<p>From my medical school days in Albany years ago, I recall a small college in the region called Russell Sage College. I suspect they have a shared hillel with RPI.</p>
<p>Yes, hereâs a link to some good info.
<a href=âRPI Hillel :: Aboutâ>RPI Hillel :: About;
<p>Thanks, everyone! That is good, that Russell Sage is a womenâs college - the ratio otherwise at that Hillel does not look favorable for future-Mrs. finding for DS. ;)</p>
<p><a href=âhttp://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2014/jul/05/jewish-muslim-students-work-together-dining-option/â>http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2014/jul/05/jewish-muslim-students-work-together-dining-option/</a></p>
<p>Interesting article about Jewish and Muslim students working together on dietary options. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>As the article points out, serving both groups with the same vendor is unlikely, since there are dietary differences, but it is nice to see the groups working together on the project and mutually support each other. Itâs also nice to see the UC system take steps to meet their dietary needs. I hope this opens the door for good things to happen. </p>
<p>fretful mother and momjr, thank you! Fretfulmohter, Cornell offers something called Freshmen Fest which starts the day before move in so itâs a very short preorientation program. One of my Dâs two roommates (met online only) is also signed up and I think it will be a great way for her to meet people. She will be living in a suite in a regular dorm so, no, sheâs not living in any type of themed housing. </p>
<p>University of Richmond</p>
<p>This goes back to Shugmomâs question about U of Richmond. We visited University of Richmond a couple of years ago when taking our sons on a round of college visits and while there wasnât a large Jewish presence by any means, there was an AEPi chapter/house there. I just looked at the schoolâs website and that fraternity is no longer listed. Not a great sign, but that certainly doesnât mean that there isnât a Jewish life at the campus. At the time, I had asked the admissions person covering MD what Jewish life was like at the campus, were there any problems, and he wasnât aware of any (not such a strange question to ask, as when we visited Hamilton in a separate trip, their Succah had just been vandalized and the admissions people were noticeably horrified that it had happened).</p>
<p>I donât know if youâve visited the campus but itâs a very pretty campus, lots of trees, they have a highly ranked undergrad business school (at least by Bloomberg Business Week) that non-business majors can take classes in, foodâs not bad (we always tried out the food in all of the schools we visited, both to try the food itself but just as importantly, to see what the students were like, how they interacted). </p>
<p>Thanks, Susanmw. We havenât visited the campus yet; the school just recently appeared on our âradar screen.â</p>
<p>Iâve followed this thread since the day I discovered CC, and also recognize a lot of the regulars from other threads. I donât know if Iâve ever posted here before.</p>
<p>S14 is currently one week into a three-week BBYO trip in Israel. Although as of today heâs way up north, he was pretty close to the action the past several days, within 20 miles of where some of the missiles hit yesterday. Spoke to him this morning. He was fine, and was wondering if we were concerned. I told him truthfully that he was more at risk the past four years going to school (and hanging around) Oakland than he is currently in Israel. </p>
<p>And FWIW, his âfinal fourâ when it came to decision-time were all schools with strong Jewish communities, either by percentage or absolute numbers. Although we didnât plan it that way, it was no coincidence either.</p>
<p>I hope your son continues to have a safe and enjoyable trip in Israel. My son is planning to travel to NJ in a few weeks for a reunion with his birthright bus group - they clearly bonded during the experience. </p>
<p>Please feel free to post your observations about Jewish life at any of the colleges you considered. A visit and firsthand experience will always provide the most insight.</p>
<p>Considering Elon for business
But it seems that it has a religious affiliation
Any thoughts on this school
Gpa 4.0
Sat 1300/1990
Do you know any other schools on east coast simiar to Elon, without the religious affiliation?
Other schools i am considering are bryant, bentley, quinnipiac, and hofstra
Any thoughts on Elon would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Hi - Elon has no religious affiliation. Perhaps decades ago, but nothing in the present day. The school mascot was changed from âFighting Christiansâ to âThe Phoenixâ a number of years ago. Are you looking for active Jewish life? Elon is about 8% Jewish, with an incoming freshman class that is close to 10% Jewish. These are self-reported stats - actual number could be even higher. Very active Hillel and Jewish fraternity, ZBT. If you are looking for colleges for a Jewish student, do look at the Elon Hillel website for more details.</p>
<p>Ok thank you @rockvillemom I am not exactly looking to be highly active in hillel, but I was just curious bc i didnât want to go to a religious affiliated school. I have another question, being in the south, does Elon have a very religious feeling? I was turned away from Wake Forest bc I heard it is very religious based lifestyle. Does Elon have a very southern feeling, since I am from NY? </p>
<p>turtleneck7: If you have not already you should use the search feature next to the page numbers at the bottom right of this thread. Elon has been very popular on this thread and has had a lot of discussion. Of course nothing is a substitute for visiting and getting the feel yourself but some of the discussion might help you.</p>
<p>turtleneck - Iâm not sure where you are getting info, but it seems a bit outdated to me. Elon does not have a religious feel to it, in my opinion. Many of the students are from NY, NJ, MA and MD - so plenty of students from non-Southern states. The only âSouthernâ observations I have made are girls wearing sundresses with cowboy boots, which is something I had not seen in MD but was cute, and many students like country music. Nothing scarier than that!</p>
<p>Wake Forest is a little more conservative and âSouthernâ than Elon, but I would not describe it at all as a âvery religious based lifestyleâ. Jewish life is less active at Wake Forest than at Elon, but there is a small and growing Hillel.</p>
<p>My best advice is always to speak with current students at the college and visit if you can. Stereotypes and generalities can be very misleading.</p>
<p>In complete agreement with my neighbor, RockvilleMom. My D and I visited Elon last spring and found it to be a warm, friendly, tolerant, and completely non-denominational vibe. She chose Tulane for a multitude of reasons but wouldâve happily attended Elon. </p>
<p>Question - have any of your HS students attended âMarch of the Livingâ and how did it impact their whole college process in terms of missing so much school?</p>
<p>Starting the process for D2</p>
<p>My rising junior gave me a long list of colleges she is considering. We are planning a summer road trip to check some of them out. I know that the list seems a little incoherent in terms of its mix of large and small schools, but this is early in the process. Does anyone on this great forum have a reaction to the Jewish life at any of these choices? (listed in south to north order)</p>
<p>Juniata
Bucknell
Lafayette
Villanova
Pitt
Colgate
Rochester
Syracuse
Wellesley
Northeastern
Boston University
Vermont</p>
<p>@tjdad2011 - first, donât worry re mix of large/small. It reminds me of when we were house-hunting, and the RE agent seemed really invested in whether we wanted a condo or a house, and I was like, if it has more than 1.5 bathrooms and covered parking, I want to see it; I donât care right now about the governance structure. So your DD might well have her own priorities that are not size, that work for her. :)</p>
<p>Here are the ones I know about from your list:</p>
<p>Wellesley - supposedly has full kosher meal plan. scattered religious services, but a fair amount of invitations to Hillel activities at MIT and Harvard.</p>
<p>Northeastern - smallish Hillel, but bigger than the âsmallishâ Hillels you might see in other parts of the country. Is part of the Boston Hillels consortium for things like club Maccabee sports and so forth.</p>
<p>BU - big Hillel, full kosher meal plan, full services daily and shabbat and holidays, many Hillel staff, also Chabad near campus if that is needed, also parties, social Jewish stuff, etc.</p>
<p>Vermont - from what I remember - very small Hillel.</p>
<p>@tjdad2011 If youâre visiting Bucknell, it might be worth taking a look at Susquehanna just down the road for a safety.</p>