<p>Don't see many posts about state schools in the North....I get the impression that the better students shun them...am I wrong? This is anecdotal of course but at our local high (Alabama) of last year's top 5% ...1 to Yale, Furman,Davidson,Duke,Columbia,Stanford,Emory...then 1 to UVA,Bama and Auburn and 4 to Georgia.....</p>
<p>For the class as a whole ~ 60% remained in-state [a lot to Bama(71) or Auburn(36)].</p>
<p>Not much interest locally even amongst the "elites" to hit the road or go to a private school. Maybe in the South such an education is not perceived ,or in fact is not, much of an advantage re: future income,job prospects,etc.</p>
<p>Any thoughts? Are UConn, UMass, the SUNY's,etc popular and just not mentioned on this board?</p>
<p>Related (I hope) No-So culture qx. Friend's D went to Wake Forest (her first choice) and was v uncomfortable there. She, Jewish, felt like a fish out of water in a very "southern" Christian culture, according to her mom. She transferred to Brown and was v happy. Do you think this was an isolated reaction? What about Emory and Tulane - which appear to be very non-parochial in their student bodies. Do these two have a more "cosmopolitan" or "southern" culture?</p>
<p>Right or wrong, I do think the "better" students have little interest in the state U's. They don't see the state U's as making the cut according to stats and perceived academic quality. I wonder how much of the reason is that North Eastern parents have such a high likelihood of having gone "private" and our biases trickle down to our kids. I would fit this bill and have to admit I never suggested S consider any of the states here in New England. He didn't want a large school (this line of thinking also could come from parents), so that ruled out the better state Us elsewhere. H went to UNH and always said that would be perfectly fine for S. But when the time came, H started consulting the guidebooks, the rankings, etc. and joined the crowd focusing on the higher ranked schools. What moved H out of the "state" camp to the private camp - I'd ask him but he's asleep on the couch.</p>
<p>Emory, Tulane and Duke are not southern in feel....not surprised about the girl who went to Wake...we are Jewish and have a son at Virginia - as best I can tell he has minimal Jewish contacts and it doesn't bother him. However some of his cohorts would not consider UVA as it did not meet their requirements re: Jewish presence.</p>
<p>Of interest Jewish kids around here rarely stay in state...many head off to Georgia, Indiana, Kansas and Arizona. Bama years ago had a significant Jewish population but for some reason it tailed off and now they lack that critical mass to get anybody interested.</p>
<p>Jmmom, Wake Forest is a "Southern" school, Emory and Duke are not. WF is also not as far in years from its Baptist roots as the other two schools are from their Methodist roots. I don't know as much about Tulane, because it was one of the few places that DH said absolutely not. For many years Tulane has had the reputation of being definitely "not worth it" - very expensive, and not so great - but I think the administration is really spending the money to upgrade the facilities and attract top students with merit scholarships. That effort is giving it a more nationwide feel.</p>
<p>Oldman, I have heard NEers discuss the fact that state unis are not as prestigious because they are latecomers, many were started after the success of state universities in the South, Midwest and California. Perhaps more replies will come.</p>
<p>By the way you've described DD's school perfectly, although fewer kids.</p>
<p>oldman and cangel - thanks. YOu confirmed what I thought re Duke, Emory, Tulane. But if not for my friend's D, I would have thought Wake similar.</p>
<p>Jmmom - the attitude of top students towards public colleges is quite different here, where we have a good flagship university (which, for the most part, New England states lack). Many of the top 10% here go to Carolina, with maybe 1-3 students going to a Duke or occassionally HYP (out of a class of 300), and the odd student or two that goes to an LAC. Of course, I go to a thoroughly average high school, unlike many of the people here who go to highly competitive magnets/prep schools/etc.</p>
<p>being on the left coast, most kids out here haven't even heard of any NE LACs, nor do they know of Dartmouth. The flagship U's (Berkeley and LA), are typically the school of choice for most top kids -- ok, throw in Stanford and the Claremont schools. Kids applying to privates back east do so bcos a family member can speak to living in a climate where you can't wear shorts all year. :)</p>
<p>btw: given the size of our local state U's, it is likely that either school has more top "quality" kids (in absolute numbers) than an individual HYP.</p>
<p>bluebayou - Absolutely. Having lived in Ca for 20 yrs myself (and gone to both UCB and Stanford), I see the the college decision-making process as a whole different world there. What other state has a whole system of top-quality schools at such a value? Most other states seem to have their flagship U (eg, Mich, Wisc, Va) which may be top-rated and then one or more "step-sister" public Us. Even Ca. parents who went to/like the idea of the small, "intimate" LAC have a heavy weigh-and-balance against the quality education at value $$ available at the UCs. Add to that the climate consideration that makes many kids (and/or their parent) wary of going east/north (my friends in San Diego are known to wear parkas in 60 degree weather; here we abandon all but maybe a sweater once it gets to 40).</p>
<p>From my observations, now at a distance, Ca. residents have enough on their hands just trying to figure out how they can get accepted to the UC of their choice. How many of them want to add another complication to the mix by applying to other competitive schools at megabucks more $$?</p>
<p>The SUNYs are very popular for NYS residents ... largely because of their price and the good caliber of education that they offer. Binghamton, which is a university center, and Geneseo, which is a college, rank highest. However, the SUNYs do not attract many out-of-staters. I believe this is largely because they do not have football teams ... they do not have the spirit of a school such as Michigan.</p>
<p>Many "downstate" New Yorkers opt for other state schools (Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, U Mass-Amherst, Maryland - College Park, being the most popular, I would say.) I would venture a guess that those schools are chock-full of kids from Long Island and Westchester County.</p>
<p>Jmmom, When I lived in NY, many Jewish kids went to Wake Forest. I know that in Cleveland Hts and Shaker Hts, a number applied there, and a couple of them ended up there and they seemed to like it.</p>
<p>And you are right, Twinmom. The NY state schools do not have the name recognition, mainly because they do not have much in the way of high profile sports teams. So the SUNYs are more than 90% in staters That was a turn-off for my older son who couldn't believe the busloads that came from Westchester County alone.</p>
<p>For sure, Jamimom. The Westchester parents are generally saving the big bucks for medical school and law school.</p>
<p>I have not heard of any Jewish kids going to Wake Forest. There are certain private universities that are very popular though - you tend to hear the same names over and over. I hear of very few kids that have LACs on their lists.</p>
<p>There are a lot of Cornell applicants too, as the Cornell endowed colleges are a terrific bargain for NYS residents.</p>
<p>In the Carolina area Duke and UNC would attract more Jews. As expected the Florida schools (Miami and Gainesville particularly) have a significant #....in the south I would guess Emory and Tulane have the most % wise. Wash U with a large Jewish presence...some from the south.</p>
<p>Do any parents have info on washington and lee? I know that its southern but for a jewish student would it be more like Emory/Duke or Wake Forest??</p>
<p>I saw mention of Kansas and thought I'd comment, because no post of mine is complete without referencing my area.</p>
<p>There is a sort of stereotype about KU kids from out of state that they're all wealthy Jewish kids from St. Louis. From what I understand, there's a pretty solid Jewish population at the university, despite a very small population among permanent residents. It's certainly a very accepting environment for people of ethnic/religious minorities, even if it's not the most diverse place ever.</p>
<p>UMich, UWisconsin, UIllionois, Ohio State, Penn State, UNewHampshire, Boulder--these are a few of the 'northern' state schools which draw top students and preference.</p>
<p>The Greek system at Tulane has a definite 'Southern' feel.</p>
<p>In our state, it's Univ. of Washington, Washington State, and Brigham Young; for those who want something a little bit edgier, it's Western Washington U. and Evergreen; and Whitman is the LAC of note.</p>
<p>I do not live in an area with many Jewish families right now, but when I did, Wake Forest was a college that appeared on many Jewish kids' lists, and I can name a handful who are there now. There is a Hillel there, and you can get info about Jewish life at WF from them, I would think. I do not know what the breakdown of Jewish kids are at the LACs, but never thought for a minute that they were not well represented there. I know the top LACs are always on the lists at Scarsdale where there are many Jewish families. But , you know, I have never seen a breakdown and it has never been an issue.</p>
<p>Tulane has a large NE contingent, never had a religious affiliation, and has a significant and active Jewish presence on campus. Indeed Paul Tulane the benefactor after whom the school is named is from New Jersey. His home in Princeton is now owner by the university and is the official residence of the president of Princeton.</p>
<p>The President of Tulane lives in Samuel Zemurray's home. Zemurray was a legendary in some circles infamous businessman who made his fortune in the bannana business in Central America. he was a Jewish immigrant who made good and his many philanthropies include Tulane University. He also used one of his bannana boats to bring Jewish refugees into Palestine in 1948. The boat was named Exodus.</p>
<p>Hi! NY mom here (Long Island and Jewish). Vast majority of our kids stay within SUNY system including the local community college which is part of SUNY. I'd guess 60% from last years class went that route. Other very popular schools with LI kids are U of Md & U of Delaware. (They've become so popular, that they are much harder to get into than it was a few years ago) Towson is now quite popular as alot of kids who would have gotten in to U of Md. a few years ago are being rejected and now apply to Towson. Michigan- U of Pitts. & U-Mass .- Amherst are also popular choices. From our school, I would estimate that 75% go to public universities. I would also add as a Jewish parent, these schools pass the "comfort test". There was an article in Jewish Week last month about "hot schools" for Jewish students. They included Towson- Virginia Tech and University of Georgia. I had checked out Tulane for my older daughter and read on their website that they do not have classes on Yom Kippur or Mardi Gras. Now that's my kind of school. I'm now concentrating on looking at public U's in mid-atlantic for d # 2. She hates cold weather and most of the Suny's are in small towns in the snowbelt region of upstate NY. This may explain why New Yorkers don't get overly enthusiastic about our state schools and why our kids would rather go to U of Maryland. The more south I look, the more I rely on checking the Hillel site and seeing if there is a JCC in the area. In Va, I'm going to look at ODU-VCU- and GMU as all these schools are in vibrant communities and I think she'll be ok. But I'll know better after our visit.
And to Politics26. I don't know much about Washington & Lee. They do have a Hillel chapter (check out student guide on Hillel.org) and maybe contact them. It may not be a bad idea to visit the campus during Passover to see if they make provisions for the Jewish students. It may be a way to judge whether a school is welcoming to Jewish students or not. Good luck.</p>