do service work,and Elon is clearly fully committed to encouraging it all. What is less certain to me after listening to the presentations and asking questions, is how wide and useful the opportunities are for the average student. What I heard about were the things done by a few clearly gifted students. For the rest I heard more about aspirations than examples.</p>
<p>Elon may draw more from all over the country than the South (reputedly 70% of students are from out of state) but it still has a long way to go if it wants to be a culturally diverse campus. We didnt see a single Asian face, very very few Blacks (despite it being Multicultural Weekend) and no evidence of Hispanic culture. When we asked about International students on campus we were told that they are actively trying to recruit them, but given no numbers. Right now Elon is decidedly white, upper middle class American students. </p>
<p>We attended Kabbalat Shabbat at Elon with about seven current students who made basic blessings on candles, wine and challah. It was a lot smaller group and less formal than when we were at Miami of Ohio, but welcoming and fun all the same. Mason and Garret told us that AEPi got 10 charter members interested and received national recognition though it usually takes at least 15. they feel it is likely to be started. The students there speak very highly of Nancy, the Hillel Director and think of her as their on campus Jewish Mother. Its reassuring to know that someone so well liked and caring is there for students.</p>
<p>Jewish life seems to be small but growing (at KS, two students said Jewish students have a lot of clout at Elon). My D much preferred seeing seven normal (ie. - less observant) kids at Hillel doing short versions of the blessings and then talking about their week to the fuller (and more well attended) Friday service and dinner at Miami. Me - much less so. In lots of college bookstores Ive seen the name of the school playfully spelled out in Hebrew on shirts or caps. Despite being told often that Elon is oak in Hebrew, I was disappointed not to at least see a shirt or cap with Aleph, Yud, Lomed Nun sofit. As as mentioned before, a full time Hillel House seems to be at least a full year away.</p>
<p>The day made my D feel that she could be happy at Elon but did not seal the deal for her. Its a bit isolated, theres no town and we both wondered what kids do on weekends. So while she may enroll, she still wants to visit UDel next week and maybe (ugh my aching wallet ) Miami again one last time. Perhaps it just comes down to the fact that so many prior grads and friends or friends of friends tell her how much they love those two schools but theres really no one she knows to vouch for Elon.</p>
<p>Admittedly I have a tendency to be a skeptic and a curmudgeon. In three to five years I think Elon will probably be a diverse, exciting, maybe life changing and better known school. But focusing on just the next four years, Elon looks potentially very attractive, but still an unknown.</p>
<p>mhc - very insightful post. Really appreciate your point of view and the questions you have raised. I will add my two cents after we visit next week.</p>
<p>Mhc: I think you are really going to like UD :)</p>
<p>Sent from my ADR6300 using CC App</p>
<p>^^totally agree with LINYMOM…</p>
<p>LINYMOM and Rodney, do you know the expression, “Gornischt helfen”?</p>
<p>D liked Del when we visited last Spring, as she also liked the very similar in many surface ways, Miami. So really liking either one probably won’t help deciding between the two.</p>
<p>And I forgot to mention re: Elon, that I doubt I’d have the concerns I do if D were interested in either Communications, Performance or Business. Elon seems to have a good handle on providing the types of learning experiences, practice and internships in those areas which would give a student a strong leg up.</p>
<p>I haven’t posted here in months, primarily because my d (a HS sophomore) was having a very difficult time and I wasn’t sure she’d be able to finish out this year, let alone graduate from HS and go to college. Very poor grades, lackluster study habits, angry with her peers, often about religious, social and racial issues. One of a handful of liberal, Jewish students, she just could not find her place. </p>
<p>In early February, she was very sure that she could not continue at her high school. She wanted to either change schools or be home schooled (no). She took it upon herself to research her choices and decided she wanted to try a different high school – way, way less competitive, much different racial and economic composition. The first day at her new school, she came home in shock. She described scenes that sounded straight out of the “Blackboard Jungle.” I told her she had made her choice and she had to stick with it (but really, I was scared for her and wanted to pull her right out.)</p>
<p>Two months later, she is at the top of her class(!!!), straight As, being recruited for leadership programs and the IB program. Classmates (most of whom are minority or lower income than her previous school) seem to respect her. Teachers cannot believe their luck that the new student turned out to be such an asset. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop but, in the mean time… oh. my!</p>
<p>She got very lucky because she moved from a traditional schedule to a school on the block schedule, so her whole year was a “do-over.” Next year, she’ll enter the IB program, which hopefully, she’ll be able to handle. </p>
<p>So now I can start thinking about colleges again! (And she is still a “B student” when you average her freshman grades into the mixed, since she was barely a C student last year.)</p>
<p>My goodness - what a saga! I am so glad she is thriving at her new hs. That really is a very inspirational story.</p>
<p>I was actually thinking about you recently as we are going to visit CofC shortly. If memory serves me right (and sometimes it does not) you have a son there who is a sophomore, right? Is he still enjoying it? Any update on what he likes and dislikes? How is his housing this year?</p>
<p>stillnadine: welcome back!! and what an inspirational story; your daughter sounds like a special kid and what resiliance!!; talk about bouncing back and facing obstacles!!!</p>
<p>Wow, Stillnadine, you’ve had a rough year. I’m glad to hear that your daugther is thriving in her new school. I hope that the other shoe never drops and things continue to go well.</p>
<p><homeschooling parent=“” politely=“” clears=“” her=“” throat=“”></homeschooling></p>
<p>I’m glad things are working out well for your daughter at her new school, stillnadine.</p>
<p>What a great story and post, stillnadine!</p>
<p>First re: homeschooling because I meant no offense. I looked at all the homeschooling possibilities. In our area, every single homeschooling support program (with the exception of fully on-line, virtual schools) is Christian based. I looked with a dozen different groups and throughly search for a program that would work for her. She needed some kind of community, even if the schooling was primarily done at home. If we still lived in California, for sure, but here in South Carolina, homeschool seems to be “Christian home school.”</p>
<p>Thank you for all the words of support and encouragement!</p>
<p>Yes, my s loves CofC. He lived in the dorms is freshman year (College Lodge, old funky and lots of "community spirit.) This year, he is an RA in a newer dorm (McAlister – lots of frats/atheletes/drinking – he’s not been as happy. Lots of responsibility for others.) Next year, he is renting an apartment about 15 minutes by bike from campus. </p>
<p>But the big news (for a Jewish-related thread): He’s going on Birthright with the CofC Hillel!! I was stunned (and happy) that he applied. He wasn’t at all active in any of their activities but he has friends in the Jewish frat. </p>
<p>He is going to live in Charleston and work this summer, when he gets back from Israel. He subletted an apartment for two months. He had to use his long-saved Bar Mitzvah money because I told him I couldn’t pay for an apartment over the summer. He didn’t want to come home, he loves Charleston so much! </p>
<p>He just declared his Major: Urban Planning with concentration in Environmental Science. (No, I don’t really know what that means.)</p>
<p>Stillnadine: My daughter is going on birthright this summer also. She’s going on a trip with Penn Hillel and leaves on May 15th. Maybe they’ll run into each other in Israel!</p>
<p>For those of you who commiserated with me in December when my daughter got mono and had to cancel her birthright trip, she is very excited to have gotten onto another trip. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that things work out this time (her 5th try). My husband says that he won’t believe she’s actually going until the plane lands in Tel Aviv.</p>
<p>We will be at Elon for first night Passover. Saw this on the Hillel Site.</p>
<p>"Enjoy a fun and meaningful communal Seder with good friends and good food, too! Over 160 people attended last year’s seder. Non-Jewish friends are always welcome.
First night Seder will be held on Monday, April 18, 2011, 6:00pm - 8:00pm, in McKinnon Hall. The subsidized cost is $10/person.</p>
<p>To make a donation to support the seder and all Passover meals, click here.</p>
<p>If you would like to attend a second seder on Tuesday, April 19, contact Nancy Luberoff at <a href=“mailto:nluberoff@elon.edu”>nluberoff@elon.edu</a> and she will help find a home or community seder.
For the first time this year, Elon Hillel will be providing free drop-in Kosher-for-Passover lunches at the Truitt Centers. </p>
<p>A group of Elon students is also working to develop a plan for providing Kosher-for-Passover evening meals. </p>
<p>Elon University provides matzoh in all dining halls and Elon Hillel distributes free boxes of matzoh at the Truitt Center. Colonnades Dining Hall will provide a Kosher(style)-for-Passover entree at every meal."</p>
<p>Also will be at C of C during Passover. C of C is providing 3 Passover meals a day at the Hillel.</p>
<p>Pretty good for such small Jewish communities.</p>
<p>momjr and stillnadine - wonderful news about the Birthright trips. Hoping they both go well.</p>
<p>stillnadine - it’s weird when they no longer come home for the summer, isn’t it? My older son is doing a similar thing - subletting in a group home off campus - working and taking a class. Very self-sufficient. It’s a good thing, right? Just feels a little strange.</p>
<p>Stillnadine and RVM: My older daugther is not planning on coming home this summer also. She has an off-campus apartment in Philly, so it’s pretty easy (and more fun) to stay. She has one internship offer and is waiting to hear from another one. She also has to work on her thesis, which will be easier to do at school. It feels like the end of an era.</p>
<p>the only summer I spent at home after HS, was the summer after my freshman year. I fully anticipate the same with my D, which is one reason I hope to spend lots of time with her this summer before she heads off to college. This is probably really it, as the summer after freshman year she will probably work at a sleepaway camp. Bitter sweet for sure!</p>
<p>i am probably not on the right thread, but since i’m still relatively new , and very unclear on how this whole CC thing works, i figured i’d post my question here…my daughter is in 10th grade, and about a 3.6 GPA, taking the most challenging courses our well respected public HS offers. assuming she does “well” on standardized tests, what would be considered some of the most competitive liberal arts schools she really has a chance where she can be admitted? after perusing different threads on this site, it seems to me that there is an exceesive number of “4.0” and above applicants, and my daughter does not fall into that category. starting to get nervous…</p>