@oliver17 My kids liked the idea of VA Tech more than they liked the actual school. It’s in a cute little college town but it’s very far from any real cities. 1 of mine is chasing merit money so may apply there anyway and see if the money makes it worth being so far out. We didn’t check out the Jewish aspect in depth because neither kid was happy with the location. Have you checked out Univ of Alabama and UA-Tuscaloosa? I think they are both options with a B average. UA has definitely improved it’s Jewish percentage the past few years with offering lots of OOS merit aid.
@oliver17 - I would also look at Case Western University - we found that they took a more holistic approach to reviewing the application (plus it’s free on the common app and no extra essay) and they are generous with merit aide. Ultimately my oldest son went to the University of Illinois (our state flagship) but as a junior transferred out of the college of engineering to pursue a double major in Econ & Astronomy. So, I would advise picking a program that offers strong alternative majors if your DS decides to pursue a different path. Depending on when your DS had the lower grades (if they were in 9th grade & then the upward trend 10th-12th) University of Michigan may be possible - they recalculate GPA using their own formula. Other Big 10 (12?) schools that you may want to consider are University of MN, the Ohio State University, and University of Iowa. We also looked at UConn (better merit aid for out of state than for in-state students & lots of $$ going into their engineering programs), University of Maryland, and Miami of Ohio.
@rockvillemom - I too want to thank you for starting this terrific thread. I’ve felt nurtured by it for my 1st two sons & hope it stays strong to see me through child #3 who is in 10th grade. Please continue to provide your wisdom & experience.
I have some experiences with Case, OSU and Miami (OH) admissions as my D. was accepted to them. If finances are considered, OSU was the most pricey as they are very stringent with the Merit scholarships. Case and Miami are well known for their generous Merit offers. D. did not even apply to U of Mich, very pricey for OOS and known for not offerring much in Merits to OOS. We are in OH and D. eventually choose to attend at Miami. She got very well rounded education there and accomplished more there than she set out to accomplish in her UG. From parents’ prospective, her experiences at Miami went well beyond our expectations.
The University of Alabama (UA) is the flagship and is the one located in Tuscaloosa. It has a lovely new Hillel and a small but active Jewish community on campus. Can’t speak to Jewish life at UAH (Huntsville) or UAB (Birmingham), so you may want to inquire on their individual forums.
Out-of-state scholarships at UA require a minimum 3.5 GPA (freshman through junior years). UAH and UAB require a 3.0.
http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html
http://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships
https://www.uab.edu/students/paying-for-uab/scholarships/item/570-act-gpa-based-scholarships
Those are the same school
Actually they are pretty generous for OOS students closer to A than B
We looked into UAlabama for DS1 - and they only had “kosher-style” and not shabbat every week and few prayer services (none Orthodox if that matters to people here). The rabbi was extremely friendly and welcoming, but said that a religious Jewish kid would not feel they had enough resources at 'Bama [yet - my sense is, it’s growing].
" OSU was the most pricey as they are very stringent with the Merit scholarships.
-Actually they are pretty generous for OOS students closer to A than B
- maybe one need to be OOS to get good Merit at OSU. My D. got only $3k / year at OSU, while she was offered full tuition Merit at Miami (OH) and very close to full tuition at Case. She graduated #1 in her private HS class, no single B on her transcript.
Thank you everyone for your thoughtful replies. @LucieTheLakie, we have a college fund for my son so fortunately that isn’t an issue. We realize he probably won’t be getting merit money. It will be extremely important for him to find the right “fit”. He needs to be appropriately challenged without getting overwhelmed. Our state school is The Ohio State University. It’s a great school but has become very hard to get in.My son has no interest in going to a satellite of O.S.U for a year. The other state schools with engineering are U of Cincinnati, Ohio University and Miami of Ohio which have small Jewish populations. @MiamiDAP, I am very interested in your experience at Miami and Case as far as Jewish life. My son doesn’t care if there are Jewish kids there or not, but I care. He goes to a school with very few Jewish kids but his closest friends are his Jewish friends from outside of school, he just clicks better with them, but he hasn’t put 2 and 2 together. @tootiredtocare, he does not have an upward trend in grades. He is doing better now but it took awhile to figure out his ADD medicine. He transferred schools in the middle of 10th grade and it was not an easy transition but it was for the best. His low GPA is due to not doing homework. He understands the material but doesn’t see the point in doing homework if he understands it. I agree that he needs options other than engineering because statistically there’s a good chance he’ll change his mind. U of Iowa has never been on my radar but I’ll look into it. U of Illinois would be great but I think it will be a reach for him with his GPA, same for U of Minnesota. He definitely wouldn’t get into U of Michigan but liked Michigan State which could be a good fit for him. ( He didn’t like the spread out campus and the fact that the engineers are mostly housed in the same dorm freshman year.) He really liked Northeastern and Lehigh which will both be a reach. He liked Drexel as well but didn’t love it because he didn’t feel like there was school spirit. I think we are going to look at Syracuse and U of Rochester next week. I know they are both reaches but they look at demonstrated interest where the bigger schools supposedly don’t. He’ll apply to U of Colorado, Maryland, U of Illinois, U of Delaware, Arizona, U Mass, U of Cincinnati and Wisconsin without visiting, then if he gets in we’ll go look. We are also going to look at Pitt, Miami Ohio, NYU poly ( Part of NYU but lower admission stats) I am going to do research on Case, Iowa, Alabama, and Minnesota. @dcplanner, is Virginia one to look at first or apply then look if he gets in? It’s about a 7 hour drive. Any other thoughts? Thanks so much everyone and thanks @rockvillemom for starting this thread and good luck to you and your family.
oliver17: University of Kansas? http://www.kuhillel.org/about-us.html
I forgot about Kansas @quakerstake , thank you! They have mechanical engineering, sports, greek system, Jewish community, college town. Do you know anyone that has gone there? I don’t
S1 (of 3) graduated from KU a couple years ago with an undergraduate journalism degree. HE LOVED it there. He joined a fraternity (not Jewish - Bob Dole and CEOs of Ford and GM were alumni) and was not the only Jewish member. He was OOS and a fraternity brother from the KC area had him join his family for Rosh Hashanah each year. He had a great experience (loved the school, Lawrence and he’s still obsessed with Kansas basketball). He interned with ESPN in London while at KU and got a position in sports with a major newspaper right out of college (and is about to move to LA for a new position).
Our other 2 sons went to Pitt; one is in second year there. I would also recommend Pitt (already on your list).
Sorry–had a brain lapse on Huntsville. @oliver17 I would probably wait to visit until you get some decisions since admissions can be so unpredictable but I would do EA at whichever schools offer that option even if you have to beg and bribe your son because the stats tend to be better for EA and it definitely helps to have at least one admission before some of the bad news comes. I have gone through FB pages for various schools Hillels and liked them to see what kind of events and pictures are posted.
@oliver17 since you’re looking at UMass, maybe SUNY’s are worth a look. I’ve read that it’s easier to get in for OOS , so maybe lower grades with ACT 36 is a possibility there. Bing. has engineering, New Paltz does too (even though not as good as others)
@oliver17 I think that you are smart to have your son apply to a big range of schools. His GPA may be less of an issue than you think if he has an upward trend and rigorous courses. The 36 ACT score will help a lot. Colleges vary in how much weight they give to scores and grades. I’m glad to see that University of Delaware is on your list. They have a good engineering program that is a little less selective than some of the other state schools in the mid-Atlantic.
RVM, best of luck to you and your son. I’ve been here since the beginning and still like to check in occasionally. I’m very happy to hear how well Elon has worked out for your son. You made it your mission to help him find the right fit, and you certainly succeeded. By starting this thread, you’ve helped lots of other student along the way.
@oliver17 Lehigh might not be as much of a reach as you think. A 36 ACT goes a long way. Most important thing for Lehigh is to show them the love. Campus visit is a must, talk to their rep at college fairs, email questions to admissions. They are huge on demonstrated interest, maybe more than any other college.
@dcplanner , he will definitely do early action at as many schools as possible (at least that’s MY plan!) @mozika, aren’t the Suny schools like 90 percent New Jersey and New York? I’ll have to look into it, that might be a little tough for a kid from the mid west. @momjr, he doesn’t really have an upward trend…well, sort of, he is just now starting to get his act together a little. @Chardo, I hoper you’re right about Lehigh. He really liked it. When we met with his counselor she said ED may not be the way to go with Lehigh because that’s their strongest applicant pool. Also, we may not visit Rochester…it looks pretty serious. Is it a fun/party school at all? The social piece is important to my son. ( not TOO much partying but he wants to have fun too.) He really likes that the only required general course at Rochester is Freshman English. He likes the “cluster” concept a lot.
I would definitely check out U of Iowa as it may have the exact vibe he’s looking for. The town is fun and there is a great social life. I believe it would be an absolute safety.
I’d also encourage him to at least look at Michigan and for them and some other reaches write an open and honest essay about the not doing homework thing. If he’s able to show that he’s finally got it together his application could stand out. 30 years ago my HS counselor had me include an attachment to my application ( in the days before every school had you write essays) about how I was in that weird place where my super high ACT score was kind of embarrassing and called me out and talked about how I finally had gotten it together. A sort of Hail Mary pass if you will (which perhaps isn’t the best analogy on this Jewish thread. Lol ). It worked for me.
@maya54 Have you met my son?? He would love to go to Michigan- he’ll definitely apply but I don’t think he’d ever get in and even if he did, not to engineering. He’s researched their program online and was extremely impressed. He asked me if I thought there was any way he could get in and my immediate response was “No” but, hey, you never know. As far as Iowa it does look like it has a lot to offer but it’s only 3 % Jewish. I noticed there is an a e pi fraternity there though. Anyone have experience with Jewish life at Iowa? Thank you for all the help!!
KU does have an active Jewish life. My nephew went there about 15 years ago. He flunked out due to having an excessively good time, but he joined AEPi and never felt uncomfortable being Jewish. I personally know 3 Jewish 2017 kids who will definitely apply there. It is a fine place if you can handle the big school rah rah and partying that goes on.