I was wondering if being a white, Jewish male would help me stand out on my applications. Anybody have any experience with this?
<p>the question is, is jewish considered white?</p>
<p>Being Jewish is a plus at Vanderbilt.
girlfriendmb, being Jewish refers to one's religion, not one's race. Jews can be any race.</p>
<p>Certainly. White, Eastern European, Ashkenazi.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt maybe, but it won't matter at the majority of top schools</p>
<p>Judaism is both a race and a religion. You do not have to be Jewish by race to be Jewish by faith, and you are not Jewish by race just because you are Jewish by faith, correct?</p>
<p>I have a Christian friend who is Jewish by race, and she says that it will hinder her in admissions to Yale because there are so many Jews there already. Luckily, she has legacy on her side...</p>
<p>jews are one of the biggest pools in the most competitive parts of the country in terms of admission, ie. NY + NJ + CA and such.</p>
<p>good luck, you are not very ethnically distinguished. don't worry though, as a white jewish female i feel your pain.</p>
<p>It depends on your dedication to Judaism</p>
<p>For instance, if you are involved in your synagogue and that provides a means of community service, religious study, and other EC's, it gives you a great advantage</p>
<p>Simply being an adherent of the religion does not give you an edge</p>
<p>Judaism is both a race and a religion. You do not have to be Jewish by race to be Jewish by faith, and you are not Jewish by race just because you are Jewish by faith, correct?</p>
<p>The term "Jew" is commonly used to refer two different things, and this confuses most people. </p>
<p>There's the religious definition (most people assume this one when hearing word) that follows the tenets of the religion (ie, matrilineal descent, etc)</p>
<p>There is also an ethnic (or "blood") definition commonly used among secular Jews, and this treats the word Jew as an ethnicity just like any other (you can be of Russian, Ukranian, or Jewish descent, etc).</p>
<p>Religion has nothing to do with college admissions, or this country is really heading in the wrong direction. Besides, it doesn't matter whether being Jewish is considered being white... what matters here is whether Jewish people count as an Underrepresented Minority, and the answer is no - therefore, it isn't useful for college admissions.</p>
<p>I can't believe you all took this so seriously...I was joking. You're all nuts.</p>
<p>shalom......</p>
<p>"I can't believe you all took this so seriously...I was joking. You're all nuts."</p>
<p>With topics on this forum similar to "I've won 30 awards every year except sophomore year when I won 25, will Harvard reject me because I slacked off", or "the same teacher gave me A+s for two classes, will I never get into a top 10 college", I think many people will think anything is possible.</p>
<p>umm, i don't think being Jewish will help. Jews are overrepresented in academia, and they are one of the more competitive applicant pools, as Greenmoon said.</p>
<p>Has anyone read Prozac Nation? i didn't know jews were smart till i read that.</p>
<p>"Strictly Kosher?
Vanderbilt recruiting of Jews praised - and questioned</p>
<p>By Vivi Abrams</p>
<h2>The Jewish Times</h2>
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn.
When Matthew Saul was a freshman at Vanderbilt, he knew there were other Jews living on his dorm floor. But most of his fellow residents didn't know.
"It used to be where, you came to Vanderbilt and were Jewish, you wouldn't identify with other Jews here," said Saul, a senior from Dalton, Ga. "They wouldn't identify with you, hang out with you. Now, you see more students coming who want a Jewish community. I think we're attracting a different type of person."
That type of person - a Jew who decides on a college partly on the strength of its Jewish community - is exactly the kind of student Vanderbilt is hoping to lure with a new Hillel center and a Jewish studies program, among other changes.
For the past few years, the school, long stereotyped as a bastion of Old South snobbery, and even bigotry, has been working to change its image and make minorities feel welcome. ..."
<a href="http://atlanta.jewish.com/archives/2002/101802cs.htm%5B/url%5D">http://atlanta.jewish.com/archives/2002/101802cs.htm</a></p>
<p>I guess you're right.</p>
<p>at most schools, no. most Jews are considered white, which doesn't give you the URM status. plus, most schools don't look at religion, and if they do, Judaism is not enough of a minority to get an admissions boost. also, all the top schools have a significatn Jewish population.</p>
<p>colleges started the whole "geographic diversity" BS just so they could admit less Jews because they mostly came from NY.</p>
<p>There are black (ethiopian) and mexican jews, but most of the black ones are in Israel.</p>
<p>Well there is that scholarship for left handed people with red hair, so you might have a bit more lucky paying for it...</p>