<p>I am from New York and Jewish. How will it affect me, and will I get anti-semitic remarks, people trying to convert me, bullying? Also I am from New York, so being Jewish was never really an issue, because it is so diverse here. Also I am used to a faster lifestyle, and diversity. How will it be living in a small southern town in South Carolina. Btw, I am not judging or saying students are like that. I just want to ask, just to know, because I am really interested in change, and experiancing the south for my college career.</p>
<p>I think you might feel a bit out of place at Furman</p>
<p>Apply to Tulane! All the south but still very Jewish. There’s a Chabad and Hillel, both within a 5 minute walk from the main campus.</p>
<p>Why don’t you feel that I would fit in. Please be specific…</p>
<p>Its second hand information, so would prefer not to extrapolate. Others mentioned Tulane, which is a great suggestion, as would be Emory. You have already mentioned Miami and several FL schools, if you have the stats.</p>
<p>Yup… well florida is not interesting me anymore, and I think emory would be too difficult to get into. Tulane does sound like a great choice. But is there any other schools you can list specifically with division 1 sports… and in the South</p>
<p>University of Georgia has a substantial jewish population with a couple of jewish fraternities. What are you interested in studying?</p>
<p>IMHO you will not get any anti-semitic remarks, you may get invited to a religious function from the standpoint of inclusion but no uncomfortable proselytizing and lastly, I think bullying would be very unlikely. That being said, your comfort level might be dependent on how much you desire to be around people of your own faith to attend temple etc… If you want to primarily hang around those of the Jewish faith then like the others here I would not suggest Furman. Furman is an awesome place for all open minded students and I would try to figure out what you are looking for out of the college experience as the primary factor in choosing a school.</p>
<p>I have quite a few friends at Furman, and all of them are Christian. Now, I’m Christian too, so I guess I’m more likely to have friends that are Christian at Furman, but it does seem like the majority are Christian. For example, on a tour day there they had 7 students for a Q&A from around here (It was an event for Upstate SC). 6 were Christian, and one I wasn’t sure about. So if you’re not comfortable being with Christians you may not fit in. However, if you are fine being around a lot of Christians I highly doubt most people (or anybody, for that matter) would make anti-semitic remarks. Maybe some people would invite you, but I doubt anyone would try and “convert” you in an aggressive sense. In terms of diversity, Furman isn’t really that diverse, it’s mostly WASP’s however most are friendly and accepting.</p>
<p>I’m going to have to defend my city here. First of all, Furman is a 10 minute drive or so from downtown Greenville, so you’re not really in the city. Second of all, it is not a small Southern City. We’re no New York, but we’re the 83th largest Metropolitan Statistical area (that includes surrounding cities) so while we may not be the largest, we’re not “small” compared to a lot of other places. Also, our downtown has been rated one of the best downtowns in the country. We’ve got great parks, great restaurants, although I don’t know about night life. So my general point is, we aren’t some rural farm town with nothing to do. Furman students don’t go into Greenville that much anyway from what I’ve heard however.</p>
<p>I have a child at Furman. I know she would say, a person of the Jewish faith would not be bullied in any fashion. She would say a Jewish student will have a smaller pool of faith friends if worshipping is important. My daughters roommate last year was Jewish, but she was not observant so I don’t think finding other friends to attend temple with was an issue for her. I do not believe Furman has an active Hillel. </p>
<p>Max Heller, a Jewish immigrant and later mayor of Greenville, has a service group named after him and he holds a valuable place in Greenville and Furman history. </p>
<p>A think the best idea would be to visit and see for yourself. There are however many other southern schools with much larger Jewish populations and active Hillel’s. Tulane, Elon and Emory to name just three.</p>