<p>Can anyone fill me in on the extent and quality (yes, that's a tremendously subjective term) of the Jewish community (or lack thereof)?</p>
<p>My D, a rising junior, has Conn on her list, and that is one of her criteria.</p>
<p>sorry i didnt see this earlier..</p>
<p>conn is about 15% jewish, but most arent actively involved with hillel on campus. however, while small, the hillel is pretty active. every single friday night, there is a shabbat dinner in one of the small dining halls, and frequently have interesting guest speakers. there are weekly board meetings. there tends to be about 2 other activities each month, such as the extremely popular hannukah party and purim keg party; bagel brunches; pizza parties to break passover and yom kippur; huge passover seder; chocolate seder; bowling; trips to nyc; events with other local hillels; etc. everything is always open to the entire campus community.
conn has a wonderful religious studies department, where you can concentrate on judaic studies, and with one of the top scholars in judaism. students can also minor (maybe major?) in hebrew and arabic.
there are three synagogues within a 10 minute drive: an orthodox, a conservative, and a reform, and conn students frequently teach at the hebrew schools, advise a youth group chapter, as well as arrange to go to congregants homes for shabbat and other holidays. many students take advantage of these home cooked meals, and students are always welcome at local synagogues.
there is a rabbi on campus, who is also available for private instruction.
conn has a lot of contacts in the middle east for both study abroad and summer internships, if she is interested in visiting israel at any point. conn also usually sends at least one student on birthright trips each year.
kosher meat isnt available on campus, but there are extensive vegetarian options at every meal. there are several places nearby to buy kosher food/meat, and students can live in housing where they cook for themselves if this is a concern.
conn also cancels all classes on yom kippur.</p>
<p>hope this helped! let me know if you have any other questions about any aspect of conn.</p>