<p>^^^Yes it is grand! Do you have any specific quesitons about birthrite? Several of us have kids who have gone. For cash and phone we did the typical things using Payoneer and Israel Phone. I also added international service to my landline which was as little as $3 per month. My cell phone was more expensive so I didn’t add international service to it. My S did the Sea to Sea trip which involves lots of walking so shoes that are comfortable for walking in are a must. The Dead sea is amazing but if there are insect bites or as my younger son had, jellyfish stings on the skin they will come to life in the water. I don’t know if there is anyway to cover them. He had a great time anyway. My older son came out with one yesterday just out of the blue. Don’t buy inexpensive sunglasses in Israel. He said that the cheap sunglasses don’t have UV protection but they are dark so your eyes dilate more in the sun and therefore there is the risk for more eye damage from the sun. Apparently someone told him that when he was there.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, spectrum. I will pass it along to him!</p>
<p>Congrats to all the graduates!!! What a fun time!</p>
<p>spectrum & jym - Congratulations! May they find their happy place in this world, their oyster!</p>
<p>stillnadine - Thanks for CofC info. Though it seems to have everything my DD wants, we nixed it as she’s not a city kind of gal, yet I keep gravitating back…I know it’s set in Charleston, but just how urban is CofC? Does it have a “campus feel”? Our urban version involves excessive hustle & bustle, a lack of true nature (parks? really?), crowding, filth, crazy drivers & brusque pedestrians. OTOH, a jaunt into the city for a good dose of culture has always been a reality for DD-in fact, she’s enjoying NYC as I type, immersed in the Arts, no doubt. I hear Charleston is charming, but I just can’t rid my brain of our Big Apple kind of city. Also, can you describe/rate the CofC “First Year Experience” program? And, party school or bookish school or balanced? Would love your insight…thanks!</p>
<p>Stillnadine, I don’t know if your DD would be socially happy in a CC in SC with hardly any Jewish peers. One possible gap program would be Young Judaea Year Course- there may be others- that are structured and focused, but not competitively academic.
I wonder about the reasons for those scores and the effect on her self esteem? Does she have some undiagnosed learning issue like ADD? Is she working so slowly she does not finish in time?
More than the numbers, I wonder about the sense of failure. A gap year program where she is successful in other areas may change her perspective.
I know one wonders about paying for college for a non-student, but there would be a cost, socially and emotionally to not going. It’s hard to be a Jewish young person off the typical track. Depending on your resources, there is both academic and non-academic worth to her getting a college degree- in a school that will give her some Jewish peers and help her find her passion. Maybe one of the “Colleges that change lives” as Guilford is one of them.</p>
<p>I also want to add that I really appreciate this thread, as an NC resident. My kids have been the “only Jews” in their small town, and while we have some wonderful state schools, many of them have a small Jewish population. We also look for affordable schools with enough Jewish students for our kids to not be the “only ones” - the ones that do are already mentioned on this thread. Yes, all our kids get along well with everyone and want to be in schools with students from all backgrounds, but wish to have a Jewish life too. I hope some schools are looking at these threads too and will encourage more Jewish students to attend… so we all have more options. I also support disposing of judgement. Every child has infinite value and I hope there are good options for all of them. This has been very informative.</p>
<p>Pennylane, I don’t know much about the NC schools but as a Texas resident we were in a similar situation. What we found was if you are comfortable with a large school even if the percentage of Jewish students is small the chances of finding an active Jewish community is pretty good and worth checking out. This was surprising to me and I guess we won’t know for sure if this line of thinking is correct until my S gets going with college this year. We really didn’t expect much when we went to visit Texas A&M but since my son wanted to stay in Texas we thought he should at least look at one or two other schools besides UT Austin which is the usual Jewish choice here for kids that are admitted and it is a great choice at that. We found that at this conservative traditional school there is a very tight and thriving Jewish community that was warm and welcoming to my son when we visited. For reasons I still don’t completely understand but do support my son chose A&M over UT. If you haven’t really explored the NC publics from a Jewish perspective and if your child would prefer to stay in state I strongly suggest that you don’t assume that there won’t be a strong Jewish community in one of your state schools. Look at Hillel, Chabad, Jewish Greek life etc. make contacts with these organizations and visit with them and then you will have a better picture of if the school could work. This was our experience and as I said we were surprised.</p>
<p>LuvMomN8ur, the College of Charleston is definitely part of the city, and doesn’t to my northeastern sense have the same sort of campus feel as many others schools do. But Charleston is not a large city, and has none of the filth, bustle, or other downsides one associates with urban centers in other parts of the country. In fact, I would really call it a large town, and a truly lovely one at that. I can’t speak to the student experience, though.</p>
<p>I will need to take a closer look. With the changes in the economy, our state schools are a good option, and hopefully more Jewish families will also take a closer look too.</p>
<p>While it is true that CofC is not a “stand alone” college and parts of it seeps out into the city, it has a very “college” feel, once you are actually on the campus. Many of the buildings are a hundred years old or more (I think one building dates back to the late 1700s), and are centered around the Cistern (a park-like quad), Cof C has a old school charm. Once you are on the campus, you feel immersed and you don’t see or feel the surrounding town. The city itself is beautiful and being southern, is slow moving and laid back. </p>
<p>My DS is a serious student and he has found many others like him: focused, responsible and forward looking. Yes, there is a party element but probably no more than other college campuses. </p>
<p>A friend’s DD transferred to CofC from another university because she was unable to find parttime work and internships in her former college town. Charleston offeres many “big city” opportunities: more places to work, to volunteer, to intern, to live. </p>
<p>And thank you, all, for your supportive words and suggestions. This next year is going to be very interesting. My DS will be applying to graduate schools and my DC to colleges!</p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience as a Jewish student at a catholic school. I know that plenty of Jewish kids go to GW & BC but how about outside of the NE? My D is looking at U of San Diego & Santa Clara U. Both have very small Jewish populations and I’m concerned that she will feel like a fish out of water even though she insists “it’s not a big deal”.</p>
<p>I don’t know about Catholic schools specifically but I do know of Jewish students who have gone toTrinity, TCU and SMU in Texas. I do not know these kids well so I don’t know about their “Jewish” experience but I do know that they were comfortable at these schools. I would think that in a more liberal state like California it would be even less of a factor than it is here. It might depend on what your daughter is used to. Most Texas Jews are very used to being a small minority so none of that “fish out of water” feeling. If your daughter isn’t used to being one of a few it could be more uncomfortable. I would do the usual exploration of Hillel and Jewish organizations in general and try to get a feel for how this school accepts diversity. I would not send my Jewish kid to Baylor but did consider these other schools.</p>
<p>Hi there pushydad. I don’t know where you are from, but from my experience growing up and my nephews’ experiences now, both U of SD and U of Sta Clara are schools that seem to attract a lot of kids without regard to their religion. My nephews friends think of both of those schools as good solid regional schools, rather than Catholic universities. If you visit the schools and your dd seems fine, then that probably is the case. We are from California, in an area where there are Jews but not tons and most are not that observant. For these kids, those two schools could have been choices. Also, contact the Jewish group on each campus for more information. They should be helpful. Good luck!</p>
<p>@Pennylane - I’m a Christian mom who loves lurking on this thread. I grew up in small town NC and never met a Jew until I went to App State. This was in the 80s, and I had several Jewish friends at App. I don’t think they were very observant at that time, but then again, many of us were not very observant of our respective religions during that stage of our lives. </p>
<p>For the Catholic school question - my DD is very interested in several Catholic schools. On every tour we’ve been on they’ve pointedly stated that all faiths are welcome. At DePaul I think they even had a Jewish room of worship in the Student Union.</p>
<p>welcome mamaduck, glad you popped in.</p>
<p>cofc. loved the city of charleston as a mom who would visit frequently. S enjoyed the visit as a tourist, but felt the campus was too much city for him. i think it is perfect for someone who does want a small city feel, but if you want an enclosed campus, it is not c of c. we went to hillel for friday eve-pesach meal. 50 kids. beautiful hillel building, nice group. also very active aepi.</p>
<p>penny, enough has been said on this thread about elon. we visited unc greensboro. there is a small active hillel and we met one of the leaders that gave us a tour of campus. thought it was a pretty campus and felt more enclosed then c of c. think this is a good option for a B student in NC. App state has a new Holocaust Center and a relationship with the local Jewish community. Never visited. Never got a response from Wilmington. There is a Hillel State Association and I spoke with the Director about many NC schools. He was very helpful and I recommend you call.</p>
<p>To all that have a senior who graduated form college and High School. Congratulations. S may be one of the last of the year on this thread. Graduation is June 20. He has to take 6 of 7 finals. Yuck. His head is so not there.</p>
<p>The Catholic school question is a tough one. Jesuit schools are undoubtedly more liberal than others. But among the questions that arise, regardless, are: are the Jewish kids called upon to represent Jews in every class, does the “welcoming” of all faiths mean that students may take off Jewish holidays without penalty, or that students can access seders off campus if they can’t get home, will there be any way for them to keep Passover should they choose to do so, and finally, the sticky wicket, will there be enough other Jewish kids for them to date. And I’m sure there are other questions I haven’t thought of or have been discussed upthread. Obviously, these issues will be of greater importance to some families and their kids than others. And some kids really don’t know til it happens to them how alienating it can feel to have Christmas trees in every building, including your dorm, and on top of the steeple, or that suddenly you have no place to go for a Passover seder just when you need family the most. (Of course, this isn’t limited to Catholic schools–this year my daughter’s Jewish professor brought in non-KLP cookies during Pesach, but at least there was one other observant kid in the class with whom she could silently commiserate.)</p>
<p>I teach at a Catholic U in Kansas City. I have only met a handful of Jewish kids in my 15 years here. Right now, as far as I know, I am the only full-time Jewish faculty member. There is a rabbi who teaches some theology classes as an adjunct. While there is not a strong Jewish presence at the school, I have never noted any discrimination or prejudice of any sort, at all.</p>
<p>Since my school has an exchange program with the other Jesuit schools, we are also considering Santa Clara (although my son getting the scholarship there is a bit of a long shot), and Loyola Maryland and a couple of others. I would have no hesitation sending him to a Jesuit school, especially if there is a larger contingent of Jews in the area. But we are not highly observant and I know the presence of an on-campus contingent will be important to many.</p>
<p>At minimum, I wouldn’t discount the Jesuit schools if the child is really enamored with the school its self. Just my $.02. :o)</p>
<p>Thanks mamaduck. The Jewish community in Boone is building a new synagogue and so the Jewish population there as well as App State may get larger.</p>
<p>I do hope the Jewish organizations at other NC schools continues to grow.</p>
<p>jym626 - Thank you for sharing the link. While it helps in terms of which colleges require SAT subject tests, it does not post the college’s “required” scores. How does a student determine if he should retake the test, or if his current score is within the desired range of a given school, (much like they can determine regarding the SAT score). Is there anywhere to find out what were the SAT subject scores of the most current accepted class? (or last year’s). I find this information useful for the SAT, and was hoping to get some info. for the subject tests. THanks.</p>
<p>Its been a while since I looked at that, but you can check a few of the schools that have SAT2 requirements and see if they list either in their CDS or elsewhere what the target score should be.</p>