<p>I am relatively new to this thread, and I would explain it as an evolving thread for parents of students looking for schools with a Jewish population that are a good holistic match for their student. The reasons for this are many: grades/scores, finances, major, location, and more. I think there is a large range of students here- some whose academic records are in the acceptance range for highly competitive schools and some who are looking outside this list. I think one consistency among everyone is that this is a non-judgemental board. Regardless of your student’s stats, you can post here and others will sincerely try to help. Our common goal is the belief in the value and potential of all our students beyond the numbers- and to have them in a school where they will thrive.</p>
<p>Well said Penny…</p>
<p>RVM: How are you doing. I just saw a clip of Rockville MD on CNN with lots of trees downed.</p>
<p>I hope the rest of you in the mid Atlantic are doing fine and still have power.</p>
<p>Our home is fine and the power is back on - thank you so much for asking - but lots of trees down - many without power, etc. It was startling to see Rockville featured on CNN this morning!</p>
<p>In college news - S2 is eagerly awaiting his Elon housing and roommate assignment and class schedule - which should be arriving soon. Fingers crossed for good results.</p>
<p>Glad to hear that you are fine. Our housing news is supposed to be posted after 5:00 on Tuesday. Fingers crossed here as well.</p>
<p>Hope everyone had a great weekend. Moving the thread up!</p>
<p>Funny story of the day: I printed out DS’ three ACT scores this morning, I don’t know why (well, I know why, I was frustrated with my work and was looking for a distraction). What I hadn’t noticed before was that his English score, which was 25 in Dec and up to a 28 in April actually went up to a 30 in June! Quick! Grab the calculator! What’s the super-score now!!! Turns out he’s at 32.25, which is a 32 (still). Really happy for that, but for a second I was hoping…</p>
<p>So I picked up DS from tennis today and I tell him this surprise - that he went up in English again and now he’s only a .25 away from a 33! He glanced over at me (he was driving) and said: MOM, I AM NOT TAKING IT AGAIN (capitalized for emphasis, he wasn’t yelling). I assured him that I wasn’t considering that at all, not even a question. Just took the opportunity to praise him for how great he did (despite his crazy mother - I didn’t say that part though).</p>
<p>Oh, and I learned today that Tulane does not super-score the ACT, but they do look at all test scores you submit. (Kind of confusing, but someone over on the Tulane forum got this answer from admissions.). Rodney, do you know anything about this in your professional experience?</p>
<p>LINYMOM,
Happy to help with any Tulane questions I can, since DS just graduated (Chem E). Did you see that the Computer science major is returning as well? YAY! Also, I’d recommend posting questions on Tulane Jeff’s Blog [Tulane</a> University Admission Blog - Jeff](<a href=“http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com%5DTulane”>http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com) He is the associate director of admissions and a 2005 grad.</p>
<p>Yippee, S2 is in the engineering dorm at TAMU. This was his first choice. He’s excited about it. RVM is your S’s dorm assignment up yet? This information appeared on the website earlier than expected, yay!</p>
<p>Yes - and he is in a new suite style dorm - his first pick. So far, so good.</p>
<p>I just briefly wanted to mention Oxford College of Emory University, if it hadn’t been covered earlier.</p>
<p>Oxford is Emory’s original campus is one of 9 constituent academic divisions of Emory University, located in a small town 35 miles away from the Atlanta campus (read: few distractions). Students attend for two years before automatically continuing to the Emory College of Arts and Sciences in Atlanta, with selective continuation to the Business and Nursing schools.</p>
<p>The school is very rigorous, but there’s a lot of personal attention and the classes are fairly small. There are a lot of opportunities for leadership and personal growth; I’ve really enjoyed my time here.</p>
<p>The average unweighted GPA for last year’s incoming class was a 3.55, noting that unweighted GPAs are recalculated as (A: 90-100, B: 80-90, C: 70-79, D 60-69, F: <60). In 2011, 28% of accepted students had an unweighted GPA of 3.0-3.49. 2012 data has not been released yet.</p>
<p>For more stats: <a href=“http://www.oxford.emory.edu/admission/entering-class-profile/AdmissionProfile.pdf[/url]”>http://www.oxford.emory.edu/admission/entering-class-profile/AdmissionProfile.pdf</a></p>
<p>I’m sure that it goes without saying that Jewish people aren’t exactly an underrepresented group at Emory.</p>
<p>[College</a> Dropouts | The Jewish Week](<a href=“http://www.thejewishweek.com/editorial-opinion/opinion/college-dropouts]College”>http://www.thejewishweek.com/editorial-opinion/opinion/college-dropouts)</p>
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<p>Don’t know about the accuracy of this claim - but found it interesting:</p>
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<p>Seems to me the predominant group on campus is Hillel- and then also the Chabads. I have not seen much of Koach and Kesher. Funds are tight everywhere. Young Judaea just formally separated from Hadassah.
I think, really, it’s up to us parents to donate as we can to our kids’ campus Hillels and or Chabads.</p>
<p>Do any of you know when AP scores are supposed to be in? My S expected that they would be in today’s mail but the weren’t.</p>
<p>I was checking out the SAT/AP forum this week. Apparently the AP scores have been available by phone (for $8) since Sunday. According to the thread, they should arrive in the mail this week. We haven’t received yet. I’m curious but not stressing over them (and don’t want DS to worry about them either). Maybe tomorrow…</p>
<p>rockvillemom, I was talking to my mother who is irate about the way that the Conservative Movement dealt with Koach. She may have had something do with the founding of Koach or was active early; I’m not sure as she has done lots of stuff. Anyway, I gathered that the uproar has caused (may cause) the Conservative movement to back down on the defunding for a year or two but that it will then have to be funded by private sources. So, if I understood her correctly, the intent to defund is still there but the defunding is being deferred. [I could have interpreted her wrong – we were at a noisy Bat Mitzvah-- but that is what I think she said].</p>
<p>Non-fundamentalist religions all over the world are declining relative to their stricter brethren. This is true in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The decision about Koach and Kesher is probably just of symptom of this global trend.</p>
<p>Linymom: My son who is at camp keeps sending me to the mailbox to check. I don’t know why he is so concerned he has already decided to repeat the classes he tested in anyway. I guess it is a matter of pride. This is uncharacteristic of him but I keep looking and telling him not yet.</p>
<p>hillel, chabad, and koach all fill different needs. koach is the college program of the Conservative movement. while hillels and chabads provide important programming, the Conservative movement cannot expect them to nurture the future of the Conservative movement. </p>
<p>the Conservative movement already has inherent issues with losing its young adults to either the right or the left (don’t really like those terms for this). those Conservative young people who are more observant (often the products of the Conservative movement’s own camps and schools) often veer over to Orthodoxy when they can’t find a community of practicing Conservative peers. at the other end, those who don’t feel comfortable with Orthodoxy, can drift towards less observance and affiliation because the only community available doesn’t help foster their Conservative practices. if the Conservative movement leaves the college aged students to Chabad and Hillel, they increase this phenomenon.</p>
<p>the very fact that so many koach students have been so vocal about the way Koach is being treated is a testament to the role it has played. why would a movement that is having trouble maintaining numbers abandon those who are most likely to be its future? just seems “penny wise and pound foolish” to me.</p>
<p>i was very glad to see koach get the reprieve. i really hope that rather just being a way to minimize the controversy by spreading the demise out over a few years, it is really used as a way to rethink and reinvigorate both the program and the funding.</p>
<p>If I’m not mistaken, KOACH serves/is on-site at apprx 50 college campuses, Hillel about 550 campuses, Chabad about 150 campuses, KESHER about 9 and KEDMA about 18.</p>
<p>At a time when we need more & stronger on-site organizations serving Jewish college students (and educating/reaching out to non-Jews), it is a shame that de-funding is an issue. So, I, too, am glad for the KOACH reprieve, and most definitely agree with iamhere that to allow KOACH to devolve is to abandon the future of Conservative Jews.</p>
<p>And, I agree with Penny, it is the hands of parents to support college campus Jewish orgs, but also in the hands of college alumni who were well-served by Jewish orgs, and in the hands of the rest of us who appreciate the need for Hillel, Chabad & the like. </p>
<p>When searching for colleges with the right fit for my DD, the campuses with an active Jewish organization and a diverse Jewish community (offers Judaic studies, Jewish frat/sorority, political groups & a connection to local synagogues) get my vote…despite the fact that DD is not particularly observant.</p>
<p>When my boys were each making up their college lists, the first thing each of them wanted was a good sized Jewish community on campus. Only after that requirement was met did they care about the rest of their needs and wants…they reasoned that they could get their academic needs met at a lot of schools, but not all schools could meet their social need for a Jewish community.</p>
<p>Only my oldest became actively involved with Hillel while on campus. My middle son was active in Chabad. My youngest did not get involved with the Jewish organizations on campus, but he and his group of friends (many Jewish) host their own Shabbat dinners a couple of times a month, have their own Seders, and build their own Sukkah. They also make chicken soup for one another when one of their group gets sick!</p>
<p>It is sad the way so many venerable Jewish organizations are jettisoning their young. B’nai B’rith cut BBYO off several years ago, and with strong leadership BBYO is thriving once again…but B"nai B’rith is withering away. Without Koach, I see the Conservative movement heading in the same direction. I don’t understand why major Jewish organizations are choosing to de-fund the source of their very futures.</p>