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

Hello. My son just got accepted to U of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Does anyone know anything about Jewish life there?
Any insight you can offer would be appreciated. Thanks

^ There are several threads on the Alabama board about Jewish life there. My son just graduated. What would you like to know?

@Chardo Thanks for responding! Iā€™ll check out the Alabama thread. Overall, how was your sonā€™s experience? We havenā€™t visited the school yet. Did he ever feel uncomfortable being Jewish? Was your son in a fraternity? Is there a decent Jewish population?

@Chardo I just read the threads on U of Alabama. They were very informative. Thanks again.

@oliver17 My son never felt uncomfortable. Quite the opposite. Everyone is so friendly. He was just another guy. He was not in a fraternity. Engineering student, captain of volleyball team, and other activities kept him busy. There are hundreds of Jewish kids on campus. Hillel is pretty active for holidays and regular social events (tailgates, bowling, bbq, etc.).

@Chardo my son is also going to studying mechanical engineering. They seem to have invested a lot in the engineering program the last couple of years. The engineering quad looks beautiful in pictures. My son was impressed with the research opportunities available to freshman, did your son do any? What region are you from? ( If you donā€™t mind my asking) Any other insight you can offer on the engineering program? I appreciate all your feedback.

@oliver17 He did electrical. From NY. No research. Had two internships, and senior capstone project designing a battery powered military rifle. Ended up with offers from 5 major aerospace defense companies. Now working for top secret team at Boeing. He canā€™t even tell me what heā€™s doing. The insight is, a high GPA and good resume will have every opportunity available to you.

Hey -I thought you all might be able to help this person out. Someone wants to know about Kosher Food at college: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1935625-current-college-students-hows-the-kosher-food-at-your-school.html#latest

Hi, Iā€™m a current first year at a small LAC in the southeast with very little Jewish life on campus. Iā€™m seriously considering transferring colleges and would very much appreciate suggestions as far as options that fit in terms of a) Jewish life on campus and b)(relative) affordability.

In terms of Jewish life, itā€™s most important to me to be at a college that has:
-weekly Conservative Shabbat services on campus followed by a Shabbat dinner
-modern Hebrew classes
-a Jewish studies program extensive enough for at least a minor
-an active pro-Israel student group
-a significant Jewish presence among the student body relative to the size of the school

Also very important is cost. My parents are not young, but are kind enough to pay for my college education. Though Iā€™ll have loans to pay off regardless, I donā€™t want to deplete their retirement funds. For this reason, I would strongly prefer to look at residential four year colleges with sufficient Jewish life that either have:
-a similar direct cost/sticker price (tuition and fees and room and board) to that of University of Illinoisā€™s 2016-17 in state base rate, $27,006/year (I am an IL resident)
OR

  • offer generous merit scholarships to transfer students that would bring direct costs down so they become equal to or less than the cost of UIUC (I will not qualify for need based/financial aid. However, my GPA after my first semester of college is 3.92 and I plan to keep working hard to keep it up.)

I would love it if such a college met the following also, though these are not essential:
-an active AIPAC chapter
-peer mentor program connecting new Jewish students to upperclassmen
-some type of Jewish house/living community (like Emoryā€™s Bayit)
-southern location (warmer weather yet closer to home than the west.)

Iā€™m looking at New College of Florida and USF currently as possible alternatives to UIUC, but I would welcome and appreciate any other suggestions or feedback on these options!

Thank you for your time!!

College of Charleston http://jewish.cofc.edu/

Tulane http://www2.tulane.edu/liberal-arts/jewish-studies/

UCF http://judaicstudies.cah.ucf.edu/

I think Elon may be worth a look.

Elon is definitely worth a look. Seconding @ā€œQueenā€™s Momā€ suggestion.

Unfortunately, I see from Elonā€™s website that they donā€™t give any scholarships to transfers, and at a direct cost of $44,599/year, itā€™s quite a bit higher than the $27,006/year for UIUC (Iā€™d really like to apply to places comparable cost wise either in terms of sticker price or that give generous transfer scholarships to make the cost equal to or less than UIUC.) Similarly, Tulaneā€™s direct cost, $64,854, only drops to $48,854 after the maximum transfer scholarship.

Do you know of any colleges with a similar caliber of Jewish life that would be similarly relatively affordable like UIUC in-state? $30k/year is doable, but $40k/year or more is very likely not.

I will add UCF to my list. I have heard that much of their Jewish studies course offerings are taught online and itā€™s harder to get small classes there even compared to other large universitiesā€“can anyone comment on this?

UCF is suffering growing pains - itā€™s grown to be the largest undergraduate size in the nation (with asu) very quickly. It takes longer to fund and build parking lots and buildings than it takes to enroll an extra 3,000 students. Hence what you describe.

Transfers get lousy aid. Fewer scholarships, for lower amounts.

Is your current college near another college? Could you create a joint group with another college nearby?

@writerlydreams what is your college GPA? Are you a freshman?

@MYOS1634 It did seem a lot larger than the typical state U. Thank you for the explanation, it makes a lot of sense.
Iā€™ve wondered if maybe I should try to apply as a freshman instead of a transfer, partially because of aid, but partially because my current college has a very unique gen ed program (we take 5 classes per semester, two of which are specially designated classes that total to 5 credits each semester of our first year. Theyā€™re not classified as ā€˜typicalā€™ college subject classes and most likely wouldnā€™t transfer with me, so I might not have enough transferable hours to be considered a transfer.)

Would it be unethical to apply as a freshman instead of a transfer? Is it a viable option for me?

My college is very near a larger private university that has substantial Jewish life (has the Jewish life I seek but doesnā€™t offer any merit to transfers unfortunately), and Iā€™ve been using uber to go to events there, like High Holiday and Shabbat services. I think the bigger problem is that I feel very isolated on my current campus as a Jew.

One of my professors this past semester assigned a reading with a blatantly anti-Semitic tangent about Jews being economically powerful and never said a word about it when we discussed the reading in class (and when I tried to test the waters by bringing up some of the other generalizations, the professor wouldnā€™t let me speak.) In theory, Iā€™m supposed to be able to cross-register to take Hebrew at the private university, but my Jewish friends have told me itā€™s impossible to get into since we donā€™t go there and students at that private U get priority registration. Our Judaism classes are taught by a ā€œJewish Voice for Peaceā€ activist, so I donā€™t feel comfortable taking them, our on campus Hillel is not functional and mired in politics and drama, and our humans rights classes unfairly demonize and single out Israel. And, our campusā€™s first exposure to anything about Israel was a ā€œBreaking the Silenceā€ event, where an Israeli soldier criticized Israel. I donā€™t object to the perspective offered by the Breaking the Silence event being expressed, but I DO take issue with that being the first and only exposure to anything about Israel for my college.

I know these kinds of things are far from rare on any campus these days, but I think Iā€™d feel much better (and happier) at a college with a substantial Jewish presence on campus. That way Iā€™d have support and resources right there for when this kind of thing happens.

I do like my current collegeā€™s small classes and that professors know who I am, but I think thatā€™s more an appreciation for the academics of small colleges as a whole than for my specific school. (And much as I love not having lecture classes, Iā€™d give that up if need be because Iā€™m not happy where I am.)

@ClarinetDad16 3.922 (one A- Iā€™m afraid I didnā€™t see coming), and yes, I am a college freshman.

No, you canā€™t apply as a freshman unless you meet the definition of freshman at the school you are transferring to. Some, not a lot, define ā€˜freshmanā€™ as less than 25 credits (or the number it picks), and will take a freshman transfer as a freshman. There may be more options if you donā€™t back to school for the spring if you only have 15 or so credits. You have to look at the definition at each school you are interested in. If you make such a transfer, the schools will be more interested in your high school grades and scores than your college transcript because you are asking to be let in as a high schooler, not as a college transfer.

Iā€™m so sorry to read about your problems, @writerlydreams. Itā€™s so hard on many college campuses these days. Your best bet is to call the admissions office at the schools youā€™re interested in and see what they can offer you. Also, run NPC, you may qualify for financial aid to replace merit.

@twoinanddone : I appreciate the clarification about applying as a freshman. Thank you for all your input, you make some excellent points. My parents paid for my spring semester already, so Iā€™m going back, but Iā€™ll be sure to keep your wisdom in mind.

@ā€œQueenā€™s Momā€ : Thank you, I appreciate your sympathy.
Iā€™ll definitely try giving them a call.

As far as financial aid, Iā€™m afraid thatā€™s not likely (I was accepted to Mount Holyoke last year but couldnā€™t attend because they didnā€™t offer me any aid and expected my family to pay full freight.)

Iā€™m thinking about UW-Milwaukee (though a bit worried about the low grad rateā€“any theories about why?) and University of Minnesota if anyone has input on them!

What about for a business kid - A/B hs grades - any recommendations? Preferably not huge school