<p>holliesue: What was your impression of Muhlenberg? Is it worth the extra tuition? What do you think of SUNY Binghamton since you live near there? Why do you like Juniata? Thanks for your info.</p>
<p>mccissp-I liked Muhlenberg. Seemed like there was a lot to do on the campus in general and a very active Hillel too if that is impt to you. D was turned off by the lay out of the campus. Also she felt it would be too competitive to get parts in theater productions, so she took it off the list. (Also the presentation by the ad com was incredibly boring and not very good at selling their school)
SUNY Binghamton is a very good school. Lots of stuff to do. very active Hillel and Chabad. high percentage of Jewish students if that is impt to you. (it isn’t to us). It can be hard to get the classes you need according to students I know there.
My d liked Juniata b/c the students seemed very down to earth, no frats/sororities. She is also looking for a small LAC in a small town. she had a great interview with the very young ad com, who was a recent graduate who was active in theater (one of my d’s extracurriculars). Honestly it seems like a good fit for her. I have connected with the current hillel president. She told me there is a small but active Hillel. Another Hillel person from the school has contacted my D, but she has been to busy to call him back. (also she hates talking on the phone, especially to people she doesn’t know!) Let me say that my D could care less if there was a HIllel or not. It was something I inquired about, but not based on her desire or direction, and it won’t be a factor she considers in weighing where to go!</p>
<p>Gweeta, who used to post on the 3.0-3.3 thread had a son who narrowed his choices to Juniata, Hiram, Susquehanna and the winner, Goucher. He overnighted at all 4, so his comments would be helpful.</p>
<p>Holliesue: Thank you for sharing your info. Two things; First, do you happen to know any feedback about the Business school at Binghamton? Do the students enjoy it and are they getting good internships? Do you think it is worth OOS tuition? Second, I suggest you see if you think there is a welcoming Hillel director with activities your D might enjoy. Even if your D is not interested in Hillel now, this could change once your D gets to campus and might be looking for a home away from home. I think the Hillel director and good activities can make a big difference if a student even comes once to Hillel and continues to return.</p>
<p>can’t help you with the business school. I have friends who teach at Binghamton, but in other depts.
My d is a pretty confirmed atheist at this point in time. I respect her wishes and will not push her to Judaism. If she comes back to it in time it will be on her own terms. I know I did. I went to a huge SUNY university with an enormous Jewish population. I had no Jewish friends there and didn’t set foot into Hillel. It wasn’t until years later that I reconnected with Judaism. She had her bat mitzvah and was confirmed and attended (and still works at) a Jewish sleep away camp. I just won’t force religion on her at this point in time. she has made it clear to me that a large/active Jewish population is about the bottom of her list right now, so I am following her direction! I think having grown up as a minority (both she and I grew up in an area with not alot of Jews), she is used to being in the minority and doesn’t need to be around other Jews to have a home away from home.</p>
<p>Holliesue: A lot of Hillel activities are not religious at all. Depending upon the Hillel, there could be week-end retreats, bar-b-que, sushi night, etc. When a lot of kids leave home for college, they look for another group (particularly during week-ends) for friends and fun activities. Hillels are all different. I just want a good Hillel on campus so if my son decides to check it out, Hillel at least exists. In fact, one of my concerns with Salisbury is that I did not see a Hillel on its campus, but otherwise liked the school very much academically. (Also do not like the out of the way location of Salisbury).</p>
<p>mdcissp- Thanks, I know that, but it still is not much of a factor for us. D doesn’t really care what religion someone is. Most of her close friends are not Jewish now, and I would expect that would remain so. I appreciate that it is important to many people, but it just is a very minor factor to us. I will point it out to her on the campuses (whether or not there is a Hillel, and percentage of Jewish students etc). She will have the information as part of her decision, but it really will not weigh heavily , or at all, for her.</p>
<p>mdscissp- Binghamton really does have an incredibly active Hillel and Chabad, so if this is important to you and your son can go there, I would recommend it. It is funny b/c the greater Binghamton area is not very Jewish at all. D is one of a handful of Jews in her HS.</p>
<p>Rockville Mom:</p>
<p>During my daughter’s Spring Break her Junior year we spent a few days in Charleston, SC making a visit to the College of Charleston. We then drove up and visited UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke. Then over to High Point University and Elon. It was a long trip but we enjoyed ourselves and saw some beautiful sites.</p>
<p>KY parent: What did you think of the schools you visited? Are any of them worth the extra expense for OOS students?</p>
<p>mdcissp</p>
<p>I found this thread as I was searching out comments about the schools we visited…that being said, you should know that I am not Jewish nor is my D1 a B student but just as I was was seeking out the opinions of others I hope my comments may be helpful.</p>
<p>College of Charleston is located in the center of old Charleston and all its beauty. It is a mixture of new and old. They have a new library that was a partnership between the City and College and expense was not spared. There are hours it is open to the public so there may be some extra traffic at times but there are also hours that are exclusively to students. We toured their new dorms which are directly above their new storefront cafe. I thought living there would be like home and coming down for dinner. The College has also purchased some surrounding homes and students can opt to live in them as well. The College is so well blended into the city that sometimes the only way to know where you are is to look at the sidewalk. College is brick, city is concrete. We had a wonderful student guide who represented the College well. With all of this beauty, COC was my daughters top choice for a while. However, a medical emergency that came up when she was three hours away made her decide this was too far at least for now. I will post more later.</p>
<p>Kyparent, best of luck to your daughter.</p>
<p>I found it almost counterproductive to raise the idea of Hillel with my son, even when expressed as a place to get free bagels or meet girls who might have a particular interest in him. He was not at all concerned about the ratio on campus, being the first Jew some of the kids had met or having some girls not want to date him for that reason. I hope he is right.</p>
<p>KY parent: I hope your daughter is feeling much better with a complete recovery. Thank you for your feedback. </p>
<p>Hillel: Kids grow and change. Although your child might express no interest in Hillel or any other Jewish activities, I think it is comforting to know if you all at least like the personality of the Hillel director and think there might be some potential between the activities offered and your child’s interests. There are many activities at Hillel which are not religious-guest speakers, Israel connection, week-end trips, etc. Realizing this fact, is where I am torn about Salisbury. I like the school and thought the staff were really nice, down to earth, sincere, professional, and enthusiastic. My son would get a fine education at Salisbury. However, I saw no mention of Hillel and hear that there are few Jewish students there. This is why I am hoping my son gets into Towson and am constantly searching this thread for safety schools like Salisbury without too much extra expense.</p>
<p>Mdcissp,</p>
<p>I think you are right about kids changing (and not realizing they may change). Friends who visited Salisbury liked it as well. I would love to see an analysis of why Muhlenberg and Franklin & Marshall attract lots of Jewish kids, but an hour away, Juniata and Susquehanna do not; or why James Madison and Towson do, but Salisbury does not.</p>
<p>You bring up excellent points. I also want to know why James Madison is worth paying over $100,000 for 4 years (tuition, room and board). I have 2 children to support through college and do not want them taking any loans. I think loans are toxic debt and very hard to pay back in this declining economic environment. My concern is finding a safety, that is not too expensive. I sense this is a pervasive feeling at our high school because I notice a large number of kids going to in state colleges this year.</p>
<p>I think the kids who are active with Hillel in Maryland want UMCP. However, it is very big and hard to get into. Salisbury is not in an area where there are many Jewish people. Nevertheless, I am surprised that I did not see a Hillel at Salisbury. It is really a nice school and there is a beautiful new Business building being built now and should be ready when my son starts college.</p>
<p>JMU draws very well from NJ. The kids I know who are going there are lured by its party rep and nice campus. I did not look into the school, but, given the high graduation rate and freshman retention rates found by Rockville, it must deliver on the parties without kids flunking out or becoming generally unhappy. Given its remoteness; lack of big time sports despite being pretty large; middling prestige; and lopsided female/male ratio, it is clearly doing some things very well to keep kids there.</p>
<p>Perhaps it has found a sweet spot where it offers lower OOS than many flagships; warmer weather than the Northeast without being too far away; a large, but not overwhelming school; a nice campus; and a good time (especially for the boys, given the ratio).</p>
<p>Well - we are visiting James Madison at the end of the month and I will post when I return. I do think you are being a little harsh on it. I think the business program in particular has a decent reputation. I am attracted by the price - low for OOS, about 800 Jewish students, and what I have heard is an attractive campus. I think the party rep is overblown - it might be a fairly small percentage of kids - but it gets a lot of attention. But we’ll see.</p>
<p>mdcissp: you make a good point about checking out Welcome Week activities. I see that AU Hillel/JSA/AUSFI have already posted a tentative welcome week activity schedule. It’s likely that you could find something similar online for other schools (assuming they have active programs)</p>
<p>Rockville, I did not mean to be too harsh; sorry if it cam eacross that way–perhaps it cam edown to my using “middling prestige” vs. your “decent prestige”. As I said, given the retention and graduate rates, clealry it has happy students.</p>