<p>So I recently heard that Wash U is known by many as Wash Jew because of its high percentage of Jewish people on campus.</p>
<p>Just wondering if this is an accurate/true name, and if it is even commonly used, because I was quite surprised when I heard it.</p>
<p>To be clear, I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, just wondering if it’s accurate and/or a common nickname for the school.</p>
<p>From what I’ve experienced, it’s absolutely true (not a bad thing). They have kosher meal options (which is very unusual where I’m from). I’ve heard that ~40-50% of the student population is Jewish. Btw, I’m not Jewish, so I may not be the best source.</p>
<p>cosine, not quite 40-50…</p>
<p>It hovers near 30% of the school. If 60% of the school is white (and assuming that the vast majority of the Jewish students are white), then ~ half of all the white kids are Jewish.
The links below say it’s above 25%, but below 30%.</p>
<p>I’ve only ever heard to WashU as WashJew jokingly. I know a few “hardcore” Jewish kids that follow the strictest rules (ie no electricity- which is why a few kids get physical keys instead of card swipes into their dorm room), but that’s the minority.
But yeah, it’s not called WashJew regularly. We have enough names to choose from (washu, woooostl, etc). </p>
<p>[Jewish</a> Student Populations at Various Colleges & Universities | InLikeMe](<a href=“http://www.inlikeme.com/jewish-student-populations-various-colleges-universities.html]Jewish”>http://www.inlikeme.com/jewish-student-populations-various-colleges-universities.html)
[Private</a> Colleges with the Highest Percentage of Jewish Students | InsideCollege.com](<a href=“The Best College Rankings and Lists | Inside College | CollegeXpress”>The Best College Rankings and Lists | Inside College | CollegeXpress)
^Speaking of schools with high Jewish population levels, I’ve also heard Jewlane (Tulane) and NYJew.</p>
<p>My freshman roommate was Jewish and put a mezuzah on our door frame. She certainly wasn’t the most devout but it was pretty interesting to learn about (I may have lived in NY for several years, but I went to high school in the deep south; something like 1% of my city is Jewish).</p>
<p>This comes up from time to time about Tulane, Wash U, and a few others. The percentage of people that list their religion as Jewish is about 25-30%, that is accurate. Few are orthodox, and few are observant to the nth degree, but many feel a strong tie to their Jewish identity. Having grown up in an area that was heavily Jewish (virtually all non-orthodox), I think it is an accurate observation to say that Jewishness is a combination of an ethnic identity and a religious identity, and at these campuses it is at least as much the former as the latter. I don’t think this is a radical or even controversial point of view, many prominent Jewish people have analyzed this in different ways such as novels, art, and of course scholarly articles. In any case, my point is that on these campuses you will have a very active Hillel, as well as popular fraternities/sororities that have historically been predominently Jewish.</p>
<p>Finally, the percentage of Jewish students at American universities is significantly in excess of the percentage of Jewish people in the general population. To that extent it is not surprising that some schools have larger Jewish representation than one might otherwise expect.</p>
<p>^^ Agree with fallenchemist’s post. By the way, you might find this interesting. <a href=“http://reformjudaismmag.org/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=1380&destination=ShowItem[/url]”>http://reformjudaismmag.org/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=1380&destination=ShowItem</a></p>
<p>blackeyedsusan - Thanks for that. I think I saw that once before, but had forgotten. The numbers are a little off in Tulane’s case, but that is probably somewhat unique to Tulane. Tulane has a continuing education school and they count those students as part of the undergraduate population, but in fact they interact little with full time undergrads since those students mostly work and live in their own homes. So the “true” undergraduate population at Tulane, rather than 7400 or so, is more like 5500. That would make the percentage between 25-30%, as stated, not 14%. Most schools, I don’t think, have anywhere near the number of part time students Tulane does, so their numbers are probably right. I have to say, Cornell, GW and especially Northwestern took me by surprise, I had no idea they were that high. Interesting.</p>
<p>There is a higher percentage of Jews at a number of Ivy schools but nobody says a thing cuz of ivy snobbery and history. Wash U equal to all but HYP in test scores and academic prowess and if that is due to the Jews it is what powered Ivys too</p>
<p>Actually- Between 25 and 30% of undergrads at Harvard, Yale, UPenn and Brown are Jewish according to the stats available at [Hillel:</a> The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life](<a href=“http://www.hillel.org%5DHillel:”>http://www.hillel.org). Wash U’s undergrad. pop. is 26% Jewish according to hillel’s stats.</p>
<p>I had a “friend” say to me, “Oh your daughter is going to JewU” - another version of Wash Jew that I find equally as offensive, and we’re not Jewish!</p>
<p>I’ve also read that WUStl is 25-30% Catholic. Funny thing is, my D will be a senior and doesn’t have one close friend that is Jewish or Catholic! Not sure how that happened!</p>