<p>Charliesmom: We are on the same path and our list looks like yours! What does your DD want to study? I wish I could get my DS to consider Northwestern, now that he has his ACT score up. I went there and admissions for a legacy are 2x that of the general population. But going to Chicago is not on his radar! I would love him to consider Wash U also, but he’s just not interested in going out there. </p>
<p>Re: Alabama. I was just talking to DS about Alabama two days ago…it all sounds great except for the fact that it is in Alabama. And there are not a lot of Jews at the school. I’ve checked their Hillel page and I know there is activity. But will he run into any Jewish kids if he doesn’t go to those events? That’s really important to him and to me. But, you never know what’s happening with the economy these days, so maybe we will do an app anyway. One of my friend’s sons is transferring from Temple U to Alabama (the Roll Tide school - I always get them mixed up). She just came back from a visit and said it was really nice, even though he will be in apts for transfers and will need a shuttle to get to campus (if you look up-thread, I’ve mentioned them before - Jewish B student headed for Temple, but he just didn’t like it).</p>
<p>[I just checked – about 700 Jewish students at UA out of 30,000 – that’s 2%. I’d rather he go to SUNY Binghamton, which he is also not interested in, but the price is right and there are 30% Jewish students. Not to say that Alabama isn’t a good option - it definitely is, depending on what you are looking for in a college.]</p>
<p>Vitrac: My next major road trip with DS will be to Tulane, not Bama, and will contact your DD when we go. Will wait till after admission (if admitted). You can join us…</p>
<p>Momof2: Keep us posted on your son! That is so exciting!</p>
<p>LINYMOM: Emory might be another choice - about 30% Jewish. </p>
<p>Alabama has been trying to recruit Jewish students in recent years; its President has made excursions to speak at the Atlanta JCC each year, they target mailings to Jewish high schools, they just opened a new Hillel; they have an active ZBT… 700 students/ 2% is still pretty small although I understand the Jewish population has been increasing. In comparison, Georgia has about 2,000/ 4.5-5.5% per Hillel.</p>
<p>A southern school that has started from a small base and successfully recruited Jewish students is Vanderbilt. I was surprised to see that its Hillel website says Vanderbilt is now 18% Jewish.</p>
<p>Pitt has been known to give merit scholarships to OOS students. Your son might be able to get merit money there though its full tuition scholarships have become increasingly competitive.</p>
<p>LINYMOM, I believe Virginia Tech is good for engineering and I know of some Jewish students who are very happy there and active in their Hillel. I wish NCSU would follow Alabama’s lead and increase the activity of the Hillel and number of Jewish students there. It has a great engineering program.</p>
<p>Alabama is an amazing experience. It is my alma mater. It is a beautiful Southern campus, and the studentmbodymis now more ethnically diverse when I went. It worth comsiderig, because your child’s blood type will quickly evolve in to the color of a Crimson Tide!</p>
<p>Linymom-Want to adopt my DD? She could use the edge for Northwestern! It’s nearly impossible to get in I think. What your sense of Northwestern these days in terms of stress and balance? She really loved it there and loved Evanston and Chicago. Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi all - just “discovered” this thread and had to chime in - I recognize Linymom (hi) from the Maryland threads! That’s actually what I wanted to bring up - my alma mater, Maryland. </p>
<p>If you want a strong Jewish presence, Maryland is outstanding. The Hillel is fabulous and has really good food if you keep kosher. If you don’t, no biggie. Very active and very welcoming. They offer free shabbat meals to UMD students after Friday night services (think you have to let them know in advance though). They also offer a Passover dining plan for those that are ok with food in dining halls year-round, but not Pesach. It looks like during Pesach they have had BBQ’s and chocolate seders. What more is there to say than that?!</p>
<p>Even if your child doesn’t make it over to Hillel, there are enough Jewish students that make it likely to meet just in classes and in dorms. Jewish kids are very comfortable at Maryland.</p>
<p>I know some people might be concerned about the overall size, but it’s really not overwhelming. If you think about it, once you are in your major, you are basically taking the same classes as everyone else in that major, so your major really determines the “size” of your classroom experience. </p>
<p>For example, in the engineering school, which is a limited enrollment program (LEP), the incoming number of freshman is only around 800. Granted, engineering is a tough major to get into, so if you have a B student, they’d have to have high test scores for direct admit. For other majors, Maryland is still pretty competitive, but being a B student does not make Maryland out of the question. Easier for instate, though.</p>
<p>Only in the general education requirements for the university do you run into the big lecture classes.</p>
<p>BTW, when I said Maryland is “not out of the question” for B students, I meant to say it is actually a good choice…just the engineering is really tough…</p>
<p>If it’s important to have lots of other Jews around all the time, then Alabama may not be right for you. For my son, that’s not important to him. While not planning for failure, he says he can always transfer if he hates it. His bigger priorities are the honors college perks, the campus, amazing new engineering facilities, great sports teams, and genuinely friendly people. And, of course, the full scholarship. For him, the pros vastly outweighed the “it’s Alabama” concern. </p>
<p>While there are not very many Jews there, the Jewish population has doubled in just 5 years. With their heavy recruitment of honors students from the northeast and midwest, that Jewish growth is sure to continue. Especially in this economy, when many smart Jewish kids realize the value of that free undergrad education and the ability to save their money for grad school. Vanderbilt is a good comparison. They were 3% Jewish just 10 years ago, now they’re over 15%. I don’t expect UA to ever get that high, but their rapid growth will continue.</p>
<p>We love Maryland. The only overlap school that my kids have on college apps. Although DD, the B student, was admitted for Freshman Connection or for January. She chose not to do this, although my friend’s DD did it (low GPA from prestigious private school, but very high SAT), and she really thrived. Glad to hear from maryversity about the size concern.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for college suggestions. We are pretty set with the list at this point and with junior year finally over, it feels like the pressure is off. DS seems so much more relaxed. Happy for him - he really needs the mental break.</p>
<p>Simchabear: those schools are very tough for out of state students even with high stats; most of the students being discussed on here are “B” students…even alot of the other ones on here are pushing the envelope…</p>
<p>Rodney brings up a question I have - I came to this thread late so can someone fill me in on how a B student is defined here? Are you referring to student taking challenging (honors and AP classes) and getting B’s or one that takes A classes and gets B’s or one that takes regular/standard classes and gets B’s?</p>
<p>I do understand that parents (including myself) most likely have children of varying academic strengths, but just want to clarify the reference to B students. Thanks!</p>
<p>Simchabear: I think that we have touched on conversation on all three of those schools. I am a transplanted Texan and we struggled for months making the decision not to attend UT another poster Socaldad has a daughter at Texas. (By Texas no doubt you mean UT Austin, my S decided on the other Texas, Texas A&M with a very small but very warm and welcoming Jewish population.) If you have any questions specifically about Texas schools ask away.</p>
<p>Maryversity: There has been lots of discussion on that question, who is a B student? I think that over time this thread has taken on a broad definition and everyone is welcome. For the most part the students we have discussed aren’t hanging on getting into the most competitive schools although a few have gottien into these. The distinction and I hope I say this well, is that many students applying to the most competitve schools can easily find a Jewish presence at many of these schools while with many of the less competitive schools it is hit and miss. The parents on this thread have sought schools with a Jewish presence that are a good fit. You won’t find any of the competition regarding GPA’s, test scores and EC’s here that you are likely to find on some of the A student threads. I think you will find every definition of a B student here as well as some A students looking for safeties and merit money.</p>
<p>Yes, spectrum2…you are right on for the definition of B student on this thread. It ranges from a solid B with great SATs to a barely B- and crappy tests to a low A in top classes with good SATs looking for merit money. We’ve had everything on this thread and hopefully been welcoming to all. The only unifying thread is a discussion of the type of Jewish presence a campus has and how comfortable a Jewish child (of different observance levels) is likely to feel there.</p>
<p>Oh, and Maryland is a great school, but for out-of-staters it hardly qualifies as a B school anymore (more’s the pity) and even for in-staters a solid B student with not so great SATs is going to find it a reach to get in…maybe for January admissions, it would be doable.</p>
<p>Maryversity, the question of what is a B student on this board is very fluid. Partially, I think because parents find this board at different junctures of their child’s high school career. So, someone may come here after freshman year and have a true B student, but a year and a half later, that child may have become more of an A- student, but the parent stays on the board. Or scores boost your child, or your child takes lots of weighted classes, and so their weighted gpa is higher than their plain gpa signifies…All valid to be on this board.</p>
<p>And, while the board was created to find supportive schools for Jewish kids in the B range, it has become a place for non-jewish parents to land and find support too, as the concerns about a good, solid education in a supportive environment ring true for so many. It is the respect for different observances and for the non-observant or religious, that drew me to this wonderful group. Welcome!</p>
<p>maryversity: I will add to the above; in large public universities, they often use the transcript GPA for admission; that is, if your child attends a school where they do not weight grades and there is no grade inflation, the large publics mentioned above are a tough admit for the average to above average student with grades in the “B” range, regardless of rigor…with corresponding SAT/ACTs</p>
<p>For private schools, the process is much more holistic…honors and AP’s are given weight; rigor of HS is given weight…EC’s etc are important, as well as essays and demonstrated interest…you get my point…</p>
<p>This thread welcomes all of the combinations…</p>
<p>We have had people post that this is not really a “B” student thread…if one reads from the beginning they will see that we have discussed this in detail over the past two years…and the definition has expanded with time…</p>