<p>The Hillel website shows about 100 Jewish students out of 4600. I had a brief e-mail exchange with the contact person - Louise Woreley - who felt that info was about right. She mentioned that Hillel had a core group of 20 active students. She wrote that they were very active and met regularly. Hillel holds programs almost monthly that are open to the entire campus and are well attended. So, not sure if that is enough Jewish life or not.</p>
<p>College4three - when you feel like re-creating your long post - would like to hear more.</p>
<p>@rockvillemom: well said. As a Jewish mom, I am very sensitive to wanting my kids to feel comfortable in their identity. Avoiding environments which are hostile to Jewish kids is central to this. I live on LI too, but in a community which has only a few Jewish families, so Iâve had to make a considerable effort to keep my kids involved. I have had some successes and some failures. They donât go with me to shul every Friday night, but do light candles with me.</p>
<p>As for the other parents, I think you put it well in that there is a degree of competition that precludes full disclosure (sadly, I include myself in this group).</p>
<p>In the end, we are all looking for a home away from home for our kids, one where they will thrive, so itâs only natural that we would have questions about how theyâll be received as Jewish kids.</p>
<p>I think this is an immensely valuable thread, both for the focus on the seldom discussed B student and as the only Jewish discussion group I have participted in online.</p>
<p>Pardon the sidetrack, but I wonder if folks would agree with me that in towns with a significant Jewish population, being a B/B+ student is virtually a Mark of Cain? I think, for example, if you are Catholic and your child is going to the Catholic equivalent of a B schoolâsay LaSalle rather than Villanova or Georgetownâyou will get many fewer smug looks than we endure.</p>
<p>^^yabeyabe; agree 100% but what made that easier for us was that this daughter is in private school and has very little to do with other than a handful of kids here at homeâŠit was actually one of the academic reasons we pulled her out of the public; âBâ non-honors/AP students are just really looked down upon, even by the teachers hereâŠit is really disgustingâŠ</p>
<p>I havenât read every post but I did notice a mention or two of College of Charleston. Our 2 visits there were made so much better by the most welcoming nature of their Hillel. We are not very religious and many of those kids werenât either. Lots of social events, brunches, parties, as well as the Shabbat dinners, etc. Totally free Kosher for Passover food for the entire holiday, the Hillel building open at all hours for studying and socializing. They have a wonderful organization and so many Jewish kids feel great about their Jewish identity there.</p>
<p>I naively, I guess, never thought of this. My kids did not attend a very Jewish HS and did fine. My dad was an officer in the army during WWII, no Jews in any of his units.</p>
<p>I think wanting to be involved in Jewish life is a very good reason to do this research; I guess itâs just me, but I donât think fear is.</p>
<p>Unless there are open and frequent anti-semitic incidents, I think my kids could be comfortable anywhere.</p>
<p>D spent time in London living with Brit kids who were all anti-Israel, pro-Palestianian. She also believes in a two-state solution, but she did point out some of the anti-semitic ideas being articulated. She still had a wonderful time in England.</p>
<p>S is at a school where Jewish enrollment hovers around 10%, sometimes less. He did fine. Made great friends, did not feel alienated. </p>
<p>He did not participate in Jewish life, which wasnât an issue to me until I found out that he didnât take advantage of the prezâs invitation to break fast with him on Yom Kippur. Itâs a fairly small school, and I felt visiting the prezâs house was pretty cool.</p>
<p>S didnât feel it was worth fasting and did not want to feel like a hypocrite. Fair enough.</p>
<p>Vitrac, from what Asian kids post on CC, it seems to be Ivies or suicide. And many of their parents have no idea that , MIT, CalTech, Stanford, Amherst, Haverford, etc are top schools.</p>
<p>Because my sonâs school has a very small Jewish population, when one of the incoming freshmen posted a survey for kids to answer to identify prospective roommates, I read every single responseâeven the girlsââto see the answers to the question âDo you prefer your roommate to be of the same religion?â Every single kid said they did not care. Granted, most think of âdifferent religionâ as Catholic vs. Protestant, but it eased my mind.</p>
<p>Yabeyabe2-I did the same thing! I read my dâs schoolâs facebook surveys for roommates and almost every kid described himself/herself as ânot religiousâ," not religious at all," or religion not important," Jews and Gentiles alike. Seems like the opposite of the countryâs mood, but I liked it.</p>
<p>I want to suggest physical therapy or kinesiology major as an alternative to crowded, not great jobs prospect sports management major. There is a shortage of Physical Therapists, particularly for men. There are plenty of good jobs with good benefits and with more options for a variety of work settings and varied locations. Another option is kinesiology major which might open up more varied options for work (PE teacher, Physical Therapy school, etc.).</p>
<p>Goucher: No Business school so this will not work for Rockvillemomâs son.</p>
<p>Tulane: Heard there is drinking thereâlovely campus but check out the social scene to be sure your son (and you) would be comfortable there.</p>
<p>mdcisspâexcellent career suggestions! Physical therapy has traditionally been heavily female, because it lends itself well to to flexible hours. Goucher does not have a business school (very few small schools do) but it does have some business coursesâa friend teaches marketing there. In some schoolsâI think Ursinus and muhlenberg may be 2 of themâbusiness courses fall under the economics department.</p>
<p>Vitrac, I highly recommend to parents of underclassmen that they look on the Facebook pages for the class of 2014 at schools they are considering. It is an excellent way to get a sense of the incoming freshmenâhow enthusiastic they seem; what their interests and proposed majors are; where they are from; how friendly they come across; etc. Just donât be surprised when 99% respond to surveys by saying they like to drink and party.</p>
<p>For example, on the Susquehanna page, I saw kids from the Swing Dancing Club reaching out to incoming freshmenâPalin will vote for Obama before my son tries swing dancing, but it furthered my sense of the place as having a lot to do for a small school and friendly kids. And the kids writing about themselves seemed not at all interested in sounding impressive, but very eager to meet new people.</p>
<p>âdid the same thing! I read my dâs schoolâs facebook surveys for roommates and almost every kid described himself/herself as ânot religiousâ,â not religious at all," or religion not important," Jews and Gentiles alike. Seems like the opposite of the countryâs mood, but I liked it."</p>
<p>really? I looked at the facebook stuff, and I got the distinct impression the catholic and protestant sometime church goers would be better matches for my daughter, who has always gotten along with people of all faiths, than the ones who call themselves not religious at all. At least the churchgoers will have some understanding of my Dâs inclinations to attend shachris minyan, her dietary restrictions, etc, than someone who might be inclined to pull out Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens. :)</p>
<p>For those considering a Physical Therapy major it is a great field but while years ago the degree and licensure came with an entry level bachelors, over the years entry level has been elevated. I believe that now all schools require an entry level Phd. If this is the field being considered it is important that students donât expect to graduate in four years and be able to get a job as a PT.</p>
<p>Brooklyndad (which I had), while I agree with Vitrac that you breathe easier when you sense that most of the Christian kids are not fervent (and my son would not go to a yeshiva, either), I think you have a point which may also suggest that Jewish parents should not be scared of church affiliated schools. As long as they do not require church attendance, I think the principles of religious faiths produce schools which do more than pay lip service to nurturing kids and caring about them as individuals.</p>
<p>But I would still understand anyone being nervous about a school where a lot of kids preferred a roommate of their own faith or where the religious overtones included converting others.</p>
<p>On a plane trip, I met a gal who graduated from the Physical Therapy program at Pitt. She works as a fitness trainer for the U.S. military. She gets excellent pay, superb benefits, plus travel. I can see where a lot of people interested in Sports Management could get more job protection and good benefits going into Physical Therapy doing similar work.</p>
<p>We liked some of the Quaker schools for their open-mindedness and respect of all beliefs. </p>
<p>ETA: Not to say that other faith-sponsored schools arenât open-minded, but rather that we found the Quaker approach particularly embracing in this regard.</p>
<p>"(and my son would not go to a yeshiva, either) "</p>
<p>My daughter will be spending next fall at the Conservative (egalitarian) Yeshiva in Jerusalem We are reclaiming the word Yeshiva, an ancient and honorable word, whose usage in ancient times was for the places where Judaism evolved and was not held rigidly, unchangingly, captive.</p>
<p>Really though, I didnât mean a church affiliated school (though if she had gotten into GeorgetownâŠ) so much as somewhat christian roommates at a secular university. Though Hindus might be more ideal - religious, understanding dietary restrictions, not proselytizing - :)</p>
Really? Drinking by college students? LOL, OK sorry for the sarcasm but there really is no more drinking at Tulane than most colleges. Just because it is in New Orleans doesnât make alcohol any more or less available. Besides, the abundance of other activities, like a lot of urban schools, gives people lots of other choices. Study after study shows that alcohol is an issue with almost all colleges, and that the more rural campuses usually have a bigger problem with both drugs and alcohol.</p>
We are reclaiming the word Yeshiva, an ancient and honorable word, whose usage in ancient times was for the places where Judaism evolved and was not held rigidly, unchangingly, captive.</p>