<p>you might have to be a little lenient on some of your criteria, but what about:</p>
<p>GW, Northwestern (probably the best fit), Emory, Wash U, Tulane, U Miami, American, Maryland (meets all criteria; honors program), Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin</p>
<p>I was also thinking Tulane and Miami.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt seems to fit most of your needs. I understand the Jewish polulation is growing and its a top 20 school, great sports, greek life, great freshman dorms, etc. I do think its even more competitive now than ever - seems to be a very “hot” school. Good luck</p>
<p>Big Ten Universities</p>
<p>I would second UW-Madison, and would also highly recommend Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>if you really love jewish life, Brandeis is an obvious choice. if you think you can get in, upenn and cornell are the ivies with the strongest Jewish communities.</p>
<p>Brown, except we’re not that into sports (depends on your circles) but do have a lot of spirit that stems from other things.</p>
<p>FWIW, I’d be wary about ranking the strength of Jewish communities at various places. There is no singular Jewish community-- lots of differences in how people express and connect with their Judaism. Some places are better for secular Jews that have cultural and political connections to that identity, some are better for Modern Orthodox Jews, some better for Chasidic Jews, some better for something else, etc.</p>
<p>I’ll second hope2getrice’s suggestion of Harvard, and
</p>
<p>Students at Ivy League colleges are very cooperative and willing to help each other out with academics, and they tend to be pretty chill people that really know how to relax and have fun (especially on weekends). Penn students especially are known for “work hard, play harder.” As for sports, Ivy League schools have very good sports programs and do recruit stellar athletes quite readily.</p>
<p>I’d say Northwestern. That 38% Jewish figure is stunning. Seems a little high to me but it could be right; in any event the reported figure is double your minimum so it’s a safe bet there’s a heavy Jewish presence. High quality academics, definitely a rah-rah Big Ten sports scene but one that sensibly takes a back seat to academics, gorgeous campus right on Lake Michigan and just an El ride away from Chicago, one of the world’s great cities. For the OP’s criteria it beats Wisconsin, UNC Chapel Hill, USC, Florida, and Vandy hands down.</p>
<p>I’m a junior at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. I think UT Austin fits most of your criteria. </p>
<ul>
<li>Ranked #38 by Washington Post in 2007</li>
<li>How hard you work will depend on what your major is; engineering is always hardcore and I know the MPA program for accounting requires a lot of time</li>
<li>Besides academics, there’s still a lot for you to enjoy in Austin. There’s never a lack of music as you can find live concerts everyday. And if you like to go out, 6th St is always a good time on the weekends</li>
<li>One of the best college sports programs in the country. There’s always a good showing at every game</li>
<li>I haven’t found students to be overly competitive</li>
<li>Couldn’t find size of Jewish community, but with 40,000 students, you’re bound to find people who share your beliefs</li>
<li>Most people complain about small dorm size, but the meal plan provided for all-you-eat 2 of 3 meals a day of pretty good food</li>
<li>Considering our size, it’s a given that there are many Greek associations on campus</li>
<li>I’ve never worried about grade deflation</li>
<li>You’ll be minutes from downtown</li>
<li>The campus isn’t spectacular, but I personally love looking across the entire campus from high floors</li>
</ul>
<p>Vanderbilt’s been suggested several times, and I think it hits most of the OP’s criteria with the exception of “not too hard to get As and Bs.” There are a couple of recent threads on the Vanderbilt forum about academic rigor and grade deflation that are worth reading. Though I don’t think it’s an exceptionally harsh school grade-wise, it’s not a place where you make the Dean’s List just by being a smart kid who shows up in class. It’s possible to get a 4.0 (though very, very few people graduate with one), but you’ll have to work hard to do so.</p>
<p>tulane .</p>
<p>lindsay78–
I hope this is either a ■■■■■ or,if sincere, please reconsider how you expressed yourself here. Your comments are offensive. Consider that your comments imply you might perhaps be the closed minded, intolerant cliqueish one – is that your intention? I hope you rehabilitate your image before you fill out your applications. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>1down-- what’s offensive about Lindsay? In particular if she’s an observant Jew, if you know anything about that, the lack of a Jewish community both at the school and local to the area can make being observant extremely uncomfortable and difficult.</p>
<p>FWIW, Vandy’s Jewish community is entirely manufactured in the last 10 years or so. Gordon Gee, former president of Brown (for like 2 years), was hired to be the president at Vandy and he felt that one of the ways to increase Vandy’s prominence was to bring in a vibrant Jewish community since pretty much 0 Jews went there and he felt that a Jewish community was a component of lasting prestige and recognition. So he undertook some projects to increase Vandy’s image amongst Jews, build a Hillel, etc etc so as to create a Jewish community there.</p>
<p>I have no idea how successful he was or wasn’t but it’s an interesting story and I’m not sure how I feel about it.</p>
<p>I was reacting to this post:
But the thing is, I used to live in a really Jewish town in New York, and now I moved to a different state where my town is 50% Hispanic, 30% Jamaican and 30% white and I really hate it. Everyone sticks to their own racial groups and have their own stereotypes. I wanna get away from this when I go to college where the Spanish people arn’t all “chongas” (not to offend anyone) and etc.</p>
<p>Whoa… sorry to jump on you 1down. I missed that post.</p>
<p>Tel Aviv U (>20% part)</p>
<p>Dartmouth would be a match minus the city part.</p>
<p>do not believe a college exists that hits all.</p>
<p>There was nothing offensive about that at all…</p>
<p>1down, sorry if that came out as offensive, but it’s hard to describe my position. it’s pretty hard to come from an all Jewish town where everyone knows eachother, to a town where you walk around in school and people stare at you if you’re white and knock into you in the hallways because they think they are superior to you. I want to go to a college like the original town i lived in where there is a close-knit Jewish community, and get as far away as possible from the town I live in. I am a member of NFTY (A Jewish youth group), which is really the only place i feel comfortable where I live. With all my Jewish friends. I’m sorry if this sounds close-minded at all because I really am not close minded.</p>
<p>Duke
-has to be a good college (Top 50?) Check
-definitely work hard, play harder Somewhat check
-have somewhat of a sports involvement/school spirit Check
-no competition amongst students Check
-preferably more than 20% jewish students Mostly check, 12% but very active community
-good dorms and food Check
-greek life Check
-not too hard to get A’s and B’s/no grade deflation Check
-a city within a half hour radius. Check
-a nice campus Check</p>
<p>Cornell
-has to be a good college (Top 50?) Check
-definitely work hard, play harder Somewhat check
-have somewhat of a sports involvement/school spirit Check
-no competition amongst students Check
-preferably more than 20% jewish students Check
-good dorms and food Check
-greek life Check
-not too hard to get A’s and B’s/no grade deflation Somewhat check
-a city within a half hour radius. No check
-a nice campus Check</p>