<p>Yes, I've spent hours pouring over the Hillel website, sometimes calling or writing the staff on individual campuses. Unbelievablem, you are totally correct in saying that what is on the Hillel list isn't always the same as what actually happens on campus. You're also right in saying that most Hillels have Friday evening services, and it's much rarer for a small school to have a Saturday service. ("Sunday" was a typo.)</p>
<p>Our S. would prefer a campus where he has the option of Saturday morning services within walking distance. That doesn't mean there won't be mornings he prefers to sleep in or spend time studying, but he would like to have the choice. Anything from conservative to modern orthodox or even chabad will do, just a place to daven the prayers. We have found a number of schools that have a chabad nearby (Tufts, U Rochester, UT, UVa, in fact many state schools) others with a local conservative synagogue (Wm & Mary, Wesleyan) or an orthodox one (Brown, Union College, Wash U, Muhlenberg). Sometimes the Hillel itself offers morning services, e.g., UChicago, Northwestern, Amherst (across the street at U.Mass. Hillel) Of course, a place like Brandeis basically has all of the above.</p>
<p>But we are still keeping our ears and eyes open to see if we've missed any good matches. I really do appreciate the ideas that everyone is coming up with. I will definitely explore a few of these schools like Touro, U Hartford, UMiami that I had never considered before. Hmm.... U Delaware...I never thought of that, yet my husband went there long years ago. </p>
<p>And you're right. One of the most important things is to find out what the kids actually do. You can have tons of Jewish students on campus but if there's no participation, nothing works well. We will definitely keep our eyes open on our college visits and keep asking questions.</p>
<p>Cami215, you should check out University of Michigan. I believe it has the best funded Hillel in the US, and the school has a very large Jewish population.</p>
<p>When at D's music audition trip to Arizona State,we walked to the main shopping street,Mill Ave for dinner.We passed a cute small building with lots of kids inside,imagine my surprise when I saw it was Hillel!!
I know there's Chabad as well..its new and was in the student newspaper when it started up..., and a sizable local Jewish population due to being near Scottsdale.Whether there are walkable temples I'm not sure.</p>
<p>Have you considered the University of Pennsylvania. I understand that they have a brand new center devoted to Jewish life and I would think that in a large city like Philly one could find whatever type of religious service one wanted...</p>
<p>Cami-
Have you looked at the Koach website? (<a href="http://www.koach.org%5B/url%5D">www.koach.org</a> - the Conservative movement's on-campus group?)
There are articles and info for prospective students - it links to the Hillel site, so it is not trying to duplicate that info, but you can pick up some info from the articles and others listings re things going on at various campuses. Under "Contact Koach" is a listing of campus contacts - will let you know at least which schools claim to have a Conservative presence - some of the links may be old, but can give you a place to start from.
Many excellent schools have been mentioned with strong Jewish communities. I know out problem was finding a small "safety" in the NE that filled the criteria.</p>
<p>Cami, while you are still in the wide open looking mode, you might want to check Tulane and Emory - they both have large Jewish populations, as others have said I don't know about real activity.
My daughter has a good friend who comes from an devout Conservative family - both the friend and her brother will be at Tulane, partly because of the great merit aid, and partly because of the strong Jewish presence.</p>
<p>I haven't read through this whole thread, but: George Washington U is a school with a huge Jewish population that is a common safety for those aiming at the elites.</p>
<p>I remember checking out the Tulane website for d # 1. I clearly remember that there were NO Classes on Yom Kippur and Mardi Gras. Gotta love that school. Anyway Tulane has sort of become a "safety" for high achieving students in metro NY area. But I believe that as Tulane's generosity for merit aid becomes more well known, it's going to get harder to get into. My d was a little concerned about going to school in New Orleans as the "party" influence may be too great- but I think that Most level-headed kids will adjust to the atmosphere of New Orleans within the first few weeks of school and will concentrate their efforts in their studies. I was a little disappointed that she did not apply to Tulane, but everthing worked out real well for us. Other "safeties" may include U. of Rochester, Boston U, Case Western and CMU (female) and U of Michigan/Wisconsin. Again this is my opinion only and high achievers means top 10 % and 1400 SAT's (new 2100??). I think all these schools will get harder to get into each year and should not be considered a safety- but if you contact the admissions office-visit the campus-SHOW THAT YOU TRULY WANT TO GO THERE-, you may be offered a spot in the class of 2010. For d # 2, her safety is going to be a community college. Sometimes you just have to be realistic in your aspirations.</p>
<p>Cami: Has your son considered Union College? It might be a likely admit for someone targeting the elites, and it has a strong Jewish presence and, I believe, an active Hillel. Not sure about Shabbat morning services. That's a tough one at many colleges. I'm told that even at Brandeis, where there of course are services on Saturday mornings, relatively few kids attend. (Friday night is another matter; robust attendance then.)</p>
<p>Cami-
For what it is worth - my daughter also started the search process feeling that Saturday morning services were very important. Then we spent a lot of time visiting colleges and speaking with Hillel students and directors and she saw what exactly was really available at the types of schools she wanted (ie under 5000 total student population, non-urban campus) and this ended up being something she was willing to compromise on as long as there were Friday night services. She saw that the vibrancy of a campus Jewish community was not necessarily tied to Shabbat morning services -- and having students at schools where there were such services tell her how few kids attended the services made more of an impact than anything I could ever have said to her. (the school she is going to will have Shabbat morning services - it will be interesting to me to see if she ends up attending regularly)</p>
<p>As you and your son go through this process and see what "Jewish community" means at each of the different schools, you son will have to come to his own conclusions as to where his priorities lie in this regard. The best source of information is probably if he can speak with Jewish students at the schools with whom he feels a connection - what was important to them and what did they find at the school. Even when they are trying to "sell" their own school, students just seemed to have an innate directness and honesty that just sometimes gave a clearer picture than the professional did. We were fortunate on some campuses to stop by the Hillel when there were students there, not just the director and it was enormously helpful. Sometimes we were able to contact the Hillel president ahead of time to arrange such meetings.</p>
<p>Right now Union College is high on our list of possible/likely admits for both academic and social reasons. There is an active Hillel plus a small orthodox synagogue that is a long but doable walk. The director of the Hillel is actually the president of that synagogue, and she has already asked my son whether he can leyn easily since the rabbi is always looking for students who can "pinch hit" reading the Torah when he's away on vacation. That's one of the schools where he'll interview in late July.</p>
<p>Unbelievablem -</p>
<p>Yes, I do agree. Until he sees the schools personally, he can't be sure of his priorities. We did sit down and have a serious talk with him about exactly the kind of issues you've raised. He seemed pretty firm in his preference, but we'll see if this changes as our search goes forward. </p>
<p>There's an interesting side light on all this in terms of the pressure on college admissions. In the past, the "very good" students who were orthodox (and didn't go to Yeshiva U) would be pretty certain of admission to a school like UPenn; the "good" ones would go to Brandeis or BU. Today this whole equation is in disarray. So many Hillel folk I spoke with said they'd never gotten so many inquiries from "observent" families (whatever that crazy term means!) because the students had to cast their nets wider than ever before. So they are applying to schools which traditionally have not seen a lot of kids interested in Saturday services, regular Torah study, kosher meals, etc. The Williams people, for example, said they'd had some serious inquiries from orthodox kids, the kind of students that formerly might have been likely admits to a place like Harvard. But with the top layer so very certain, they (like everyone else) are searching for different schools. (Williams is definitely not on our list. We have more than enough reaches!)</p>
<p>Suggestion: Maybe it would be a good idea to start a different, "Kosher on Campus" thread -- and someone could recap the messages for the other thread? I'm thinking that would help others find it, plus show up better in the future. I have nothing whatsoever of substance to add here - we're a family of nonobservant Jews -- my kids couldn't care less. I just think that it is an important topic and is kind of buried in a "Safeties" thread.</p>
<p>Cami,<br>
Our D will be attending Muhlenberg College in September. It was very important to her and to us that there was a strong Jewish presence at the colleges she applied to in addition to having her major. It is difficult to determine if Muhlenberg can be a safety. They only accept a select few because of the small size of the incoming freshman class and it does depend on the applicants' major. We kinow of many applicants that did not get in whose credentials were equal to our D. A majority of the accepted students applied early decision. Our D did not. She auditioned and did receive an acting talent schlorship.<br>
There are students who travel a distance to attend. I just think Muhlenberg is a well kept LAC secret. I am suprised that more people aren't aware of the great reputation Muhlenberg has for the arts & sciences. The moment our D stepped onto the campus she loved it. It is quiet, safe, clean, kept up to date, and beautiful. It gives you the true feeling of a college campus and that's what our D wanted. The students that attend say the courses are rigorous and they seem very down to earth/friendly. Class size is appealing to our D. She is used to having 10 - 15 in a class from HS. It is nice to get to know the professor and not have TA's teach the class. Almost everyone we run into, who has either graduated from or who is attending Muhlenberg, has had positive things to say.
The Hillel is THE most active organization on campus. 28 - 30% of the students are Jewish. We found this suprising for a Lutheran College.<br>
I don't know if I would consider Muhlenberg as a safety school. We feel fortunate that our D was accepted.</p>
<p>We're definitely looking forward to seeing the campus. I'm actually surprised that they don't get more applicants from outside the east coast. With the current pressure on admissions and the strength of the academic program, this seems like a logical school to experience a big boost in applicants. And I wouldn't be at all shocked to see that happen this year.</p>
<p>Regarding the term "safely"....."likely admit" does seem like a better choice. I'm convinced that nothing is a sure admit these days. Plus, a single school can mean many things to many different people. The way I usually judge a "likely admit" is to make sure my son's test scores are firmly above that middle range (25th-75th percentile). The same goes for the median gpa. Muhlenberg, for example, would be a "likely admit" for my son, assuming he does well with his essays and interview, but probably a "match-reach" for my daughter. That's not to say he couldn't be rejected....only that it's more likely he'd be admitted here than certain other reach schools to which he's also applying. </p>
<p>I'm certainly glad I mentioned Muhlenberg. People in Texas have little experience with it, so it's good to hear all these postive things.</p>