<p>I've already posted in your similar thread in a different forum, but I do want to underline something that someone else said. It's very hard to find a smaller institution that has services both Friday evening and Saturday morning. My son and I spent endless hours researching the Hillel site and then calling the various schools. My son did want the option of a Saturday service, and that knocked a lot of schools off his list. At various points, I asked him if he wanted to let this requirement go, but his answer was very firm. the one other thing that was important to him was that the school have some kind of food that was kosher for pesach (access to a kitchen, casual meals, whatever....). Other than that, he was happy eating vegetarian.</p>
<p>One of the things we discovered was that many schools have Friday night dinner and service, but if you want something on Saturday you'll have to be creative. For example, William and Mary has a Friday night service on campus and there is a conservative synagogue almost across the street. The same is true for Wesleyan University. Union College has an orthodox synagogue in walking distance. Amherst College not only has services on campus but is in walking distance of services at U. Mass Amherst. Other schools like Dartmouth had a conservative service on campus Friday evening and reform Saturday morning, plus a nearby chabad that offers an orthodox service. Muhlenberg, by contrast, doesn't actually have any services on campus, but there are half a dozen synagogues within a 6-block radius. (And they do have many social events on campus.)</p>
<p>The other thing we found out, as another poster said, is that the Hillel website is not always accurate. For example, Colgate has an active Hillel and Friday evening services. They also said they had a conservative service on Saturday morning. But when I called and spoke with the director, he said that was extremely rare...just once or twice in a semester. A similar thing happened with Franklin & Marshall. It seemingly had Friday services on campus plus a synagogue in walking distance. However, when my son called up, they said services rarely took place since the students just weren't interested. You really need to call up the directors because they can give you accurate info as well as tell you about programs starting up that aren't listed in their website that. (There is tremendous growth going on in terms of service to Jewish kids.)</p>
<p>There are over 60 campuses that now have active chapters of chabad. Some kids love 'em while others do not. My son prefers Hillel, or a regular synagogue, but did attend some chabad services last summer when nothing else was open near the U Chicago campus. The kids who go to chabad are everything from orthodox to secular, and all points in between. Anyways, here is their directory listing of campuses: .<a href="http://www.chabad.org/centers/campus.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.chabad.org/centers/campus.asp</a> </p>
<p>I do want to put in a good word for Brown. Son was impressed with the Hillel and the new rabbi there. However, it's not an easy school to get into. Our son was waitlisted.</p>
<p>Good luck on your search. One of the things you really need to do is think what kind of services/activities you'd like the Hillel to have. On the Hillel site, you can search using a whole range of criteria for different clubs, support groups, etc.</p>
<p>My son had trouble finding LAC's that had the kind of Jewish support and services he wanted. Plus he preferred institutions that were near a medium to large city. He found he had to expand his list to larger schools. But your requirements may be different. If you want any more info (I have a ton!), you're welcome to drop me a p.m.</p>