<p>One other thing to remember - to hold a prayer service, Judaism requires a quorum (a minyan) of 10 Jewish adults. Even Jews who don't go regularly often want a fighting chance to have a college service. And many schools with small Jewish populations are located in areas that also have small Jewish populations, so there may not be a synagogue convenient to campus.</p>
<p>Would you advise a Catholic student to "get beyond ethnicity" and go to a school that couldn't have Mass, and where there was no church nearby? Don't think so.</p>
<p>That's exactly why my sons have all sought schools with a Jewish presence. There's also the not wanting to have to go into a lengthy explanation to a professor who rarely teaches any Jewish students as to why you need to reschedule a lab or a quiz or test that is scheduled for a Jewish holiday. (My kids know to get paper and problem sets done early and turned in on time if at all possible).</p>
<p>It would not bother me if there was a Catholic population at the school or not. In fact too strong a community in one direction does concern me and would not be diverse enough. Being open to other cultures and less isolation just seems healthier and better for society. Too much isolation for any culture is unhealthy and not a good learning environment. My children are mixed culture and thus this probably explains why I feel this way.</p>
<p>pgh: advice: Hillel is not particularly accurate: email the Hillel director at Clemson (or someone at a synagogue in the area for an accurate answer)....I'd be very curious as well.....pls post when you find out; I have an '15 possible applicant.......</p>
<p>I, as a Jew, want to find a school with a nice Jewish population, but it doesn't have to be very big. I want there to be services I could go to and have some Jewish friends there. I guess it isn't as important to me because where I live, there aren't many Jews so I am use to it.</p>
<p>You might want to contact the faculty or student contact at Clemson's Hillel provided in the link below to get a current answer to this question Organization</a> Listing I have a friend whose s (Jewish) is a Soph. (I believe) at Clemson, but I am sorry that I don't recall what the current posulation is. He had considered transferring, for other reasons, to UGA, but I believe he stayed at Clemson. If I have the oppty to talk to his parents, I will certainly ask. If you contact the student or faculty at Chemson's Hillel, would you kindly report back here? BTW-- here is Clemson's Hillel website link <a href="http://people.clemson.edu/%7Ehillel/%5B/url%5D%5B/B%5D">http://people.clemson.edu/~hillel/</a>
Thanks</p>
<p>hey jym...that hillel website was last updated Feb 4, 2004.......if you speak to your friend, please let us know.......I think Hillel may be defunct? Is is possible another organization has taken over?</p>
<p>^^^ 2004!?!?!?! That doesn't bode too well... :eek: I suppose you could check the faculty listing and see if that faculty member is still at Clemson, and email him directly about Jewish life on campus. I did that when my s was considering Wake Forest. The faculty member was very helpful and forthcoming.</p>
<p>Hillel's estimates of Jewish enrollment are pulled out of thin air. In many cases, there is absolutely nothing backing up the estimates. Honestly, they are so far off or so out of date that it's hardly even worth looking at them, let alone using them as some kind of statistical analysis.</p>
<p>rodney-
I got a response back from my friend whose son is at Clemson...</p>
<p>"So, to answer your question, I think it's "2" Jewish kids at Clemson, XXXX (sons name) and one of his roommates. I look at it as a positive that they haven't turned the Hillel house into apartments or condos yet, right??? Anyway, I think there will be more & more as smart kids aren't getting into the state schools with the economy and all". :(</p>
<p>jym: I only wish that was funny......D2 will not be a pioneer....doesn't really fit into the "token" mode.....</p>
<p>interesteddad: other than contacting every potential school directly (or finding a synagogue closeby to ask) do you have any better suggestions? There are soooo many good schools on paper all over the country; difficult to assess......</p>
<p>the hillel site can be a good starting point - but just a starting point. some schools have more in terms of jewish life than is reflected, some less. the hillel site usually has a link to the campus hillel site - always good to check there to see what activities are in fact going on (and how up to date the site is kept!) and from there you may be able to get contact info for a hillel director or student board member. </p>
<p>shear numbers don't tell the whole story since any jewish population is likely to be very diverse. when looking with my kids, we went thru a lot of schools that looked good on paper -- but then when we asked things like "how many students attend services?" "how many students participate in programs?" it gave a much different picture. and often hillel directors would smell a potential active hillel member and really try to sell my kids -- but neither were interested in hoping that a hillel would grow as the director hoped. </p>
<p>there really is simply no substitute for getting info from the individual school's jewish community.</p>
<p>the student really has to decide what about a jewish community is important to them -- eg, services (if so, how traditional do they need?), kosher food, potential significant others who share religious background, just some people who won't think they're weird for not celebrating Christmas, people who will understand their ethnic traditions? there is a wide range and each student really has to decide for themselves what is enough for them and then ask the questions they need to in order to see if a given school fits the bill. what's a great jewish community for one kid simply may not be enough for another.</p>
<p>Ugh. There really is no way of finding any of this out without looking at each individual school and asking questions of the students/community...rather depressing.</p>
<p>I did find that the Hillel site was a good place to start. You can select a list of schools based on Jewish percentage. From there you can check out each school and use their link to the school's Hillel site. When we visited schools we tried to visit the Hillel buildings and checked for fliers for Jewish events. You can also check to see if the school sponsors any Birthright Israel trips. From my daughter's and her friend's experiences, it appears that if a school has a Jewish percentage of at least 10%, there will be a fair amount of Jewish activity and they will meet other Jewish students. Once you go below 10%, it depends on how active and appealing the Hillel is.</p>
<p>exactly what ubelievablem said. % of jewish students is a good start point but doesn't say anything about the participation rate at services, the vibe on campus, facilities in support of kosher dining, etc. That does need to come from interviewing either Hillel or students at a particular campus.</p>
<p>I just noticed something about UCLA's numbers. Now, it would seem UCLA is lower on the list, right? WRONG!!</p>
<p>Keep in mind UCLA (like Berkeley and UC Irvine, is about 42-45% Asian in population, and while there are some Asian jews, the % is certainly under 0.5%.</p>
<p>The vast majority of Jews are not African-American, Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, Pacific Islander, Asian, or any other classification other than... Caucasion. As UCLA reports about 35% Caucasion, and as the graph shows 12% Jewish, the greater context suggests that 35% of UCLA's caucasian population is jewish. </p>
<p>That paints a completely different picture. Thre is the question of absolute mass. Assuming UCLA is about 35,000 students total, combining undergrad and grad, the 12% yields about 4,000 Jewish students on campus.</p>
<p>Are there campuses with more absolute numbers of jewish students than that? Maybe Brandeis. Can't think of many more.</p>
<p>In fact, UCLA could very possible hold the title for the greatest number of Asian students in one place, along with the greatest number of Jewish students in one place.</p>
<p>I imagine a lot of Asian/Jewish marriages result :)</p>
<p>Brandeis wouldn't qualify since there are less than 4,000 students total and about 50% Jewish. Penn State probably has over 5,000 Jews, more if you count grad students.</p>
<p>momjr: biggest problem with that is that if you have a kid without great stats, none of those schools are an academic "fit" (we know kids who couldn't be admitted to Indiana this year, fwiw).....that's why some of us have started to "look outside the box"....to geographic locations that may have not been as popular for the #'s in the past.....So far, I've only come up with very large publics......still looking for smaller-medium publics and privates with 5-10%.....that are not on the radar.....for us it is less a religious issue than a "comfort" level with culture and holidays (in case daughter can not get home....)</p>