Colleges for the Jewish "B" student (Part 1)

Parents Forum
8741

<p>I’m sorry if some of this is repetitive - I’m sure I’ve posted some of this already but after 870+ pages and questions re-surfacing, I hope you will excuse me!</p>

<p>CherryHillMom asked about getting into UD. Yes, it is quite competitive from NJ and from NY. Much easier from Delaware (they have a “Commitment to Delawareans” but it’s a small state so fewer students to choose from). Besides being a beautiful campus, the school has so many majors to choose from – and you get the big school experience without the school being huge (like Maryland or Penn State). Plus, the proximity to NJ and NY (Amtrak available, always bus service when you need it). Of course, from South Jersey, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump away (well, just a hop actually).</p>

<p>My DD was not one of the many, many kids that get merit aid at UD. Her GPA was excellent; she’s a terrible test-taker. How do I think she got in?</p>

<ul>
<li><p>After we visited the school (junior year), she wrote to the adcom right away, specifically stating why she like the college. It was a very specific email about her possible major (which she has of course changed) and what they offer.</p></li>
<li><p>She applied early (October) even though there is no early action there (and waiting for the decision in late March was brutal).</p></li>
<li><p>She is very well-rounded (sports, music, religious activities, some community service) and she was able to integrate her interest in study abroad and her previous travel experience (specifically the NFTY trip that DS is on now!) throughout her app. I think her interest in being more worldly, literally, was a plus for her.</p></li>
<li><p>She sent another email to her adcom in January, after second quarter grades came out (GC sent senior year grades separately, the email was for DD to re-iterate interest).</p></li>
</ul>

<p>I don’t know if all of this would overcome the super-competitiveness from NJ, but it could help. Socaldad’s DD sounds like she is on the right track, especially with the edge of being from an under-represented geographic area. Formal interviews are not required (DD did not have one), but I suppose anything to give you an edge when you are from NJ could help.</p>

<p>I see there was a question about UD’s sports management major. There is someone I communicated with on the UD thread - a dad who goes by “mrbill” I believe - whose son is in that program at UD. I believe he had an internship at the stadium or in the athletic dept there. We met the son at a Hillel dinner the night before accepted students day. You can search for mrbill and get his input. UMDCP has one of the top kinesiology depts in the country (I thin UMich is another). My BFF’s DD is at UMD for that program. Very different than sports business/management.</p>

8742

<p>(I should have said 500+ pages above - I’m getting ahead of myself!)</p>

<p>Now, on to compare to the one student’s negative experience at UD. Here’s our positive experience.</p>

<p>My DD has had no problems getting into her classes, but she’s not in Fashion Merchandising (a lot of girls on her floor were in that major; I don’t know what their experiences were). She’s actually been excited about her classes (this is new for her!). She had a tiny leg up on registration, having 6 AP credits going in, but that’s not a lot. The online registration has been easy to do. Her only challenge now is that she got into the science class she wants to take for the fall (believe me, just a core requirement!) but has not been able to get into a lab yet (they are holding spaces for freshmen). Doesn’t believe she will have a problem with this - knows the ways in.</p>

<p>DD is not a nonstop party girl, although she had some fun at frat parties freshman year. Still, when it was cold out, she would rather stay in than go to a party and freeze on the way (shows her priorities!). Also, she never went out on Thursday nights because she knew she had to function in class early on Friday. There seemed to be a lot of other events on campus - music, movies, performances, speakers. Sometimes she went, sometimes she didn’t. Seemed like a good mix to me. Really up to the individual what you want to take advantage of.</p>

<p>Jewish life - there’s plenty there for the taking between Hillel and Chabad. As I mentioned way earlier here, there is no kosher dining at UD so (I’ve been told) the more religious students go to Rutgers or UMD, where they have kosher dining. As a result, Chabad isn’t as religious as on other campuses; it’s more social. I also have personal knowledge of the Chabad rabbi (fraternity brother of my real brother at UPenn) and he is a really fun guy (not sure he had to tell my DD stories about my brother at college though). A lot of students like to go to Chabad or Hillel for Shabbat dinner, just to get out of the dining hall (and it’s free). Supposedly, the Chabad dinners are better (the rabbi promotes them in his weekly email and they look great!). DD went to a couple of dinners there, plus got involved (on a small scale) at Hillel with Challah for Hunger. Freshmen Fest, for incoming Jewish freshmen, was excellent and she enjoyed it. DD also told me that most of Greek life is Jewish (clearly her perspective - UD is 10 percent+ Jewish and 10 percent + Greek - can’t be the same 10 percent). They have AEPi and ZBT fraternities and AEPhi sorority; she will rush sophomore year.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t choose UD or not choose UD based on the winter break. It is what it is. Just like I don’t want DS to choose a college based on when it starts in the Fall (he’d rather start after Labor Day so he can go to the US Open - a plus for Northwestern, but I would never let him choose a school based on that). Your D/S has to make plans ahead for it, otherwise it would be brutal. DD was mostly busy last winter break, but she really needed to go back a week or two before the break was over. In January, she is going to study in Italy (6 credits). I’m already thinking about what she can do junior year so that she can start getting some work experience in her major. It’s a long enough break that she can do something productive for 6 weeks (and still leave me time for mother/daughter bonding!). Just need to plan. It sounds great to have such a long break - especially without any school work to do! - but after being away at college for a few months, being home with parents/rules/etc gets old after a while - for them and for us! You just need to plan ahead.</p>

<p>I think I’ve hit upon the recent questions/issues about UD. Glad to share more - here or PM - if you have other questions.</p>

1 Like
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<p>On another topic… I’m finding the whole German discussion interesting. NFTY has DS and his group flying Lufthansa on all legs of the trip this summer, including a two hour layover in Frankfurt the other night. I didn’t think twice about it!</p>

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<p>socaldad- good luck with the interview! Any thing you recommend in particular we check out on our visit?</p>

8745

<p>sorry to divert (we LOVE UDel as some on this thread know already)…looking forward to everyone’s impressions…</p>

<p>D just got her Elon housing; first choice…SO HAPPY!!!..so far, so good…now on to class schedule; prob in two weeks…</p>

8746

<p>On the UD tour, they take you all the key locations (and it’s all beautiful), but there is one thing they miss/skip. We were not taken over to the area on west campus where about 1500 freshmen live - in the Rodney/Dickinson area. They showed us the honors dorm on east campus (much nicer!). When D got her Rodney assignment, we had never even been in that area. There’s a tunnel under the train tracks that makes it very easy (it looks like Rodney is in a much better location though than Dickinson). Definitely trade-offs – Rodney was near her classes and near Main St. and also near Hillel. Has air conditioning. Is VERY old. Is mostly very small singles (this was the worst part for her - while you never know how it will work out with a roommate, she would have much-preferred having the roommate experience freshman year). They are known to be quite social, but DD would have a mixed opinion on that.</p>

<p>If you can’t get into “the Rodjects,” at least take a walk over there - go through the tunnel, I think it’s from Elkton Rd, just north of Buffalo Wild Wings (rather than walking down Main St and making a left on Hillside Rd which is how you’d drive there), to get the real student experience.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t base my decision going there or not on these dorms, but just be aware.</p>

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<p>LINYMOM- something I was curious about from lurking on the Delaware forum- some people mentioned that freshman don’t get to pick their class times and won’t know their schedules until August. Is that typical? My older D is going to Pitt and at her advising session she was able to pick not only the courses she wanted but the class sections, times & teachers. Sounds like Delaware uses a different system? Is this only for freshmen and do upperclassmen get to choose their schedules/courses? Has your daughter been happy so far with the class selection/advising there?</p>

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<p>Rodney, happy for your daughter. love to hear good experiences.</p>

<p>We went to Germany a few years ago. We enjoyed being there and met the nicest people, especially in Bavarian countryside and Munich. I was a Jew Stu major undergrad, so I wasn’t sure how I would feel, but I was amazed at the friendliness of the people. The Jewish museum in Munich is quite interesting. The outside around the whole museum is a conversation between and Israel and a young German adult about the past. This is the best pic I could find on short notice: [Jewish</a> Museum in Munich](<a href=“http://www.inside-munich.com/jewish-museum-munich.html]Jewish”>Jewish Museum in Munich) I seem to remember there was a book you could purchase of the conversation. It was very moving.</p>

<p>Leaving for Switzerland in 3 days and flying Lufthansa! If anything, I know the airline is safe. Felt more anti semitism in France and Italy then Germany.</p>

8749

<p>I am beginning to wonder if class registration is much easier at a private university (Pitt, USC), than at a state school (Towsoni). Any thoughts? This may or may not make a difference in your college choice.</p>

8750

<p>Anti-Semitism in Europe: I hear that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe and that it is more related to the Muslims who have moved to Europe and less based upon native Europeans. Of course, this is a generalization, but the stories I hear coming out of Europe makes me not want to go there.</p>

8751

<p>thanks everyone. i will not worry about it anymore.</p>

8752

<p>LINYMOM - thanks for all the Delaware info. It does sound like an option we should look at. But S2 had his wisdom teeth out earlier this week and is in no mood to talk college stuff. Then again, when is he?</p>

<p>Rodney - so glad to hear about the dorm - that’s great news.</p>

<p>mdcissp - on the class registration - I still think this can be a headache at many schools - including smaller privates. My son has had a fairly easy time of it as he went in with so many AP credit he was already a year ahead - but I know some of his friends have had problems. I just think this is an issue everyone has to be prepared for and not be overly upset if a few things go less than smoothly.</p>

8753

<p>mdcissp- Pitt is a public uni not private-I am new to the ins and outs of registration but found Pitt’s system very workable. Each freshman signs up for a “Pitt Start” date during that program among other things the student will meet with an advisor and sign up for their actual courses. It appears that registration is first come, first serve, and as my D chose the first possible “Pitt Start” date she was able to get all the courses that she wanted. She was also able to avoid any late night classes.</p>

<p>Housing, on the other hand, was not done “first come, first serve” but rather by a lottery system- and in that case my D did not get any of her preferences but instead was placed in the all girls dorm! LOL she was not too happy, but realizing there will be some benefits to her housing placement so she will make the best of it!</p>

8754

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</p>

<p>Last summer, we went to NSO (new student orientation) on one of the last days. It was nice knowing that all the classes wouldn’t be closed out because we were among the last to go. DD got the classes she wanted. She couldn’t get her required math class in the fall, so she took it in the spring. No big deal. While it would be nice to be able to pick the times at NSO, that wasn’t possible. Yes, she got her final schedule (online) in August. It all worked out and she was fine. She got the classes she wanted for second semester and is fine for next semester too - no issues except for the lab that I mentioned earlier and she says that will all work out. Having said that, it probably depends on the major, the demand for specific classes, etc. When you register for your second semester freshman year, and thereafter, you do pick the class and class time.</p>

<p>If she had her druthers, I’m sure she would schedule classes maybe from 10-2 every day. It’s not realistic to get the exact schedule that fits your body rhythms. So she has some 9 am classes, some 9:30 am classes. First semester, she had one class on Friday morning (I liked that - for the couple of times she came home on the weekend, she could catch the 2:30 Amtrak); spring was different, but you just deal with it. It sure beats getting to high school at 7 am and being in class straight through till 2 pm.</p>

<p>We have both been thrilled with the advising. It was impressive when they told us how it works during accepted students day and they did not disappoint. She went in undecided, even though she had her eye on two particular majors. The advisor suggested she take the intro classes - they fulfilled requirements anyway. She was also set, from the beginning, on a Jewish studies minor, which she is continuing to pursue (I can’t believe she has taken Hebrew for two semesters, 4x a week, and is doing that again in the Fall!). When she declared her major during second semester (not one of the two she thought in the beginning, thank goodness), she got a new advisor in that major. She loved the first advisor and now loves the advisor in her major. She goes in prepared, having done her research, has back-ups, has questions.</p>

<p>It’s important to note that DD and I are both positive, optimistic people by nature. We are not looking for issues. I know some people who are always looking for what doesn’t go right for them and that’s what they dwell on. Just sharing our perspective. Not that everything goes exactly perfectly all the time, but this is the way we look at things.</p>

8755

<p>Yiddish is a German dialect. The German language is a big part of Jewish heritage. It’s also spoken in several countries besides Germany. Learning and speaking the language has nothing to do with anti-semitism.</p>

8756

<p>Hello Smile:</p>

<p>If my dad were still alive today, he would be 88. He was in WWII. My mom wanted to take a trip to Europe, including Germany. Forgot the reasons why. My dad gave in and they went to several countries, including Germany. This was about 30-35 years ago. My parents had a very bad car accident, in Germany, on the autobahn. They both ended up in a German hospital. They said the care they received was excellent. We were all nervous for them, but they were treated very well. They had an extremely Jewish sounding last name, actually as I’m writing this, it was of german origin!</p>

<p>It seems as if this Chancellor Merkel (?) they have today is much more Israel friendly. I agree that there is so much more anti-semitism in all of Europe today because of the overrun by the arabs. Which makes it all the more frightening to send my child there for a semester abroad in a few years.</p>

<p>Slitheytove & I have discovered our children will both be in the same dorm this coming Fall! Unfortunately our kids do not pick their courses until they are at the college a few days before classes begin! It’s nerve wracking. Mdcissp: Glad you’ll give Towson a try…you worked so hard to find the right fit for your child.</p>

<p>Socaldad: good luck with your D’s interview!</p>

8757

<p>Linymom:I think your post 8741 has advice applicable to kids applying to any school. Thanks!</p>

<p>RVM: Wisdom teeth oy! You just reminded me that dentist told S2 he should get them out…But when? Maybe winter break, hopefully his aps will be completed by then.</p>

8758

<p>“On the UD tour, they take you all the key locations (and it’s all beautiful), but there is one thing they miss/skip. We were not taken over to the area on west campus where about 1500 freshmen live - in the Rodney/Dickinson area. They showed us the honors dorm on east campus (much nicer!). When D got her Rodney assignment, we had never even been in that area. There’s a tunnel under the train tracks that makes it very easy (it looks like Rodney is in a much better location though than Dickinson). Definitely trade-offs – Rodney was near her classes and near Main St. and also near Hillel. Has air conditioning. Is VERY old. Is mostly very small singles (this was the worst part for her - while you never know how it will work out with a roommate, she would have much-preferred having the roommate experience freshman year). They are known to be quite social, but DD would have a mixed opinion on that.”</p>

<p>LINYMOM, I’ve been checking back here, eager to see your take on things UD. I very much enjoyed reading your posts. I’m posting the quote from you above because I totally forgot to mention in my post that DD got a single in Rodney after requesting a roommate; when that news came in August she was very disappointed. I think there were plusses and minusses to a single, but the Rodney location is definitely central to most of campus.</p>

<p>It’s all definitely very subjective, isn’t it? When I’m reading the forums here, I sometimes have to remind myself that even the many posters here are only a small subset of all students, parents, etc.</p>

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<p>When we visited Univ Del we stayed at a hotel (Holiday Inn?) near a major dorm complex that was not on the tour. It looked like very nice housing with lots of kids lining up for the shuttle bus to campus. It wasn’t very far, but still, kind of a major site to omit from the tour.</p>

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<p>mdcissp, I’m positive that the registration process on average is easier at private schools than at public. Whether that alone is enough to be worth the OMG additional cost is another question. :slight_smile: Having to deal with some bumps in the road is a learning opportunity. </p>

<p>That said, I’m a tad jealous of how smoothly the private school side operates things, compared to my public school experience. I didn’t even get into the dorms my freshman year until after winter break (no housing guarantees). And yesterday we got a call from D1’s school reminding us about the health care waiver deadline, and giving me a number of the expert to call for my questions. </p>

<p>And yes, D1 and CCC’s S1 will be in the same dorm. It should be amusing to see if they ever work out the connection. The course selection thing seems to work out fine in the end.</p>

<p>spectrum2, my D1 chose to have her wisdom teeth out over winter break precisely so that it wouldn’t interfere with applications. Speaking of wisdom teeth, I’ve posted this on the 2011 thread before, but if you’ve ever had your wisdom teeth out, or if anyone is going to be having them out, you will thoroughly enjoy [Hyperbole</a> and a Half: The Party](<a href=“http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/09/party.html]Hyperbole”>Hyperbole and a Half: The Party)</p>