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

<p>what is the cognate program?</p>

<p>I hope he gets excited about Elon and ends up having a great experience.</p>

<p>@LINYMOM‌ congrats! Re your DD and Masa program. I am familiar with the program. It is great. I know someone who is completing a year as a teaching fellow. And my nephew is going in August-it may be to petach tikvah. Feel free to PM me. </p>

<p>Bookworm, this explains it better than I can: <a href=“http://www.miami.edu/index.php/registrar/cognates/”>http://www.miami.edu/index.php/registrar/cognates/&lt;/a&gt; I guess it’s a new format.</p>

<p>Congratulations to your daughter LINYMOM!</p>

<p>Now I have to track down someone at Elon and find out why we never got the confirmation email about the enrollment deposit I sent in last week
 </p>

<p>Naggymom, I don’t know if this will make your son feel any better but the Cognate program at the U is a hassle.It makes it more difficult to fulfill Gen Ed electives by forcing students to take 3 related courses in each Cognate rather than having free choice of electives in which they are truly interested. And due to the limited number of course selections in the cognates it is difficult to schedule the classes. There are lots of great things about the U but my D and her friends are not fans of the Cognates requirements at all. Best of luck to your S and wishing your husband a speedy recovery!</p>

<p>ExpatSon will be attending Dalhousie University. In part, 'cause of programs like this:
<a href=“Environment, Sustainability and Society Program - College of Sustainability - Dalhousie University”>http://www.dal.ca/faculty/sustainability/programs/ess.html&lt;/a&gt;
A fine school for a Jewish B student. And a synagogue at the corner of the campus. :)</p>

<p>The cognate program at UM seems to be working out for my DS. I wouldn’t consider it a plus or a minus for a school. Just my opinion.</p>

<p>@Bestmominmiami‌ I sent you a PM. Would love to “chat” about Masa Israel.</p>

<p>ExpatCanuck: Congrats on your S’s decision.</p>

<p>Linymom: Congrats on your D’s graduation. My D2 is considering programs in Israel for after her graduation next year. I look forward to hearing how things go for your D.</p>

<p>I’m happy to share an exciting development at Virginia Tech:</p>

<p>After a long and competitive process, Ms. Rachel Gross, the daughter of a co-worker, has been selected by Virginia Tech to teach Judaic Studies beginning in the Fall 2014 semester!</p>

<p>Rachel will receive her Ph.D. in Religion from Princeton University this summer. She is currently a Fellow in American Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, where she’s teaching a Spring 2014 course called “Food Fights: The Politics of American Jewish Consumption.” Rachel looks forward to getting involved in Jewish life at Virginia Tech.</p>

<p>@naggymom Hugs and congrats to you. You’ve had more challenges on your plate than most. I wish your family continued good health, after all, what else really matters. I’m guessing your S will love Elon! When we toured last year, I felt like I was visiting a gorgeous country club and every student we met was warm and engaging. Best of luck!</p>

<p>@expatcanuck CONGRATULATIONS! That ESS program sounds so relevant AND marketable!</p>

<p>@linymom I know it will be hard for your D to leave Newark and UDel, but sounds like she has an exciting post-college opportunity.</p>

<p>Congratulations and best wishes for personal fulfillment to everyone who’s made college choices for Fall 2014. And to those of you with HS juniors and younger
fasten your seatbelts, what a whirlwind process! BUT, also please know that you will get more valuable and heartfelt advice and guidance from this thread than you are likely to get from most other sources! :)</p>

<p>Congrats to linymom, and expatcanuck!</p>

<p>And thank you momjr, rockvillemom, mumof2, cheermom, for your helpful comments and I so needed the hugs.
DH slowly recovering. And DS has gotten over giving up Miami and the rollercoaster ride much better than I have. He’s gone from “ok” with Elon to “I’m good with Elon” again. </p>

<p>My mother (and I’m guessing some of you on this thread can relate) raised my anxiety all over again late last night, making me feel bad for not stretching ourselves to the max so that DS could go to more of a “name brand” school (better for future job prospects, connections yadda yadda) But even if $ weren’t a deciding factor, I was a bit worried that DS’s ADD might affect him more negatively at Miami, and that Elon would be more helpful to him in focusing. Hope it turns out that way.</p>

<p>Naggymom, please don’t listen to your mother! The “name brand” of Miami will not a difference in you son’s future prospects, it is not like you are giving up Yale or Harvard for Elon! And maybe the classes at Elon will be slightly easier so he will get higher grades and a higher GPA will be impressive for future job prospects or grad school. I think U Miami would offer a lot more distractions. Please try not to second guess yourself, you made the decision that was right for you and your family and your son is going to be happy at Elon. Now focus on your husband’s recovery, and getting your son ready for college!</p>

<p>@naggymom - Glad to hear your husband continues to improve (priority 1) and that your son is good with Elon (priority 2). Elon is a terrific school. No sense in incurring significant debt for a school that’s not an order of magnitude better – and while UMiami is certainly a very good school, it’s not (IMHO) worth significant debt. And I know that I wouldn’t want my ‘distractible’ student attending [a</a> top 20 ‘party school’](<a href=“http://www.brobible.com/college/article/top-50-party-schools-ranking/"]a”>The 50 Best Party Schools In the U.S., Ranked and Reviewed (#25 - 1) - BroBible).</p>

<p>We had to tune out some of the comments from family friends and relatives who may be well intended, but are not up to date with college admissions and costs, or objective about the situation. They also aren’t going to pay the bills, and live with the stress of that debt. </p>

<p>Thanks once again everybody! </p>

<p>I have a thread trying to limit some of the safeties schools for my A- Jewish students and know there is a wealth of info on schools and Jewish life here. He is not concerned about Jewish life, but I at least want to make sure he is not uncomfortable. Your input on the thread is welcomed.</p>

<p><a href=“Help Shorten LAC Safety List - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>Help Shorten LAC Safety List - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums;

<p>all you experienced college mom’s
 what kind of luggage is best for my son. A group of my friends wanted to buy him luggage for graduation. He will be traveling from Philly to Colorado College, and yes I will be purchasing a lot at the local bed bath and beyond in Colorado Springs, but will still need to get his clothing etc
 to school and he will need something to hopefully come home with on breaks etc
 Colorado College also has 4.5 day breaks in between each “block” (3.5 week course) so he will need a small duffle for these weekend trips too. I am assuming he needs something that can fold away since he won’t have any extra storage space? I’m thinking a wheeled XL duffle possibly as part of a set that comes with a smaller wheeled duffle and a carry on type of bag? Any types/brands you or your child loved or hated?</p>

<p>What are we dads? Chopped liver??</p>

<p>by all means
 Dad’s chime in. I only said “experienced college Mom’s” because when I bring up topics like luggage to my husband, he rolls his eyes and tells me to handle it and not to spend any money. Certainly didn’t mean to offend or leave the Dad’s out of the discussion.</p>

<p>I think your planned purchase makes sense - especially if the pieces can “nest” inside each other. Many dorm rooms are set up so that the kids can loft their beds - even just a few feet up - which gives loads of space under the bed for bulky items like suitcases and bins.</p>