If you come from a large metro area and a larger high school you probably won’t like Juniata. It is a small campus in a very small town in a rural area.
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Fair points - we come from the one and only kid in the HS so it’s a bit different. I wish we had 5 kids in the school, let alone a single class.
I know kids who go to Auburn and MS State - no clue of their experiences - but glad it worked out for yours.
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Nope. It would be too competitive I am afraid.
We are fine with Hofstra being suite case school. DD can would be able to travel to see cousins almost every weekend in NJ. They would love to have her. Looks like 2 hours on public transportation.
If your D is social and is looking for fun social things to do (which are not drinking oriented) than a suitcase school is NOT the place for her. You’ve mentioned that you’re looking at schools which don’t fit her criteria because she’d come home every weekend, and now that she’d spend two hours on Friday and then again on Sunday visiting cousins if she went to Hofstra.
This is the opposite of a fun college social life. Maybe your D should start her own thread-- not sure a college student wants to spend 4 hours a week on a bus to hang out with cousins every weekend because there’s nothing going on on campus- even if the cousins would be delighted to have her.
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What are party schools on the list apart from Union that was mentioned above?
There are some kids who cannot handle Tulane. Not a suitcase school- but it’s hard to avoid parties sometimes.
Other posters will have their own POV on some of the schools on your list.
But the bigger point is that EITHER your D is looking for a fun campus with lots to do on weekends, or she’s ok being at a suitcase school. Both things surely aren’t true simultaneously!
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Well, if she will feel good there after visiting, get merit there, will stand out from the crowd there, will be able to get to medical school (Hofstra has its own) from there, will have her social crowd there - yes she can suffer a bit over weekends… Plus she is NY city - you have all theaters, museums to your disposal… I personally would go there for fun. I guess we have different views… In addition, weekends can be also used for studying sometimes… I am sorry, but I do not see problem at all. What am I missing? This is very different from staying for weekend in the middle of PA or OH without a car with nothing to do if your are not interested in parties at school…
I did not say she was looking for party school. I said that she is very social girl with a lot of good reliable friends and it is very important for her to have right crowd. I do not think I said anything about weekends or suitcase schools. I think we have a bit of misunderstanding here.
St. Jude has summer research and internship programs available for students attending schools throughout the country. It is not necessary to attend a local college in order to participate.
Hofstra is a suitcase school, but there are kids who stay there on the weekends and I do think it’s possible to find some like-minded friends to do things with on the weekends. The problem with a “suitcase school” are the clubs and activities on campus….they might not be well attended. You have to go off campus.
There are schools out there with thriving and very active campus communities- Hofstra does not strike me as that type of school.
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That’s my point- a social kid with a lot of interesting friends is NOT going to want either a suitcase school, where the social options are really limited, OR a drinking/partying starts on Thursday night type of school. And you’ve got both on her list, and allegedly, she’s fine with either.
That’s what’s confusing. Maybe she should start her own thread so we can hear from her if she’s ok with a suitcase school and staying with cousins every weekend and spending four hours on a bus to do so, there and back???
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I’d put Gettysburg in that group.
While my daughter didn’t like Tulane after our visit (campus is - ehhh - and dorms sort of old with doors to the outside like Motel 6) - that said those who go to Tulane LOVE the school. They are hugely passionate.
The admissions director is a rock star and Tulane is now one of the hardest admits in the country with a less than 10% acceptance rate.
They are definitely a high ED school so getting in EA/RD probably extremely tough. My son’s valedictorian goes to Vandy and got merit aid - yet was rejected at Tulane which just five years ago would be unheard of.
From everything I’ve seen, a wonderful community for a Jewish student - but of course not in any range of DC.
Others mentioned Hofstra - we looked and yes got the suitcase thing. But for the OP I think what’s good is you can see up front via the NPC and inputing your grades, etc. how much $$ you will get - so you know whether or not it’s worth it up front. As for travel into the city, it’s not super easy - but can be done. It’s not in a college type city from what I remember.
I do agree at times that the students have to be more involved. We, as parents, think we know what we want. My son was all set for Purdue…he comes home one day and says I’m going to Bama…he wouldn’t even consider it. He visited with three friends on a job shadow or college visit day - and fell in love with the dorms. You just never know. On the flipside, perhaps the student is overwhelmed with school and other things and that’s why mom is helping out.
Anyway, I’m sure in the end it will all work out.
My D is a first year at W&L (edit: with merit). Feel free to PM me if you want to learn about her experience. She’s sooo happy.
(We are not Jewish, but 25-30% of the kids at her school were, including some of her closest friends. She has a good many Jewish friends at W&L and goes to Hillel with them. She’s premed. Super social and active… her adviser just told her to stop joining so many activities and taking on big commitments (in the kindest way). Hangs out both with kids who drink and who don’t drink. Her concern before enrolling was the rural location, but she’s loving all the outdoor activities that allows and is happy with her choice.)
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Indeed, some people who may not like Jewish people all that much may support Israel because they perceive Israel as fighting against other people whom they like even less.
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To add to your point, D21 had a slightly lower unweighted GPA (from a highly competitive high school) and a 34 ACT and was awarded $30k in merit from Oberlin.
And there is a very strong/active Jewish representation on campus, both historically and currently. With no application fee or supplemental essays, at least as of last year, I would definitely recommend that you keep it on the list.
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Did you take a look at Ithaca? In other threads I’ve seen 20k a year in merit and she’d be at the higher end of stats. Strong Jewish population, fits distance criteria and area is cute.
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I’m glad Oberlin finally got some love in this thread --I was a bit surprised by some very negative comments, as I know a few Jewish kids who are very happy there. We loved it when we visited in 2019 with my daughter, but Kenyon (which we also loved and which turned out to be a little better fit) gave us a better deal, even though Oberlin offered my daughter one of their top merit awards. In both schools, our tour guides were Jewish, active in Hillel.
(I’m a non-practicing Jew; we weren’t looking for active Jewish life, but I would never send my child to an anti-sentimitic school; I don’t consider Oberlin to be such, but I realize it’s a complex issue).
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Our families and daughters sound a lot alike as far as our Jewish identities and practice. Oberlin and Kenyon were two of my D’s favorite schools, probably a better fit for Oberlin, but loved a lot about Kenyon. She ended up picking a school closer to home, never considered Jewish life as a factor and is now a regular at Shabbat and other events, much to my surprise.
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How interesting. For us, it didn’t come down to Oberlin vs Kenyon, because my daughter also loved Macalester and Grinnell, so they were all equal contenders (as you can tell, we only considered Midwestern LACs, because of both merit and relative proximity to home). Oberlin, with the biggest merit award, was still the most expensive of them all. (No intention to derail this thread, just a quick response).
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