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<p>I’m not looking at the URJ link, but I was under the impression that places like Oberlin, Grinnell and Kenyon, despite not being located in heavily Jewish areas, were pretty Jewish-friendly. Honestly, an LAC that attracts bright urban kids and has a more liberal mindset is more likely to be Jewish friendly, IMO. May not have the critical mass you are looking for, but to me Jewish-friendly and critical-mass are two different things.</p>
<p>I vaguely remember that rule of thumb has to do with a man beating his wife but having to restrict it to a stick that is the thickness of his thumb but Wikipedia (I know, I know) says that’s discredited:</p>
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<p>I think the distinction for those small schools will be between accepting of Jews vs. providing an opportunity for Jewish-specific organizations and activities. If a student want to date only Jews, this might be quite difficult at some of these schools–even more so if he or she wants to date only observant Jews. I would think that for a non-observant or minimally observant Jew, any of the LACs would be welcoming.</p>
<p>more on the “rule of thumb”: “The ‘rule of thumb’ has been said to derive from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb… the ‘rule of thumb’ has never been the law in England… Despite the phrase being in common use since the 17th century and appearing many thousands of times in print, there are no printed records that associate it with domestic violence until the 1970s, when the notion was castigated by feminists.” Source: [Rule</a> of thumb](<a href=“http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rule-of-thumb.html]Rule”>Rule Of Thumb - Meaning & Origin Of The Phrase)</p>
<p>Yes, thank you, Hunt, that’s a more succinct way of putting it!</p>
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<p>It supposedly originated with a law saying that a man couldn’t beat his wife with a stick thicker than his thumb. However, this isn’t actually true.</p>
<p>[Rule</a> of Thumb and Wife-Beating - Mostly a Myth](<a href=“http://womenshistory.about.com/od/mythsofwomenshistory/a/rule_of_thumb.htm]Rule”>Women's History)</p>
<p>To the OP, another thing to consider may be the theological or other orientation of a school’s Jewish culture. A Reform student might not be comfortable in a Jewish community where most of the others are Orthodox, or vice versa. A Sephardi or Mizrahi student may not be comfortable if they are the only non-Ashkenazi Jew in their Jewish community, especially if others treat them as some sort of token.</p>
<p>Not Jewish, but check out Emory University in Atlanta. Top 20 USNWR and the climate is great. </p>
<p>Emory has lots of activities for Jewish students and the surrounding community offers opportunities for worship and socializing.</p>
<p>^^^ Not Jewish??? Its history is with another denomination, but Emory is almost 30% Jewish now, IIRC</p>
<p>*** According to the Reform Judaism’s annual survey of schools Jewish Kids attend, Emory is 33.33% Jewish!! <a href=“http://reformjudaismmag.org/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=1518&destination=ShowItem[/url]”>http://reformjudaismmag.org/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=1518&destination=ShowItem</a></p>
<p>It’s a huge issue. D applied to a school at my insistence which has Jews but is small and in a non-jewish area. However, she is now adamant that if that’s the only school she gets into, she will take a gap year and re-apply. D does not care very much about denomination, just Jewish identification.</p>
<p>^^^ Its not too late for her to apply to more schools with a better Jewish identity than that one she doesnt want to attend. She should take a look at the list in the link in my post above. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks, jym626, she does have other schools with good Jewish populations on her list (UMCP for one was discussed above). This was just one example.</p>
<p>I think BigG was saying he or she was not Jewish, but check out Emory …</p>
<p>a lot of this boils down to a Jewish student deciding what it means for THEM to have a comfortable environment. </p>
<p>1) do they want regular shabbat services or kosher food? do they require those services to be more traditional (not necessarily Orthodox — there is a difference between observance and Orthodoxy)? those would be more limiting criteria.</p>
<p>2) do they want an active hillel or Jewish student association more for social events? a broader range of schools would meet this criteria.</p>
<p>3) do they want there to be enough other Jewish students so that they can expect to have either many or at least some Jewish friends (to help increase the chance of having people to share certain commonalities with)? do they want there to be enough other Jewish students to provide a sufficient dating pool?</p>
<p>4) will a Chabad House meet the needs of the student? – at some schools, the Chabad may largely meet the needs of Orthodox or more observant students, but at many (especially those schools without such populations), it offers a place for any Jewish student to find community – would be the student be comfortable if that was primary Jewish forum available? (Chabad fills a wonderful need, but personally, my children simply couldn’t feel comfortable at their services, whereas a friend’s child who is less observant than my kids loved going to Chabad every Friday night.)</p>
<p>5) do they want to just be able to feel comfortable being Jewish without worrying about other students looking for their horns? (sad, but even in this day, i’ve heard of cases of kids who simply never were exposed to Jewish people who carry very sad images around).</p>
<p>which schools would be right for any given student will vary considerable depending on what they mean by finding a “sufficient” Jewish community. </p>
<p>at some schools with huge Jewish populations, a Jewish student may feel little need to be active in the Hillel. at some schools with smaller Jewish populations, a Jewish student may feel the need to become incredibly active in the Hillel and it become the center of their social life on campus. can we really judge which of those students is having the better “Jewish” experience?</p>
<p>the Hillel and Reform Judaism website already cited are great starting points – but I know at least in the past, the Hillel cite was not always accurate or up to date, and the Reform Judaism cite really focuses on shear numbers. there is no substitute for speaking to both students and Hillel professionals at any school that is being considered. if you contact them ahead of any campus visit, you can usually arrange to meet with at least someone.</p>
<p>re the specific schools the op’s lists – i believe that you would find that deleware, towson, umass amherst, and binghamton all have sizeable, active Jewish communities – i am not familiar enough with the other schools to comment.</p>
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<p>I think this is an excellent post. My kids haven’t articulated their desires, but I think it’s more about wanting to be able to feel comfortable without worrying about other students looking for their horns. Of course, they’re patrilineal anyway, as am I, and horns pass through the mother :-).</p>
<p>Excellent post. unbelievablem! Everyone has a different comfort zone. My D would not be too pleased with a Chabad as the only alternative for Jewish involvement (and we are fairly observant). She wants Jews as friends, Jewish boys available to date (not a deal-breaker since she’s looking at a lot of women’s colleges), traditional services to attend, and professors who will give a kid a break for Jewish holidays without involving the administration.</p>
<p>^^^ LOL, PizzaGirl! My Jewish children were spared the matrilineal horns as well ;)</p>
<p>I would add one more item to unbelievablem’s great list - will the school and the faculty be respectful of a student’s observance of Jewish holidays? does the school have an effective religious observance policy? I would look beyond what the admissions office and website say and ask current Jewish students what their experience has been.</p>
<p>(crossposted with Queen’s Mom - same issue)</p>
<p>Well, if indeed horns did pass through the mother, then we can all understand why Jewish mothers are the way they are :-). Ouch!!</p>
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<p>I can vouch for this as a Towson alum and resident of the Baltimore suburbs. Baltimore’s Jewish population is strong, diverse, and close-knit. They make very good neighbors and coworkers. </p>
<p>At the risk of splitting hairs, I would add that Towson is actually smack-dab in the middle of the Catholic community. The Jewish community is generally found about 5 west of there, in the Pikesville/Owings Mills corridor.</p>
<p>Isn’t it the case that any competitive colleges/universities have a very sizable Jewish student body? I can’t locate it but I remember seeing a post that lists the % of student body that is Jewish. It was staggeringly high in a majority of competitive schools (like a quarter to a third). They are definitely over represented 
considering their % of the total population.</p>
<p>Unless we are talking about a school in a rural area in deep south or square states, the “comfort” of being Jewish should not be an issue, unless we are talking about very observant Jewish students looking for like minded Jews.</p>
<p>Our kids were converted at birth. My husband is Jewish and I am not, and I did not convert (hence the kids had to be). They were raised with Bar Mitzvah and such, but very secular in outlook while identifying as Jewish as an ethnic identify (well, mixed, that is). We went with S1 (freshman) to his school (U Chicago) last month for move in weekend event, and there was a very active Jewish presence (Jewish clubs galore), though I would agree that I did not find the atmosphere to be highly observantly Jewish.</p>
<p>My shorthand for Jewish community is now “can you easily buy a t-shirt with the school’s name in Hebrew?” Though maybe Bob Jones HAS this, for totally different reasons than what I’m looking for. :D</p>
<p>Another concern is how Israel/Palestine activism plays out on campus. Some campuses may be relatively apolitical, others may have strong activism on just one side. Others may have strong groups on both sides, with interactions ranging from wary to actively hostile. Some kids will be fine with a school where there are lots of pro-Palestinian demonstrations, as long as there’s also a strong pro-Israel presence. Other kids won’t feel comfortable with that situation at all. Your kid’s mileage may vary.</p>
<p>paying3tuitions has pointed out in other threads about looking at the academic offerings in Jewish Studies or somesuch as another way of finding a community.</p>