<p>I do think that Muslim students will find greater diversity in urban and mid-sized universities than in small, isolated LACs. They try hard to reach out but it’s difficult to attract students from various parts of the country. Some LACs such as Amherst do provide generous aid, but many do not. It really depends on the size of their endowment (and whether it has been hard hit by the financial crisis).
You could encourage the students to look into merit aid as well as need-based financial aid. Some schools that might be a decent fit because of their cosmopolitanism are Kalamazoo and Macalester. Women students might be encouraged to consider all women colleges such as Wellesley, Mt Holyoke, Smith and Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>Hyeonjee: I think it is absolutely fantastic what you are doing and so interesting as well. Just thinking about it is lifting my mood! I could see you starting out giving a very basic presentation with your insight into financial aid, getting into the flagship, tips and tricks you have learned, etc. The LAC topic could also be introduced. If you continue with this interest, you will learn more about the needs of the diverse Muslim community and can better address their specific concerns. You could even think about bringing some representatives of the local University Muslim students association to serve with you on a panel and answer more specific questions. In the case of the LAC, to sell this idea, it would be good to have some specific examples to demonstrate what a LAC education will bring, financial aid, examples of Muslim students who have thrived there, etc. Probably some of the LACs would be willing to let you talk to some of their students. If you have time, you could go to the local mosque in advance of your presentation and talk to the Imam or some of the women to get a feel for what they would like in the presentation. Probably you should call in advance so they can prepare.</p>
<p>Muslim students who also have some skills in any of the “critical languages” in the National Strategic Language Initiative – Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Korean, and the Indic, Turkic, and Persian language families – would probably be of interest to schools with programs in those languages, programs that the schools are hoping to expand. </p>
<p>For the most part, these are larger schools, with some exceptions, depending on the language. To have a “critical mass” of Muslim students, look to LACs that are in consortia with other colleges, near metro areas (Bryn Mawr, for example) or to flagships in areas of states that have an appreciable Muslim population: Michigan, UCLA.</p>
<p>Well, it might, but not because of religion. I know a kid who got a minority scholarship… one of his parents is Palestinian, the other American. Religion never entered into it, but heritage did.</p>
<p>The Muslim Students Association national site looks to be a real treasure trove of info. I wonder if someone at that association would have population figures as to # of Muslims on any given campus.</p>
<p>Finally, if there are certain colleges that students in your area tend to attend, you might want to do a little research on those places specifically. You can’t cover every school, obviously, but maybe some general info about Muslim life (hallal food? do they do fast-a-thons for Ramadan? have there been any concerning incidents? etc) at the state flagship or nearby popular schools might go a long way.</p>
<p>hyeonjlee - more kudos to you for this effort!</p>
<p>you might want to include a whole section about questions to ask on a college visit (or by phone if you can’t visit). some things have already been mentioned on this thread and I think you could actually find more on the Jewish student thread you (or someone) mentioned earlier (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/799949-comfortable-jewish-population-3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/799949-comfortable-jewish-population-3.html</a>). In particular, unbelievablem’s excellent post #33. Things like is there a critical mass of Muslim students, mosque nearby, type(s) of Islam represented on campus and in the nearby community, college’s religious holiday observance policy, and personal preferences - which of these things are important to that particular Muslim student and his/her family.</p>
<p>hyeonjlee, one of my son’s Muslim classmates (as well as another Muslim girl from the class before them) is at Haverford, I am reasonably certain that she would not be there if she were not receiving attractive financial aid. I think, in general, that the top-shelf LACs’ need-based aid is more or less on a par with non-HYP Ivies, and maybe better than that depending on the student and the school. Many great LACs do have merit aid.</p>
<p>When my daughter and I were visiting Wesleyan a number of years ago, posters were plastered all over the campus reminding us that it was Arab and Arab-American Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons Awareness Month. I will admit that we wondered just how many Arab or Arab-American GLBT students there were at Wesleyan, and whether it would take a whole month to be aware of them. But I suppose that indicates that there was at least some Arab/Arab-American community there (which is not the same as Muslim, of course, since many Arab-Americans are Christian).</p>
<p>Obviously, critical mass is a concern at LACs. I suspect many have at least enough Muslims for a club, what with South Asians, Iranians, Americans, South-East Asians, Uighur, Albanians, etc. But (as one can easily see from the Jewish threads) that hardly means that they will share enough traditions, practices, preferences, etc., to constitute a viable support community. For that reason, colleges in or near cities may have an advantage (although perhaps not, if the specific city does not have the sort of community where a particular student would feel comfortable). And of course it is hardly a foregone conclusion that any particular Muslim student will WANT to engage in religious practice or ethnic-identity groups while in college. As with students from other backgrounds, in some cases the student may be looking for a way OUT of that.</p>
<p>Knowing that one always runs out of time at meetings and never gets to cover everything one wants to I suggest that you first focus on the fact that the parents, regardless of educational level, are unlikely to be familiar with the American colleges and application process. I would highlight the various types of colleges, the fact that students get a college degree before applying to professional school (many countries, India and the Netherlands for example, offer a 6 years post HS medical degree) and other factors that distinguish US schools from others. Explaining public/private, university/college, LAC/others types of colleges. Then there is the testing- ACT/SAT… Then the finances- including tuition, books, transportation, dorms, food… And you have to at least mention how to find out about resources for obtaining information on being Muslim at a college. </p>
<p>With all there is to cover you probably can only cover the bare essentials with the point being to point out resources more than give information after describing the US system. You may generate a second meeting to cover many points after parents have had a chance to follow up on suggested resources. An important first meeting point may also be to point out what may/may not be good essay material. There are many children of immigrant parents applying to colleges, that is not enough to stand out. Many immigrant children in fact have many advantages over children with US born parents (our problem- in my day had no money when need mattered and now being 1/2 Asian was a disadvantage for son who could have been full pay- life isn’t fair). </p>
<p>Your audience may be quite diverse in economic and educational background- you may need to hold all questions until the end of your presentation or you will not have time to finish it. Your job is to show people how to find answers they don’t have the background of personal experience to know, or knowing how to obtain them. Many immigrants base their knowledge on their own system and/or are hesitant to obtain information in ways Americans take for granted. Some may have to learn to be more aggressive/assertive in dealing with systems.</p>
<p>Good luck with your project. You may even be able to set up self help groups willing to do research for each other. You may also be able to form groups to look up certain topics and report back to the others with or without you being present. There is so much to cover without even covering the religion aspect of things.</p>
<p>hyeon, I think there are two separate but related issues here. One, after a Muslim student matriculates what facilities are available on campus to make him/her comfortable.
And two, does being Muslim help in admissions? </p>
<p>This is somewhat counterintuitive but in fact the colleges that have the smallest critical mass of Islamic students can be exactly the ones that offer an admissions advantage to Muslims. </p>
<p>This is very similar to the dilemma facing high achieving African-American and Hispanic-American URMs – and to an extent Asians – do they go with colleges that have a good number of “people like them” and take their chances with the competition or do they pursue colleges at which they will be extreme minorities but that they will be in demand as a demographic builder?</p>
<p>Small colleges especially those that are located in rural environments or are in the South or Midwest don’t attract a lot of Muslims. Going against the cultural grain can actually be an admissions plus at a college like Williams, Grinnell, Hamilton, Davidson. I think a lot of Muslim students – whether their family origins are Arabic, Pakistani or Indonesian – aren’t aware of this advantage.</p>
<p>I work at a university with a very large Muslim population. No URM status for Muslims there! </p>
<p>One issue that seems to be important for many of our Muslim students is loans … particularly unsubsidized loans … due to the interest. We often have students who are upset that we cannot award them any (if EFC too high) or additional (if they are at annual maximum) subsidized loans - some have even stated that they should have more grants due to the fact that they choose not to borrow. I understand their point of view, but I am unable to help them. I think it’s important that Muslims who will not borrow consider how that will impact the aid available to them.</p>
<p>I don’t think any religion is considered URM. Jews aren’t and only were in the old sense of being subject to a quota. URM status follows race and perhaps ethnicity … as in my daughter’s best friend is Turkish, so she’d bring that history and difference to the table much more than her religion. Schools certainly care about religious diversity but I have no way of knowing how much. Some of the comments have noted this; applying to less diverse school means your diversity may be worth more.</p>
<p>As for issues facing a Muslim student, I think there a bunch of issues that are relatively similar to those facing Jewish students:</p>
<ol>
<li>How devout? A secular kid will likely feel more comfortable in more environments. Both Jews and Muslims have issues of dress as you go up the devotion scale. And both have issues of food. </li>
<li>How assimilated? I think that’s obvious. If you grew up in Columbus, then you may find the east coast more a shock than a less diverse midwestern environment, but that depends in part on how much you’re part of the cultural mainstream where you live now.</li>
</ol>
</p>