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

[handlmom]

This is kind of a strange question, but here goes…After visiting colleges and going on their tours, is it unusual not to receive any kind of correspondence, mail, email, “recruitment advertising” from them? She’s received some emails from a few schools encouraging her to apply but nothing from others that are certainly in reach? Just curious as it seems odd.

[BigPapiofthree]

I would not read anything into it…Different schools go to different lengths to market their schools. Some are aggressive with materials, others don’t put the resources into it.

[Chardo]

There is no correlation between touring a school and recruitment advertising. Some schools might follow up, some will not. There may, however, be a correlation between touring a school and being admitted to that school. Some schools are very big on demonstrated interest. If you live reasonably close but have never visited, they will assume you are not serious about their school.

[whenhen]

Interestingly enough, it is the for profits which generally have the most aggressive marketing among students who inquire regarding the institution.

[rockvillemom]

Quick Elon update - attended a Jewish parent function in our area this week - notable comments - Elon’s Jewish population in now estimated at 600+, the very well-liked assistant Hillel director Ginny is now Acting Director, and there is discussion of starting a Jewish sorority, following the success of Jewish fraternity ZBT. Very positive energy for Jewish life at Elon.

[rockvillemom]

And look who is back with her very own thread in the cafe - stop in and say hello:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1797497-boysx3-an-update-p1.html

[rockvillemom]

Florida universities with significant Jewish populations:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article26672083.html

When it comes to college, many Jews choose Florida schools.

Four of the top 20 public universities with the largest numbers of Jewish undergraduates are in the Sunshine State — with the University of Central Florida rising to the No. 2 spot among schools in North America.

That’s according to Hillel International’s annual “Schools that Jews Choose” college rankings. Hillel bills itself as the largest Jewish student organization in the world. The rankings rely on self-reported data to list the most popular public and private colleges for Jewish students.

“There’s more and more Jews every year, so we’re going to do everything we can to cater to every last student we can find,” said Rabbi Chaim Lipskier, who founded the UCF Chabad in 2006.

UCF edged out the University of Florida, which for the last two years, was the top public school on Hillel’s list. This year, UF dropped to number five nationwide and Rutgers University in New Jersey moved into first with 6,400 Jewish undergrads.

Located in Orlando, UCF has size on its side. With more than 50,000 undergraduates, including an estimated 6,000 of the Jewish faith, it’s the second-largest university in the country.

Other Florida schools also ranked high on Hillel’s list. At UF, the estimated 5,000 Jewish students actually make up a larger percentage of undergrads: about 15 percent.

Florida International University ranked No. 14 with 3,500 Jewish students, making up 9 percent of the student body. Florida State University was No. 20, with 3220 Jewish undergraduates, about 10 percent of the student population.

The only Florida private school to make the top of the list is University of Miami, ranked No. 11. At the Coral Gables school, 2000 students — about 18 percent of undergrads — are Jewish.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article26672083.html#storylink=cpy

[Pennylane2011]

I don’t see a correlation between visiting a school, receiving an e mail, and acceptance however, I see a huge value in visiting the college. For colleges that consider interest, that can have an impact on admissions- it doesn’t override academic qualifications, but for colleges that receive many qualified applicants, showing interest doesn’t hurt. The common data set for a college will show if it considers interest or not.

To me though, visiting is a way to determine the fit of a college. There is a feeling one gets when walking on the campus that isn’t the same as learning about it from the website.

Yay for Elon. I don’t have a child there, but I did tour it a while back. Beautiful school and staff who treat students as individuals. So glad to see it become a choice for Jewish students. It’s great to see the school develop and I think it is a rising star in the choices of college. The downside is that it may soon not be a choice for “B” students if it isn’t already.

[Chardo]

Elon was not a fit for my kid, an engineering major (not offered at Elon) who was also considering business. However, as we toured Elon, I kept thinking I would have gone here myself if I knew about it back in the day.

[mnm111]

My daughter was excited to hear that Izthak Perlman will be speaking at Elon’s convocation in October. Jewish life at Elon is certainly on the right track.

[mnm111]

Update on my B student son who is interested in CS. He will be attending UMD in the fall. It can be tough to get into UMD as an OOS B student if you are interested in CS or engineering. Fortunately, he had 35 on his ACT which I suspect may have offset his lower GPA.

As Floridians, it was a tough choice between UF, UCF and UMD.

[tootiredtocare]

I’m old & can’t remember if I already sent this udpate on my B student also interested in CS. He will be attending Ohio State University (2 scholarships for OOS) in the fall. He is doing CS through LAS not Engineering. He was also admitted to UConn with scholarship $$. He was admitted to U of MN, and U of IL (our flag ship).
OSU does not allow you to do direct admit to CS but he is on the CS track. He must have around a 3.5 GPA (yikes) by the end of 2nd semester to get in - I’m hopeful that he will succeed. He seems ok with it - U of IL was direct admit to double major: CS & Anthropology but all CS was through the College of Engineering at U of IL and after two uninspiring visits, we said ok to the Ohio State.

[chocchipcookie]

I’m bumping this thread up. Wonder how long we can keep it going. Been 5 years already. S1 graduated college this past May and is happily working in his chosen field in Boston. New girlfriend too. S2 is already going into Sophomore year of college…yikes, where does the time go.

S1 did an unpaid internship in Jerusalem the summer after sophomore year with Onward Israel. It was a fantastic experience for him. Because S2 is an Engineering major, he may go after graduation with his co-op experiences behind him and would be a good candidate for Onward Israel’s 5 month or longer program. He did Birthright this past May and enjoyed it very much.

Any more updates on Boysx3? RVM or countingdown? Hope she is on the mend and things are beginning to look up for her. Another month and the High Holidays will be upon us again. Yikes, time marches along quickly.

[rockvillemom]

boysx3 is doing quite well - spoke with her last week. Really an amazing recovery.

Thanks for bumping - it’s good to hear how “our” kids are doing.

[rockvillemom]

I don’t know that we have ever discussed the University of South Alabama, but I came across this tonight:

http://www.sjlmag.com/2015/07/gift-enhances-judaics-at-south-alabama.html

Longtime University of South Alabama philanthropists Fanny and Bert Meisler of Mobile announced a gift to establish an endowment to enhance Jewish Studies at USA.

The Fanny and Bert Meisler Endowed Professorship in Jewish Studies will expand and deepen the university’s relationship with Mobile’s Jewish community, focusing on the history, religion and culture of the Jewish people.

The professorship position extends a program the Meislers had already helped to establish. In August, the university will welcome a new faculty member to USA, David Meola, who currently is a visiting assistant professor of history at the University of the South, where he specializes in German and Jewish history from the Enlightenment through the 19th century with a focus on public expression and popular culture.

Meola will serve USA as the Fanny and Bert Meisler Visiting Professor of Jewish Studies.

The Meislers’ latest gift will establish a permanent endowment to support a faculty position in Jewish Studies.

http://www.southalabama.edu/departments/admissions/freshmen.html

[CountingDown]

I am on vacation, but will see boysx3 next Thurs. and help her with posts. She is reading her update thread!

[whenhen]

@rockvillemom are there any Jewish students at USA?

Does anyone know anything about Virginia Commonwealth University’s Jewish life? It appears as though they have a Hillel and Jewish Studies program but I can’t find any more information about it.

[rockvillemom]

I could not find any data on Jewish students at Univ. of South Alabama. Still looking.

[brantly]

@whenhen My cousin’s son went to VIrginia Commonwealth. He loved it there. I never talked to him specifically about Jewish life there, but I never heard of him having any problems either. He went on Birthright as a senior. He graduated about two years ago and chose to remain in Richmond and loves it there. He’s from northern Va.

[tootiredtocare]

chocchipcookie: I hope this thread goes at least another few years - my 3rd child is only a sophomore in high school . She will both want a school that is comfortable for Jewish women and also a school that is appropriate for a truly B student. She has already indicated that she wants a smaller (but not too small) college environment - her brothers go to the University of IL and the Ohio State University (so it won’t be difficult to go smaller). This thread has been really helpful for us so far but I expect it to be even more so for my daughter.

Countingdown: I am so happy to hear the wonderful reports about boysx3. I have been following along on her progress and am inspired by her perseverance. I don’t know her but have kept her in my thoughts and prayers for this difficult year. Glad to hear she is getting stronger every day.