<p>The big (formerly locally-owned) grocery chain in our area had a sale one autumn for “All Your Favorite Yom Kippur Foods!” The owner, who had donated much of his fortune to Jewish charities, must have been spinning in his grave.</p>
<p>When I was in HS, Augusta, Georgia was considered Catholic mission territory – less than 2% Catholic. The Diocese of Savannah had immigrant Irish priests driving all over central and south Georgia saying Mass on weekends (and they came to substitute at my parents’ church. I converted to Judaism as a young adult.) Wanting to know what colleges in the deep south had Neumann Centers was just as relevant a question as wanting to know about Hillel.</p>
<p>Rockville Mom: Thanks for the thread. I am reading this thread with lots of interest as I also have a sophomore in a similar situation and also an interest in a business major. My other S also just completed Freshman year. The main difference is that we would really like to stick to a warm climate.
Holliesue and Sliveytove: I am really curious about how you even tell a school that you are Jewish. Do they just figure this out by looking at EC’s?</p>
<p>I’ve read this thread with great interest. D2 (current hs jr) and I visited colleges in February and inquired about the jewish community at all but forgot at Elon. My D doesn’t think she’d go often to Friday night services but would want to go to High Holiday services. She’d like to attend them on campus and have plenty of company–that and having matzoh available during Passover would be her definition of ‘enough of a Jewish community’. Elon has come up on this thread several times…does anyone know about the jewish community there?</p>
<p>Not necessarily for the OP but D1 goes to UPenn and there’s a great Jewish community there. D joined a sorority (not religiously affliliated) and one of the girls in the sorority wanted to have a seder so Hillel provided the food and close to 40 girls (not all Jewish) participated with the Jewish girls explaining to the nonJewish girls what is was all about.</p>
<p>spectrum2- I tell them she is Jewish and I inquire as to the climate for Jewish students. Is there a Hillel? If she wants to take off classes for RH or YK are the professors accomodating?It also helps that we have a very classically Jewish last name . Believe me my D has NO Jewish EC’s…and honestly as I have said she really could care less whether there is a Hillel or not on campus.(and she HATES all Jewish food, except for bagels, so we don’t need to inquire about that.) However, she will not go to classes on the high holidays…funny everyone has their line that they won’t cross!</p>
<p>What an interesting thread. My D does NOT have a Jewish last name, but a ton of Jewish ECs and wants to do a Jewish studies minor. While the college she is going to does not cancel classes for the High Holidays (like some of the SUNY schools), it looks as if it is an excused absence. Still, I hope my D can fit in services around her classes on those days (RH actually falls on her 18th bday this year). I told her that, when I was in college and went to services with my friends, it was a great opportunity to see which of the boys were Jewish too! (in case that matters to you)</p>
<p>Thanks for this thread. I love it. When I was visiting schools with D1, I always tried to get a sense of how the Jewish life on campus was. It embarrassed her to no end (but she is now grateful).</p>
<p>Pitt actually sends a brochure to prospective students entitled “Jewish Life on Campus”, detailing all of the ways to participate in Jewish life. This was the ONLY school that did this for my son. I have no idea how they knew he was Jewish, and to top it off he hadn’t even applied to Pitt! (We do have a Jewish last name.) Nevertheless, I was extremely impressed!
Thanks again for the thread.</p>
<p>la mere - I am so glad you have found this thread of use. I had never even considered that is might appeal to an Asian family - but I get your point - it has a lot to do with overall diversity and tolerance.</p>
<p>crester - hysterical! I think that’s the kind of thing we are trying to avoid!</p>
<p>spectrum2 - I agree on the warm climate - although S2 has said he would consider PA. So far, we are probably most interested in Elon and College of Charleston. S2’s main EC is BBYO - so it will be clear he is Jewish. Most applications have a place to indicate race and ethnicity and with S1 - we always indicated Jewish. My thinking is this - we want our boys to attend colleges that genuinely want Jewish students - it is not something we would ever try to hide. </p>
<p>collage1 - Elon fits the bill for us. About 250 Jewish students and a pretty active Hillel. They have a very nice website listing their activities and answering questions. There is also a thread about Jewish life at Elon on the Elon forum.</p>
<p>college4three - I just start with the assumption that pretty much everything I say or do embarrasses my kids and just go from there. My parents completely embarrassed me on many occasions, so I consider it a family tradition. Seriously though, most kids don’t feel comfortable asking questions at college info sessions or tours - it is the parents mostly. One option is to have the student bring a friend and then split up. On a warm day - just leave them with a bowl of ice cream in the dining hall after the info session and tour - they are content to chill. That way I can wander around the campus after we have done the official visit, ask questions, gather info, etc., and my son does not have to witness it.</p>
<p>levirm - College of Charleston does something similar - they have brochures geared towards Jewish students - they have a special program for Jewish accepted students - I think that if you are on their mailing list and identify Hillel as one of your interests you would get this mail. But you are right - getting that type of mail from Pitt when student had not even applied is a little puzzling.</p>
<p>DD went to a school with a very large Jewish population (Barnard.) The school did not cancel classes on the High Holy Days or give excused absences. However, so many of the faculty were Jewish that the classes would often be canceled at the discretion of the prof.</p>
<p>The same was true for Columbia.</p>
<p>It was a bit strange considering both schools have kids also attending the Jewish Theological Seminary and receiving dual degrees.</p>
<p>I am new to CC. Our guidance counselor highly recommended University of Richmond. It has a small Jewish population, but active, a few hundred, I think. Also it has a fabulous business program. It’s a LAC with a separate business school. It’s too far away for us, but may be more centrally located for you and your child.</p>
<p>Apparently the school is very clean and beautiful to look at and they keep the grounds looking upkept. There is a prominant Jewish family in that area that just built a new Hillel Center, I believe, if memory serves me right when I had this conversation with our guidance counselor.</p>
<p>Bottom line is it can’t hurt to inquire to see if it would be a good match!</p>
<p>My recollection is that Vanderbilt has also been doing a lot to attract Jewish students in recent years. Clearly it is <em>very</em> selective these days, but for anyone else who’s reading the thread and looking for schools that are seeking out Jewish students…</p>
<p>chocchip - welcome to CC. Thank you for suggesting Univ. of Richmond - my impression is that it might be out of reach for my son - but it is an interesting thought - I am definitely going to do a little research there.</p>
<p>Countingdown - I think Vanderbilt is the poster child for colleges that want to encourage Jewish applicants - I think they were one of the first schools to embark on a clear campaign in the early 2000s soliciting Jewish students. Of course, Vanderbilt is way beyond S2’s reach - I think it is pretty much on par now with Duke as far as selectivity - but for a top-ranked student who prefers to head south - would be a fabulous choice.</p>
<p>chocchip - I think University of Richmond is too much of a reach for my son - but you are right - it might be a great place for an “A” student. Our large public hs Naviance shows 4.25 wgpa as the average accepted and 1273/1600 as the average accepted SAT score. I really don’t want any real reaches for my son - at this point. He gets discourages easily and does not have a lot of confidence in his academic abilities. I really see him more at a match school where he is clearly in the upper half of the range of accepted students. Now this may change over the next year - but from what I have seen so far - he does better when he is towards the top of a given class and becomes frustrated to the point of giving up when he is towards the bottom. He needs maturity and he needs self-confidence, but I am very sensitive to this issue and do not want him at a college where he will be in over his head. But again, could be a great fit for a stronger student.</p>
<p>Thanks for looking into my suggestion, Rockvillemom.</p>
<p>You seem to have a great number of suggestions posted on this thread, so I wish you a lot of good luck. I agree with you, I’ve also done most of the research for my son and he has narrowed down the list on his own after we visited many of the colleges I researched. These kids are way too busy and it’s our way of helping them out a bit and staying involved in this pretty intense process!</p>
<p>By-the-way, our GC also had recommended the Univ. of Delaware. We have a cousin (Jewish) that went to Elon, but claimed it was too small for her. She ended up transferring to Univ. of Maryland/College Park and is much happier.</p>
<p>So, we think the kids know what they want, but not always until they get there!</p>
<p>Hi RtR - good to see you. I’m not a huge fan of UMDCP. I know the academics are great and a lot of S1’s friends go there - but the housing issue bothers me - the crime in the area surrounding the campus worries me - and town/gown relations are strained to say the least. I just think it is too big for S2. I also feel that so many kids from our hs go there - it’s like a continuation of hs - it’s just not what I have in mind. If we do an in-state - maybe we’ll look at Towson - but not sure about that either. I really wish St. Mary’s was an option - that’s a great in-state LAC - but they do not offer business and I simply cannot send my Jewish son to a school called St. Mary’s! I know it is named for the county - I know the name does not mean it is an all-girls Catholic school - but I just can’t do it and since they don’t offer a major that would interest him anyway, I don’t have to argue with myself about that one!</p>
<p>chocchip - interesting about the student transferring from Elon to MD - but you never know - what appeals to a junior in hs may not be the right fit for a sophomore in college. </p>
<p>If S2 likes JMU and wants to consider other schools in the 15,000 range - I guess we will visit Delaware.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind my asking, what schools are on your son’s list?</p>
. Believe me my D has NO Jewish EC’s…and honestly as I have said she really could care less whether there is a Hillel or not on campus.(and she HATES all Jewish food, except for bagels, so we don’t need to inquire about that.) However, she will not go to classes on the high holidays…funny everyone has their line that they won’t cross!</p>