Will applying as a Jewish student at a more southern school give me an advantage?
<p>It will help you out very little, if any at all.</p>
<p>Good Luck,</p>
<p>Jerod</p>
<p>Happy Chanukah!</p>
<p>It will help you out at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is actively courting Jewish students.There was a Wall St. Journal article about it a year or two ago.</p>
<p>As a Vanderbilt (Jewish) alumna, I get mailings from Vanderbilt's Hillel organization. Given the DRAMATIC increase last year in the number o Jewish students, I doubt the University is actively courting Jewish students this year.</p>
<p>****. Really? Because I was banking on that a bit.</p>
<p>I think the wooing process is ongoing.</p>
<p>The 2002 front-page WSJ article I mentioned reported that Vanderbilt's Chancellor Gordon Gee, then newly arrived from Brown, set out to "lift Vanderbilt to Ivy status" by making special efforts "to boost Jewish enrollment." Since then, the University has opened a new center for Jewish life and started an ambitious Jewish studies program. </p>
<p>Here's a link to an article that appeared in the Vanderbilt Hustler (interesting name for a school paper!) earlier this year:
<a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/jewishstudies/Hustler%202-10-04.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.vanderbilt.edu/jewishstudies/Hustler%202-10-04.htm</a>.
It highlights the new programs and affirms that Vanderbilt is "targeting Jewish students." </p>
<p>I can't imagine that with this kind of investment, the University's targeting efforts would end so soon.</p>
<p>I'm Jewish, too. Happy Hanukah!</p>
<p>You too. I actually visited the new Schulman center and it was quite nice.</p>
<p>i'm jewish too, and like asians, we are a way overrepresented minority. so think about geographic diversity or something else; at a lot of the especially high-end schools i've been looking through, we are in long supply. if that's the opposite of short supply.</p>
<p>Yes, but schools like Vandy lack students from generally overrepresented racial/religious groups, such as Jewish kids and Asians. I'm sure there are other schools like it. Probably they are in the south...</p>
<p>I didn't really think there was anywhere on an application to indicate that you were Jewish...</p>
<p>Unless you're part of B'nai Brith or other Jewish organizations, where would you even put it?</p>
<p>jpps1, that's exactly where it would be reflected--in your extracurriculars. Also, when my s applied 2 years ago (got in but decided not to go), in the essay about why he wanted to go to Vanderbilt, he actually talked about the fact that he liked the idea of being in on the ground floor of building a more active Jewish student population. In deciding not to to there, he decided that he really DIDN'T want to be on the ground floor somewhere, but wanted to go to a school where there was a larger, established Jewish population.</p>
<p>Good luck to you!</p>
<p>jpps, i think that on some of the applications (i'm not sure about vandy) but most of them in an optional section there is a place to state your religious beliefs... also yeah, in the ECs is a good place to say you're a member of a jewish organzation or such. good luck!</p>
<p>Dg5052, I feel the same way as your son, which is why I applied ED to Emory. Where did he end up?
I'm not sure if there was a place for indicating religion, but I know that I mentioned my involvement with Bnai Brith in the EC section.</p>
<p>Tenacious, he's at Wash U and loving it--of course, very similar profile to Emory!</p>
<p>Putting aside that some colleges/universities ask for a religion on the application....How come people call themselves Jewish...Jewish is a religion...but without sounding offensive, isn't your RACE technically white? When I have asked someone "What are you" and they respond "I am Jewish" that confuses me. Unless you are Isralei, which is obviously a race, then that would make you a minority. Other than that isn't every caucasian person in the same boat? I do not label my race as Catholic or Baptist just because I hypothetically practice those religions...I am white. I think people need to get out of the habit calling themselves Jewish and rather call themselves a person who practices the Jewish faith. Also, my ancestors are Italian/Irish but in all honesty I am not Italian or Irish, I am an American and if asked I practice the ____ faith. I do not respond to "What are you" with the answer I am catholic or I am muslim. I am not trying to undermind your religion or sound offensive, but I think this is a bad habit that people should try and break out of. I still do not see how being "Jewish" would give you an edge in admissions unless it is a catholic school looking for diversify their student body etc.</p>
<p>valuable1212 :</p>
<p>To my mind the Jews are more or less an ethnic group. Many, but not all, Jews practice the traditional religion of the Jewish people, Judaism. That's how I see it anyway.</p>
<p>Leepdogg13: Even if an admissions advantage exists, one might still consider whether the environment where there are few people with your background, either in the student body or the surrounding community, will be comfortable for you. Different people might draw different conclusions about this, and about its importance.</p>
<p>First off, you would say that "judaism" is not a religion. If somebody asked my race or ethnicity I would say white, because...I am. And Israelis dont consider their race to be jewish. They are white as well. I guess sometimes we refer to ourselves as jews because, well, you could say that we have a lot of similarities among us. Most of my friends are jewish because I have the most in common with them and we are fairly similar people; and therefore are comfortable with eachother.</p>
<p>In the interest of educating valuable1212, Judaism is, of course, a religion--but more than a religion. The practice of Judaism according to the laws of the Jewish Bible and the Talmud, which is the codification of laws set out by the rabbis, including commentary on how those laws are to be followed, is an all-encompassing program for living all aspects of one's life. Therefore, it can be said that Judaism is not only a religion but a culture.</p>
<p>Many Jews these days relate to superficial aspects of Judaism--such as "Jewish" foods and "Jewish" humor--without knowledge of, or appreciation for, the underpinnings of these exterior habits. To its credit, Judaism--especially as practiced in America--is very pluralistic, with a wide range of observance levels. Most Jews, while following their own particular level of observance and belief, are tolerant and supportive of those who are both less observant and more observant.</p>
<pre><code>I hope this helps.
</code></pre>
<p>"How come people call themselves Jewish...Jewish is a religion...but without sounding offensive, isn't your RACE technically white?"</p>
<p>Particularly in Eastern and Central Europe, Jews traditionally stayed within their communities and did not intermix with the caucasian population. As a result, they retain distinctive features such as black hair and large noses. These clear physical diffrences from the native Slavic or Germanic populations make antisemitism easier, and lead Jewish people to consider themselves an ethnic group rather than a religion. Many people from this area refer to themselves as Jews even if they do not follow the Jewish religion.</p>