<p>For Rockville Mom about Towson: I encourage you to visit with your son. Towson really has everything on your list I know what you are thinking about Towson-maybe not as prestigious as UMCP, significant commuter population, etc. However, things have changed with the down economy. If it means anything, there were hundreds of parents at the junior open house this spring. There is interest in this school as an alternative to UMCP. It has the largest Business school in the Maryland state system. You are required to do at least one internship before graduating with a Business degree. Study abroad is available for Business students. It is definitely worth looking at. If you decide to tour Goucher, you can do both schools the same day as they are down the street from each other, about 10 minutes or so apart. In our case, I like the fact that my son can come home on Amtrak to Union Station and the adjacent town is really nice.</p>
<p>Rockville Mom: I can see why you are interested in York. Please share with us your thoughts about York, James Madison and any other schools you decide to visit. You clearly have a lot of experience touring schools from visiting with your older son. These visits provide you with an opportunity to see where the best fit is for your child. If you want small classes taught by professors, it sounds like York will meet your criteria. Not sure if there is enough Jewish life though.</p>
<p>our college counseling meeting is tomorrow to solidify list: York will definitely be part of our discussion; any questions you all would like have answered specifically? obviously, we will find out about Jewish life etc…anything else?</p>
<p>[Hillel</a> of York College of Pennsylavania](<a href=“http://groups.ycp.edu/hillel/]Hillel”>http://groups.ycp.edu/hillel/)</p>
<p>That’s the link for the Hillel website. In their Profile - they state 2% of the population is Jewish - I also spoke with the Hillel advisor - she put it at about 100 students - which roughly matches up to 2% of 4600. Certainly not as many Jewish students as some of the other schools I want to look at, but I am still interested in this college. </p>
<p>There is bus service out of York - I don’t have details. They also have a ride board. About 21% of the student population comes from MD - and most of that comes from the Baltimore area - so I’m thinking transportation should not be too much of an issue.</p>
<p>mdcissp - we have pretty much ruled out Goucher - just think it is too small - S2 really wants at least 2000 students - keeping in mind he now attends a hs with 2500 students. I would like to see Towson - I am trying to keep an open mind - but so many on CC have preached “Love thy safety” and I just cannot picture feeling warm and fuzzy about Towson. Sorry if that sounds snobbish - but I just can’t get there, at least not yet. I have read every Towson related thread on CC - a mixed bag at best. I have read some of Taxguy’s reports on Towson - his son graduated fairly recently - and his view was very lukewarm. I am curious to see it - the surrounding area sounds nice - but I have serious reservations.</p>
<p>Rodney - on York - Hillel of course, but also how much there is to do on the weekends - both on and off campus. Are you still considering Susquehanna? Wondering what your person has to say on that one.</p>
<p>Some quick notes:
- The leading female Crusader athelte this year was a Jewish girl. The school was founded by Lutherans.
- York and Bloomsburg have Greyhound service, but not Amtrak. York is a short bus bus ride, Bloomsburg much longer.</p>
<p>Bloomsburg has a Hillel, but I saw no info about it.</p>
<p>Is York isolated? Is it easy to get to Greyhound?</p>
<p>I never heard of Bloomsburg before tonight. yabeyabe 2-I am concerned about no info about HIllel there, otherwise Bloomsburg sounds interesting.</p>
<p>Rockville Mom: What specifically bothers you about Towson? One thing that was noted at the open house is a parent who specifically asked about parking there. Apparently, there are not enough parking spots at Towson for the students. The head of transportation told me there are a lot of parking tickets being given. It sounds like Towson is trying to tackle this parking problem with some (not 100%) success. Do you want a smaller school? I still suggest you do the Towson tour and decide for yourself because you or your son may feel differently than the lukewarm feedback you heard.</p>
<p>The York parent would know, but I can’t imagine the town is big enough for the college to be far from the bus station. The schedule seemed pretty frequent.</p>
<p>Bloomsburg admissions could providfe Hillel info; I have no idea.</p>
<p>On the size of school issue, I noticed that at my son’s HS graduation, his class of 450 kids included quite a few he knew barely, if at all, after an entire k-12, plus sports, etc experience here.</p>
<p>I understand kids who equate a school much bigger than their HS with growing up, but I think small schools with lots of activities are not too confining.</p>
<p>Both of my D’s have gone through the “big, typical state school” prejudice, too. I understand. I am grateful that my D2 ('11) seems over it enough that she’ll apply to a couple. My D1 threatened to take a gap year to avoid our (albeit nationally ranked) flagship. </p>
<p>Now, though, as a rising college senior, she says that was silly of her. She knows she would have gotten a wonderful education there. And she knows if she hadn’t been fortunate enough that we would pay for college, she’d certainly owe very little if she’d gone there.</p>
<p>D2 refuses to apply to the flagship - the campus just doesn’t appeal to her, and it does not offer the programs she wants. But that’s her opinion from visiting, and she at least is interested in a couple of other public safeties, schools I feared she’d reject outright for being “typical.”</p>
<p>I also recommend visiting Towson, to get it out of your system, and give your kid a chance to get his own gut feeling for it. I do understand your qualms, really.</p>
<p>York College: Saw on its web site that the application fee is waived with an on-line application. The application looks easy enough to fill out. Wants your high school transcript, standardized test score (SAT, etc.), and tell us about yourself, plus some identifying info. It is probably worth an application and then see what happens. Please let us know any feedback after visiting York.</p>
<p>rockville mom: I would look at Vanderbilt. The school has been trying to increase its Jewish population, and I hear that it most certainly does consider B students.</p>
<p>Not many B students at Hopkins or Vassar…Perhaps some Bs will appear on transcripts from elite private schools that are extremely competitive.</p>
<p>Rockvillemom- Have you checked out UMBC? It is smaller than Towson and I have heard good things about it. D has a friend going next year and I think we will check it out as a safety school…especially financial!</p>
<p>UMBC is only a safety if your GPA and test scores are high enough. Also, UMBC does not have a Business school which Rockvillemom is looking for. We drove out to UMBC on a Sunday to walk around the campus. The facilities were excellent and it is a nicely planned campus. The food was delicious. The location is off the main highway and does not appear to have a nice town walking distance like Towson. I actually like UMBC a lot if it only had a Business school.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is a very hot school and I’m sure it would be a reach for the profile on this thread!</p>
<p>I gree with SDonCC about Vanderbilt. It has gotten very competitive. For students with high stats, they do have an active Hillel. They draw students from around the country, but it still has a wealthy, southern feel.</p>
<p>UMBC is a good option for some students. A lot of kids from my daughter’s high school attend. The cost is reasonable and they offer a fair amount of merit money. The school is very strong in the science and technology fields. Some area students chose it over UMCP because of the smaller classes and calmer atmoshpere. It appears to be a great fit for studious kids who don’t want a school focused on sports and partying. As Mdcipssp mentioned, the surburban setting is not very exciting. Many kids bring cars so they can drive to College Park and downtown Baltimore. The have a fair number of Jewish kids, but I suspect most of them go home for holidays.</p>