@myjanda -I responded but not sure it went through as a reply-see my comment no 18934.
@jym626 - thank you for stepping in.
We try to maximize civility and minimize the trash talking here.
Letās also keep in mind that this thread is targeted towards āBā students - not really the place for discussing Ivy League schools.
I have always thought Catholic colleges were a good choice for Jewish students because of inherent tolerance and friendliness, generalized theological offerings and overall respect for religion.
@OnTheBubble - Yes, a few hundred years makes a big difference 
I myself got a graduate degree at BC and loved it. Iām not sure it would have been great as an undergrad when I was younger, single, etc. because of such a small Hillel, though.
āI have always thought Catholic colleges were a good choice for Jewish students because of inherent tolerance and friendliness, generalized theological offerings and overall respect for religion.ā
Hi @Blvdmom - Iāve been away several days and just now seeing your response- thank you! I would love to learn more about CWRU, Cleveland and the Jewish community there (city and school). My husband is on the faculty of a school in Boston and my daughter has gotten Tuition Exchange to both CWRU and Syracuse and Iām guessing your daughter may have as well. Love to hear about her experience at SU as it is still under consideration for my daughter, tho CWRU is probably her top.
I will message you. Thanks again!
The āfeelā at each is very different. Syracuse is āsporty /jockyā where Case Western is more ānerdyā. Partying seems much more prevalent at Syracuse. Case Western is located in a great urban area, what young people mean when they say they want a city - walkable, lots of things to do, see, experience in a short radius, lots of young professionals, energy/pulse. Syracuse (city) has had much less success in getting rid of its deindustrialisation heritage and feel.
Hi. I was one of the early posters on this thread and got so much value from it when my kids were applying to college. My DD attended University of Delaware and had a Jewish studies minor. After college, she had a Masa fellowship and spent 10 months in Israel. She now works as a temple youth director, had a great experience at AIPAC a few weeks ago, and is making a lot of great connections. My DS is a junior at University of Miami (FL). Involved in Hillel - and they have a brand new Hillel building - he says the nicest building on campus. Took advantage of birthright and had an internship in Israel last summer (related to his major) through Onward Israel.
If I can be of any help to anyone, please let me know.
Sending my best to posters who are still here from back in 2010!
So nice to read your post and the updates!
Elon is hiring a new Hillel director - your DD should look at the website if she is interested.
Does anyone have knowledge about Occidental and itās Jewish community? I know itās historically Presbyterian, but LA has a large Jewish population.
@codemachine We just took a tour of Occidental last week. Our tour guide was the president of Hillel. I did not ask about the number of Jewish students, but I did ask about how much conflict/anti-semitism there is on campus. She said that they are attempting to have open and collaborative dialog about Israeli-Palestinian issues with the various groups on campus. Politics seems to be a big focus on campus. One program that I have not encountered anywhere else is that they have a campaign semester where students volunteer for a candidateās campaign in swing states. There is a field component and classroom component of the program.
Linymom, It was great to read your update. Iām glad your son and daughter are doing well.
Iām another one of the original posters from when this thread started. My D graduated from BU last May. She had a great experience at BU. She wasnāt very involved with Hillel, but attended for holidays and was happy to make Jewish friends at BU. She went on a Birthright trip with a HS friend during college and felt so at home that she decided to return to Israel after college. She did a 5 month internship with a biotech start-up through the Masa Israel program. This was a great opportunity to live in Tel-Aviv, travel with a group and get job experience. She also made incredible friends through the program. Sheās home now and recently accepted a job with a health care non-profit. I highly recommend the Masa programs.
Anyone have ANY experience with Jewish life at Purdue? I have always liked this thread but it seems like itās going toward the āAā student more than the B student. My son is a true b/b minus student and Iām starting to get a little overwhelmed by the process. He is interested in engineering and will have to apply to a lot of schools to have options. ( good activities, volunteer hours and 36 ACT) Does not want small but open to medium and large public and private. We are Midwest but open to different geographic locations. Also, he does not want to go to the schools that are 70 % boys and is not interested in the 3+2 programs. Thoughts? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Graduation time.
S2, whose college search prompted me to start this thread 6 years ago graduates from Elon in a few weeks. He has had a great educational experience, transitioning from a kid who was somewhat disinterested in hs to an engaged college student, and fitting in plenty of Jewish life including Hillel, Jewish fraternity membership and a Birthright trip. He texted me last night from a Shabbat dinner at the home of his former Hillel advisor to wish me a Shabbat Shalom. So, I am content. Mission accomplished.
I have decided to āgraduateā along with him. While you may see me in the Parent Cafe occasionally, I am no longer in a place to give any college advice or suggestions. I hope this thread has been useful and fun. I thank each and every participant for their contributions. I hope new posters continue to use this thread as a forum for Jewish āBā students.
My final piece of advice is to enjoy your teen, share the college process with them in a calm manner and have fun with it! Yes, it is stressful at times, but keep in mind they look to you for cues, so your calm demeanor benefits the entire family.
Best of luck to you.
Rockvillemom
Congrats and please stick around, RVM!!
Thank you @Rockvillemom for creating this very useful thread. Hope to hear back from S2 though
Thereās always room for more āveteranā advice. Donāt go away.
@oliver17 We visited Purdue a few weeks ago and they quoted a number of Jews as 500 out of close to 40,000 students which did not impress us. Everyone was very nice but the campus seemed overwhelmingly caucasian and Christian to us. Engineering will be dicey with a B average from what they said as well plus itās very male dominated. Our visit encouraged us to look more towards Northeastern, VA Tech, and Pitt. The schools with higher ratios of female engineers seem to be the ones that will be much more of a reach with a B average as there are few with good ratios and they tend towards the MIT, Columbia, Wash U, Harvey Mudd, GA Tech type schools.
Thanks for your feedback @acdchai. We actually went to a college fair this afternoon and I got the same feedback from the Purdue rep. She said even though thereās no minimum GPA at Purdue,the average unweighted GPA is 3.8-4.0 and if he has more than 1 or 2 cās it would be a red flag. We spoke with the Rochestor rep. And surprisingly he said that would not automatically disqualify himā¦ I am still learning and looking. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. @acdchai what did you think of Virginia Tech? We looked at Northeastern and my son loved it but it will be a reach. Pitt is on the list as well.
@rockvillemom Mazel tov to you and your son! Hard to believe itās been six years here on this thread.
@rockvillemom, I too hope youāre not a stranger in the future, but thank you so much for starting this terrific thread.
@oliver17, do you have a budget set for your DS? OOS publics are pricey if merit money isnāt in play, and with a B average that isnāt likely.
One of the nice thing with flagships and other large universities is that even if the engineering college skews heavily male, the rest of the university, where women tend to dominate in admissions, helps really balance that out. What are your in-state options?