Colleges for the Jewish "B" student (Part 1)

<p>Interesting comment about MoCo - that’s the kind of thing I really don’t know about - having been in this area for so long - I know it is very competitive as far as students applying to college - but how a 3.9W GPA from a MoCo hs is looked at by admissions counselors - that I don’t know. </p>

<p>Delaware is interesting - we visited 2 years ago with S1 and were not blown away. But I keep hearing great things about it and maybe need to give it a second look.</p>

<p>barrons - I agree with you - to me - it is not just getting in - but being successful and happy. Nothing could be worse than having your kid get into a school like Emory or Tulane and then either flunk out or just be so miserable that he wants to transfer. Fit is very important to me - more so than “prestige”.</p>

<p>Roshke-is the student unhappy with Susquehanna for Jewish related reasons or otherwise?</p>

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<p>Hoping this thread will be useful to other Jewish parents as well - so wanted to update what I just learned about Gettysburg. The national Hillel website states Gettysburg has 60 Jewsih students. Just heard from the Hillel advisor - Stephen Stern - who wrote that Gettysburg has about 150 Jewish students now and does have an active Hillel. I’d still like to hear anecdotal accounts if possible.</p>

<p>Brandeis or Yeshiva.</p>

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<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.wvu.edu/~wvuhillel/WVU_Hillel/Welcome.html]Welcome[/url”>http://www.wvu.edu/~wvuhillel/WVU_Hillel/Welcome.html]Welcome[/url</a>]</p>

<p>Suggesting West Virginia University, admission is not so competitive, with good basketball & football teams.</p>

<p>rockvillemom - I was going to mention that I found that the Hillel website has a lot of outdated information. better to check with the schools directly like you did.</p>

<p>we were on a similar quest a year ago. D had a 3.7 uw GPA and was accepted ED to Brandeis and RD (expedited) to Tulane, with a very generous merit award. (had we had any idea that merit aid was a possibility, we would have thought twice about the Brandeis ED app :o)</p>

<p>It occurs to me that if I lived in Rockville and my kid went to Richard Montgomery (or some such), and we belonged to a local synagogue, and he was active in BBYO, with a little bit of paying attention by mid-April of his 11th grade year both he and I would know a LOT about where MoCo Jewish students like him might go to college.</p>

<p>I’m not suggesting that following the crowd (if there is one) is always the right thing to do. But I suspect rockvillemom and rockvilleson know (or could know about) quite a few slightly older kids with grades and preferences not so different from rockvilleson’s, and they and their families would be great sources of information for this question.</p>

<p>The OP said “I want to make sure I have considered every college this should be on my son’s list.” I’m pretty sure she’s done a “little bit of paying attention” and she does "know a LOT about where MoCo Jewish students like him might go to college". It sounds to me that she is doing exactly what I did: asking CCers if she/S have missed anything in putting his list together. And she’s getting lots of good advice.</p>

<p>I visited Salisbury. It is like a mini, considerably smaller version of College Park in terms of campus. We met some really nice staff and they have some excellent programs. However, there is little there for Jewish kids and it is very hard to get home unless you are giving your kid a car and are comfortable with the drive on the bridge. Towson has the better location and some Jewish life (kosher food, etc.) and an excellent Business school. I definitely agree to look at Pitt, Northeastern, and other Boston area schools. You might want to consider Northwestern. I have heard great things about SUNY Binghampton but have not visited the school. American is great for kids interested in government and Political Science. GW is another possibility but it is very expensive. Did you look at Case Western Reserve? I am not sure that many of the other schools mentioned have an active Hillel.</p>

<p>I missed the B student part. Yeshiva might still be an option. Also Syracuse. Temple university is a possibility too.</p>

<p>Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA</p>

<p>Allegheny College. It’s one of the CTCL and they have recently added an admissions officer with a true commitment to recruiting Jewish students.</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses - interesting feedback.</p>

<p>JHS - many Jewish students from our area choose large universities - UMDCP, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Penn State etc. Wonderful schools - but not the right fit for my son. Others - being stronger students - are heading to Northwestern, Emory, Cornell and so forth. My quest is for a small-medium school suitable for a B/B+ student. Some of the schools that have caught my eye - Elon, College of Charleston, Muhlenberg, etc., are actually not terribly popular among students from our hs. And, as PRJ explained, I have some ideas already - I just want to be sure I haven’t overlooked anything.</p>

<p>mdcissp - thanks for your input on Salisbury. Sounds like Towson might be a better choice for an in-state safety.</p>

<p>limulus - thanks for commenting on Allegheny. My f-i-l went there and much more recently a cousin. Had previously considered, but not sure about it being perhaps too small and the weather being an issue. But, I may reconsider.</p>

<p>Friend’s son had an absolutely great time at University of Alabama, was part of Hillel there and had many jewish friends.</p>

<p>Their academic life is great, and needless to say, their football team – fantastic (so lots of school spirit too!).</p>

<p>[Hillel</a> - University of Alabama](<a href=“http://www.bamahillel.org/faq.htm]Hillel”>http://www.bamahillel.org/faq.htm)</p>

<p>Of course I’m very biased towards two of the schools already mentioned… Muhlenberg and Syracuse.</p>

<p>.</p>

<p>Susquehanna has given a lot of publicity to their brand spanking new Hillel, but they also have an all-campus Christmas service that’s apparently a major part of campus culture. </p>

<p>Have a look at the University of Hartford. Huge Jewish population, not as competitive as some of the other places already mentioned, good merit aid.</p>

<p>Really? Nobody has mentioned Brandeis?</p>

<p>UMD College Park has a substantial Jewish population and Jewish life and is an excellent state school.</p>

<p>IBfootballer - Brandeis is probably too rigorous academically for my son. And while he is interested in Hillel, not in need of Kosher facilities or anything like that. UMDCP - great school - but too big for what we are looking for.</p>

<p>stradmom - interesting - not sure how I feel about that. When we visited William & Mary with S1, they have a Christmas tradition where the college president comes out and reads Twas the Night Before Christmas and it actually sounded nice - I wasn’t put off by that at all. But an all-campus Christmas service is a bit different - I will have to look into Susquehanna a little more.</p>

<p>Our tour guide at Duquesne U was Jewish and having a wonderful experience there.</p>

<p>University of Maryland?</p>