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.
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.
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.
Interestingly enough, it is the for profits which generally have the most aggressive marketing among students who inquire regarding the institution.
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.
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
Florida universities with significant Jewish populations:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article26672083.html
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article26672083.html#storylink=cpy
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 
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.
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
http://www.southalabama.edu/departments/admissions/freshmen.html
I am on vacation, but will see boysx3 next Thurs. and help her with posts. She is reading her update thread!
@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.
I could not find any data on Jewish students at Univ. of South Alabama. Still looking.
@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.
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.