<p>barnard sounds like a perfect fit- thriving orthodox community there and right by JTS</p>
<p>He's a walker. No compromises. <em>Sigh</em></p>
<p>Saturday morning services are very important to him. We're Conservative, so either a traditional-leaning Conservative congregation (e.g., one that does not read Torah on the triennial cycle) or an Orthodox (preferably Modern) congregation would work.</p>
<p>Believe me, I appreciate your sigh. My son is similar. We invested literally hundreds of hours into digging up this stuff.</p>
<p>This is the deal with Williams and Swat. Williams has nothing in walking distance on Saturday morning, unless something drastic has changed since the last time son spoke with them. There is not even a chabad nearby. Williams was on son's initial list but was removed because of the problem with services as well as the fact he decided he wasn't into rural campuses. </p>
<p>Swat is more workable. The group on campus is technically not a Hillel, but an independent Jewish organization called "Ruach". There is a conservative synagogue in walking distance where a kid could go Saturday morning. We never did see the Swat campus or Ruach, but we did visit on Friday night on a number of different campuses.</p>
<p>I am sure you've heard this on other threads but, no matter how good your son's stats are, be sure to have some safeties and matches. Just a warning....my son had the equivalent of a 4.0 Unweighted, 1510/2260, but still got a slew of rejections and waitlists. Make sure you've got a range of colleges he'd feel comfortable with.</p>
<p>P.S. Don't know exactly what that conservative synagogue is like -- whether left or right leaning--you probably need to contact or check their website.</p>
<p>I have a feeling our families are similar. We are the "left wing" of a modern orthodox synagogue, but son goes to a community wide school and feels comfortable in a conservative service as well.</p>
<p>I would really urge you to look at Tufts. The Hillel has a group of observent conservative Jews. Emory is possible, though a little bigger. Friday night services on campus and modern orthodox and conservative synagogues about a mile away. They are just getting their own building so should start growing.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, Cami. Yep, this is the second child, so we know the drill on safeties, matches, and reaches -- and the perils.</p>
<p>Cami & wjb -</p>
<p>Sounds like the three of us had slightly different, but very similar needs. My son is conservative, used to davening in an egal setting, yet observant. He's looking for what he calls "real" kabbalat shabbat services - not guitar playing, etc. Sat am services can be off campus, if walkable. He is comfortable davening (and often prefers) a modern orthodox service. He is not interested in being in NYC, which rules out some obvious choices. I've heard that Haverford has a stronger Jewish community that Swat - either of you know anything about that. Wesleyan has a lot of appeal - is there a synagogue walkable? I'll keep you posted on our search/research!</p>
<p>CS -- Would he consider a mid-sized university. As Cami mentions, Emory and Tufts are good choices. So is Wash U: multiple minyanim on Friday nights, including an egalitarian but traditional Conservative minyan. On Saturday mornings there is a very welcoming Modern Orthodox congregation within walking distance. </p>
<p>Sorry, I don't know much about Haverford, although I know it has a large Jewish population. I don't think it has a Kosher meal plan, which is a deal breaker for my son.</p>
<p>CollegeSearching and wjb,
If you want more info (the straight scoop) on Swarthmore, send me a PM. I have a child involved with Jewish life on that campus.</p>
<p>Are you considering Brandeis at all? Jewish life is very, very strong. PM for more details. Kosher food for all meals. We have the only integrated kosher kitchen in the country, which means Kosher kids can eat with their non-Kosher friends, so they're not isolated. The Hillel mailing list at Brandeis has 1070 students. There are 20 sub-groups of Hillel. There are Conservative and Orthodox Services Fri Night, Sat Morning and Night (and minyan 7 days a week for that matter). Every weeks there is usually a "special" service from Ruach (hippy, dancing, conservative-like services) to Neshama (traditional service with both single gender and mixed gender seating) to Reconstructionist</p>
<p>CollegeSearching,</p>
<p>I do know Wesleyan has a conservative synagogue within a few blocks of campus. If you look at the website for the Wesleyan Hillel, they make mention of kids walking over there on Saturday morning. I've never spoken with the Rabbi at the synagogue so I don't know any details on the congregations, services, etc.. It sounded doable but we never followed up since son was not enthusiastic about the school overall. (For some idiosyncratic reason, he didn't like the campus....but that's just him.)</p>
<p>We never followed up on Haverford, since the Hillel website only mentioned a pluralistic service Friday night, and I couldn't dig up any synagogues in walking distance. You might want to try and post on the Haverford board on this site and perhaps some current students will see your question.</p>
<p>(ok...not a female and not nyc...let me try again!)</p>
<p>wesleyan, brandeis, goucher, skidmore, emory, muhlenberg, oberlin, tufts, yale</p>
<p>Emory is more than 1/3 Jewish with a high percentage of northerners. A beautiful new Hillel is in the works.</p>
<p>I'm also interested in some ideas. My son says now he wants to study engineering. A strong Jewish presence is a requirement for us. The only school I can think of that meets both of these requirements is MIT ... and I know that's a lottery ticket even for the most qualified applicants.</p>
<p>He'll also apply to Penn Engineering, Columbia engineering, and Cooper Union. But all of those are also competitive programs. My son is definitely qualified, but we do understand these schools are reaches no matter who you are.</p>
<p>Does Maryland have an engineering program?</p>
<p>What about Carnegie Mellon? Lots of Jewish kids are there and there is a chapter of AEPi.</p>
<p>It's way too big for the OP, but Boston University has a fabulous new Hillel and a kosher dining plan. There's a daily minyan at 8 a.m.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bu.edu/hillel/%5B/url%5D">http://www.bu.edu/hillel/</a></p>
<p>Mommy_Dearest -- </p>
<p>I second looking at Carnegie Mellon for engineering. Another mid-sized U with a fine engineering program and a great Jewish community is Wash U. Also hard to get into. One rung down on the selectivity ladder, has your son considered Lehigh? Lehighs foundation is in engineering. And depending on your sons needs, it might work from the Jewish standpoint: According to the website, there are 600 Jewish undergrads and an active Hillel with bi-weekly Shabbat services, holiday programming, etc. No Kosher meal plan, but Kosher meals are prepared at Hillel on Shabbat and holidays.</p>
<p>Duke has a great Jewish center (the Freeman Center) and an engineering program. And after this spring's publicity perhaps it won't be quite as hard to get into next year.</p>
<p>For engineering I would recommend UI at Urbana-Champaign. My son chose it over C-M for Computer Science--their tuition is less and they give merit scholarships as well--and he is very happy there. The Hillel is very active, (something like 5 choices for upcoming Passover Seders) and there is even a Jewish Engineers group! They do things like create electronic menorahs, graggers... :D</p>
<p>Cornell has a great engineering school as well and would likely meet needs - obviously also very selective.</p>
<p>Washington U. is within the eruv, or will be soon when metrolink is opened. The Chabad website is helpful for info on closeby Jewish life. <a href="http://www.chabadoncampus.org/templates/articlecco.html?AID=362673%5B/url%5D">http://www.chabadoncampus.org/templates/articlecco.html?AID=362673</a> Bais Abraham is walkable from the residential quad.</p>