Yes, but several of these NY schools check all of your boxes. Ohio University checks most of your boxes- it’s smaller than UMD but bigger than what you desire. Ohio University has Orthodox students.
Given your need for merit, these schools are worth investigating. IMO your daughter needs a safety school that she won’t mind attending.
Yes and no. Safety is safety. It is not a target school on my books. We struggled with safety and in my opinion created diverse safety list. One tiny school, one huge school and one big school. No midsize school, but my draft list already has 20 + schools… That should be more than enough. College of Charleston does not guarantee merit. It is likely but not guaranteed. Since we have 3 schools on safety list, we are done with safety.
Which safety school will your daughter be happy attending if the target schools are not affordable?
The safety school list is the most important list to create….and often the hardest.
The one that she will choose at the end .
I hope your daughter is having a hand in crafting her application list. That is an important thing…in my opinion.
We are not Orthodox. Our extended Orthodox family would never allow kids to live on campus and would not even consider schools outside of metro NY. Their kids have one option Touro and applied to exactly one school. Plus real Orthodox would never allow kids to attend schools with mixed gender.
My daughter went to Florida Tech, private school, non-religious affiliated. No idea if there is a Hillel. BUT, there were several synagogues very close to the campus where students were welcomed. There was just a news story about Chabad of the Space Coast (about 5 miles from campus) sending seder items (juice, matzoh) to the Israeli astronaut on the space station.
Schools can’t provide everything to every student, but often the communities can and do a better job of it than students who have turnover every year. I don’t think you can expect it if she chooses a small LAC in Iowa or West Virginia (not what she’s looking for anyway), but in many smaller cities she might find exactly what she’s looking for in a religious community near but not on campus. She may have to work for it a little - take a bus, arrange a ride, figure out if there is a group of students attending or who would like to attend.
This is really, really important to know. Your daughter will do best at a school where she is happy and will thrive. So whether she takes pre-med classes or goes into psychology or does something entirely different, your daughter needs to be happy and comfortable where she lands.
If your target budget is less than $25k/year, this is correct. It’s mostly correct if you’re keeping the budget below $30k. If you are firm on your budget, then most of the schools on your list have very little chance of being affordable. How much flexibility does your family have on the budget?
If there is little to no flexibility, then you are saying the only schools your daughter will be able to consider are Miami, Ursinus, and UMD, two of which you don’t think she particularly cares for. This is the part of the list that needs the most care and attention, because with the parameters you have set out, these are probably the only colleges that will come in at the price you are looking for.
If I recall correctly, your daughter said she would be ok at UMD if that was her only affordable option.
Also, if I recall correctly…you don’t like UMD. You feel it is too big, you have been told by adults that it’s not good for premed, too competitive, no “hand holding” etc.
If my recollections are correct, then your daughter will be fine at her safety (which btw is an excellent school). She said so herself, it seems.
That what we try to avoid. She will absolutely not have time for that.
Premed students do have time to leave campus …to attend local events, volunteer, etc.
Why wouldn’t she have time to attend a service in the community?
Yep between volunteering, research, school and necessity for free time she will not have time to ride for nearest Jewish community. She needs robust program on campus. Sorry…
Your impression is false.
Why do you feel that attending off campus events will be too much for her? I don’t know your daughter, but it seems to me she may rise to the occasion.
Premed students take rigorous classes, are involved in research, volunteer on and off campus, participate in clubs, hold leadership positions, attend games or activities of interest, work, are engaged in off campus events (this could be religious, volunteer, hobby, etc), and also have some down time to “chill.” Many do it all.
They learn to manage their time wisely and do what is important to them.
Have you discussed this with your daughter? How does she feel about contacting a local Hillel or Chabad and getting involved in local events that might require a bus or carpool?
If there is a Hillel on campus then there will be some type of Jewish life. My daughter attended a college that had a 6% Jewish population. The Hillel was pretty active- services, dinners, social events etc.
Have you looked at Salisbury in-state?
it’s mid size, well respected. While the Hillel guide doesn’t register, they do have a Jewish Student Association (links below). Maybe you can get more info to see if it might work. Perhaps it fits better for you than St. Marys as it’s a larger school but just 9K students.
(20+) Hillel of Salisbury | Facebook
HILLEL OF SALISBURY UNIVERSITY - Home (■■■■■■■■■■)
I think you are right to want a school with at least 5000 or so students if you want everything provided on campus. Small schools just can’t provide everything and students often have to leave campus to get what they need, even if it is just good coffee.
I hope the U of Richmond works out as it sounds like it has everything you are looking
for.
Have you looked at Marist College? It has 5000 undergrads, a Hillel, a Jewish studies minor, merit aid, several ways to meet language requirements (if any are required), within 8 hours of Maryland… It also has a ‘pre-med’ program
Ok, I just familiarized myself with the Chabad website. I used Google maps to see the distance from wherever Google maps viewed as the campus to various Chabads. Too late I realized I was using driving directions instead of walking directions, but the distances should still give a good idea of possibilities.
Muhlenberg is 0.4 miles from its campus Chabad as a point of reference.
Hofstra 0.2 miles
U. of Hartford 0.3 miles
SUNY New Paltz 0.3 miles
SUNY Oswego 0.4 miles
College of New Jersey 0.4 miles
Ohio University 0.4 miles
Rider 1.1 miles
York 1.3 miles
SUNY Plattsburgh 1.8 miles
Ithaca 1.9 miles (meets with Cornell)
Ramapo 4.2 miles
Roger Williams 8.3 miles
Furman 8.4 miles
Note that Furman isn’t listed on Chabad’s website as affiliated with the university, but Roger Williams is, which might mean that Roger Williams’ may be set up to provide transportation for students whereas the Greenville one may not).
I am not saying that one of these colleges is the perfect school for your D. I am saying, though, that there are a lot of schools that are hitting pretty much everything on your list and for some reason, none of them seem worth a deeper dive to you. I am pleading with you to look through these options with your daughter.
There may be schools here that will excite your daughter more than any of her matches or reaches. Neither of you will know unless you learn more about them.
I also really dislike the way safety is being used in this thread. All a safety is is a school where your daughter is extremely likely to be accepted and the price is extremely likely to be affordable and that your daughter would be happy to attend. There shouldn’t be any negative connotations to the idea of a safety.
You say you’re realistic. Is it realistic to spend 90% of your time researching and visiting schools that will either not accept your daughter or will be too expensive for your family if they do? The “safeties” are the most realistic options and where more time should be spent researching as they are the likeliest options to work for your daughter.
I’m not sure that is true. If this student wants to get into Richmond, it’s not going to be by walking.
U. of Richmond’s Chabad listing is 3.7 miles away from its campus, where it meets with VCU students.
You are an amazing data wrangler!!!
Salisbury looks like a great option! It meets the cost and size requirements, has premed advising, and has a strong Hillel presence on Instagram.
They do committee letters (this comes with pros and cons, depending)