Elon has been off the table because college counselor felt it was not likely she’d be accepted. Their website states their average incoming class GPA is 4.0 and ACT is 27. So that puts D quite below the norm especially with no AP/honors, even tho I realize they are more holistic.
Right now she has applications into University of Hartford and Goucher.
College of Charleston?
Has elementary education and Jewish Studies - very active Jewish life.
@handmom
I’d look into Muhlenberg for sure (her ACT is low but I’m pretty sure it is test optional) and possibly Wheaton (MA)
Check out some of the other CTCL schools (Goucher is one) – perhaps Clark U, http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/map
If she might like NYC (not a campus based school) possibly The New School.
You should also try the Supermatch function on the left.
Finding an A school for B - B+ students can be a challenge. Ursinus is a very good one. Muhlenberg has already been mentioned. Susquehanna and Juniata are worth a look too.
University of Vermont and Gettysburg as well.
Handlmom, I’d also look at Towson University. It’s on the larger size, but has a good number of small classes. Towson has a very active Hillel and an outstanding education program. It was a former teacher’s college and the teaching program is very well respected by the Maryland school systems.
A lot of B/B+ kids from our shul go to Towaon and are very happy with the academics and Jewish life.
I think Towson is bigger than handlmom is looking for but is otherwise a good fit.
Umass Amherst might be a good fit but its bigger than you are looking for. Has education and Jewish studies major/minor.
Towson has a 4 year graduation rate of 39%. Ursinus is 76% and Muhlenberg 80%.
A little more depth on Towson graduation rates:
http://www.towson.edu/ir/documents/rp_grad_rates_ftft.pdf
http://www.towson.edu/ir/rpg.asp
Perhaps on the low side, but you have to factor in that Towson has more part-time students and those also working full-time than a residential college like Muhlenberg. Kind of an apples to oranges comparison. I do think the class sizes are larger than what @handlmom is looking for, but Towson does work well for many Jewish B students.
It’s still very low. The 5 year graduation rate is 60%, compared to 85% and 80% for the others.
Even out to 6 years, it is only 65%.
Graduation rates are something to consider, so I would want to know why. If the Jewish kids are happy there, and the grad rate reflects a larger number of part time students- who may take longer to graduate, or some other reason, then it may still be a fit.
I think it would be great to expand this list of choices for B students if possible. Some colleges may be becoming more diverse, as Elon has, but just not quite there yet. Colleges do change over time. There may be some colleges out there that have smaller, but with growing, Hillels that may be possible fits.
A while back a representative from Wofford College posted here. They have a small Hillel. Although they don’t have an education major, this college might be a possible fit for some students who would find being part of a small Hillel to be a good experience.
Perhaps others are aware of some colleges that are possibilities.
And that’s what we are missing now - people who are actively visiting colleges - posting their impressions on the college as a whole and Jewish life. And I’ll expand that to include parents of freshmen posting their thoughts so far. We need more fresh feedback!
Rollins College hasn’t been mentioned. It has an elementary education major:
http://www.rollins.edu/education/program/index.html
And a Jewish Studies minor: http://www.rollins.edu/jewish-studies/index.html
It is an LAC with a gorgeous campus outside Orlando. It has about 500 Jewish students per this article and is served by the UCF Hillel (University of Central Florida has about 6,000 Jewish students). http://thejewishchronicle.net/bookmark/21882202-Aaron-Weil-leaving-Hillel-JUC-will-head-up-UCF-Hillel
I would add Dickinson, too. Education studies plus strong, active Hillel (and a very good Jewish studies program). Although they’ve climbed up in terms of competitiveness, a B student with a strong application can get accepted. They are very holistic in their approach to admissions.
Thank you all for the suggestions. A little information on Rollins for anyone else who may be looking. We visited last spring and yes its a beautiful campus, small class sizes, etc. While there are jewish students and a hillel, per hillel staff, the hillel is in a rebuilding stage. A lot of the active members have graduated. UCF does have a very strong jewish population/hillel, and while I believe they share some events, they are a driving distance away. We learned the same thing about University of Tampa. Trying to rebuild their hillel, but have active hillels in nearby schools (USF, eckerd). Its a little surprising to me that these two schools dont have more active hillels and jewish communities, especially since UofFlorida, FSU, USF and UCF all do. Maybe for some reason the jewish kids arent as attracted to the smaller schools in the south? Seems to not be the case at many small schools in the north. If anyone has heard differently about Rollins or UofTampa, I’d love to hear.
I don’t know much about it, but in the last few years a number of Jewish B students from our area have been going to the University of Denver. Just throwing the name out there in case anyone is looking for something away from the East Coast. Chapman has also become very popular with Jewish B students from our area, but I think it’s popularity may have recently pushed into more of a lower reach category for B students.
Rollins is great with financial aid. They are also strict about not having drugs in dorm rooms. They also have a very concerned and helpful Deans, counseling center. From my experience, they truly do their best to help each student reach their potential. I’ve been favorably impressed with their programs.
Simmons College? It’s all women, but surrounded by so many other Boston colleges. Class sizes are very small.
I’m going to add one possibility- Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. It’s a small women’s college with some joint academic programs with Emory and Ga Tech. It has a small Hillel. Since it has joint academic programs with two larger colleges, I wonder about the possibility of joint Hillel programs as well. I don’t know this for sure, but it may make a small group feel larger.