Questions for Jewish students

If you are a Jewish student, you may be interested in the following information about the colleges you are considering:

1. Is there a Hillel? What kind of activities does it sponsor? How many students typically attend?

2. Does the school participate with other colleges in regional Jewish programming?

3. How many Jewish Studies classes are offered? Is Hebrew offered?

4. Are there travel abroad opportunities to Israel? Does the school sponsor a Birthright Israel trip?

5. What Jewish social, social action and arts activities are there?

6. Are there celebrations for Jewish holidays? Is there a Passover Seder?

7. What Shabbat and holiday services are there?

8. Is there a kosher meal plan? Is Kosher for Passover food available?

9. Are there Jewish opportunities in the surrounding community (e.g., work in synagogue, invitations to holiday dinners, attendance at services).

10. Are there Jewish alternate spring break opportunities?


To find the answers to these questions and more:


1. Review Hillel’s Guide to Jewish Life on Campus on http://www.hillel.org/ for the colleges you are interested in

2. Check out college bulletin boards and see what Hillel activities are posted.

3. Check out the Hillel calendar of events

4. Visit the Hillel building or office.  Talk with the Hillel staff and students who frequent Hillel.

5. Try out the kosher food on campus.

6. Attend a Hillel activity.

7. If you stay on a Friday night, try out the Shabbat service and dinner.

High School Guidance Directors Reflect on College Admissions



Catherine Angelastro,
Director of Guidance at
Watchung Hills Regional High School

 

Hillary Charney,
Director of Guidance at
Hillsborough High School



‘Tis the season for high school seniors to apply to college. New Jersey high school guidance offices are bustling with activity and have wisdom to share with families who are going through the college application process.

ADVICE FROM THE GUIDANCE OFFICE

Catherine Angelastro, Director of Guidance at Watchung Hills Regional High School offers this advice, “Get applications in early. The earlier the better.” She also strongly recommends the use of Naviance scattergrams, which shows the GPA and SAT scores of students from the high school who were accepted and rejected at a particular college. “Naviance is a great reality check.”

“Start doing your homework [on colleges] in the sophomore year,” said Sean Siet, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Ridge High School. “Visit [the colleges]. Make sure you can fit in,” he continued. Mr. Siet also recommends that students “use Naviance.”

Students should “be willing to consider schools they haven’t heard of” in order to find “schools that are a better fit,” offered Hillary Charney, Director of Guidance at Hillsborough High School. “Go look at colleges. You wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it,” she continued. 

CHANGES IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS

In the last five years there have been a myriad of changes in the application process. The changes included more early action and early decision applications, rising application and college costs, additional of families applying for financial aid, increasing instant decision days on site, and a larger number of students taking the ACT, according to Sean Siet of Ridge High School.

Admissions have become “much more competitive”, according to Hillary Charney of Hillsborough High School. A lot of students are switching from private to public colleges because of the financial situation, and students are applying to more colleges. Some “students are applying to ten or more colleges,” she continued.

Catherine Angelastro indicated that many high schools, including Watchung Hills Regional High School, switched to a paperless application process. Once everyone learned the system, it made preparing applications easier and less expensive for the school district.

MYTHS

There are a lot of myths associated with college admissions. Hillary Charney indicated that some students mistakenly believe that if someone from Hillsborough High School got accepted at a particular college last year, no one from Hillsborough will get accepted at that college this year.

“Parents worry [unnecessarily] that there isn’t a college for Johnny”, Catherine Angelastro shared. She also indicated that some families incorrectly think that children of alumni get a free ride.

Applying to more colleges doesn’t guarantee you’ll get accepted to more colleges, shared Sean Siet.

CHALLENGES

Everyone knows that students and their families face many challenges in college admissions. The guidance office also face many challenges. Catherine Angelastro indicated that it is hard to be in the middle of the family financial situation. “Economics once planned, [families are] now unable to do”. Hillsborough High School tries to help parents get a better understanding of financial aid basics.

Sean Siet indicated that guidance counselors have to manage the family’s expectations. They need to make sure that students apply to target and safety schools, in order to avoid the situation where the student doesn’t get accepted into any college.

In this stressful season for New Jersey high school seniors, guidance counselors are a resource for students and their families. They “go on college tours” in order to give students first hand information, said Hillary Charney. They have relationships with college representatives from around the country, according to Sean Siet. They can help ease the transition from high school to college.





Villanova University

You might wonder what kind of student would be well-suited to Villanova University. My feeling is that a pre-professional Catholic student, heavily involved in community service, who likes big time college basketball, and who wants to be a short train ride away from Philadelphia would find Villanova University very inviting. Check out the Slosberg College Solutions Facebook page for my Villanova University photo album.

If you've visited or attended Villanova recently, share your impressions.

Columbia University

What makes Columbia University unique? Its location in Manhattan, combined with a rigorous and extensive core curriculum distinguish it. You might be surprised to find that Columbia has a beautiful, enclosed campus spread over six square blocks with green grass and trees, as well as a subway stop, making it easy for students to access the arts and internships in New York City.

Unlike many other colleges, the core curriculum is a set of specific courses, not just distribution requirements. The core curriculum consists of a third of the courses and ensures that all the students have a strong foundation in literature, the humanities, contemporary civilization, foreign language, and science.

Other than foreign language classes, there are few classes on Fridays, enabling students to take advantage of internships, community service opportunities, political activities, and museums. For those interested in sports, there is a gym with an indoor pool. Fields and most games are played in the Bronx, with free shuttle bus transportation provided.

While the cost of attendance is $56K per year, the school meets 100% of need, is need-blind, and excludes loans from its financial aid packages.

Stevens Institute of Technology

Stevens Institute of Technology is a great choice for an engineering major who wants to go to a small school in or near a city and participate in Greek life.

The college is set on 55 acres on the Hudson River, overlooking the Manhattan skyline. It has a mix of old and new buildings in various styles, a gym with an indoor pool, fields for sports, and limited parking. It is just two blocks from a main street in Hoboken, New Jersey (a hot town featured in the TV show "Cake Boss") and walking distance to a train that will transport students to New York City in ten minutes.

Stevens has some great features including a free laptop for each student, lots of research opportunities, a co-op program, 5-year Bachelors/Masters programs, internships, externships, and excellent job placement.

Ninety per cent of the approximately 2200 students live on campus. Unfortunately for the men, only about a quarter of the class is female. Thirty per cent of the student body goes Greek. Students participate in 120 clubs, 26 Division III varsity sports (excluding football), intramurals, club sports, alternative spring break, and study abroad.

If you've visited Stevens Institute of Technology lately, share your impressions of the school. To see additional photos I took of Stevens, check out www.slosbergcollegesolutions.com.

What's new at college?

At the NJACAC meeting, the following colleges shared some "new" information:

• Muhlenberg College is opening a new rehearsal hall for theatre arts, music, and dance. They will also be opening a new dining hall which will offer a kosher meal plan.
• Columbia University went to the Common App
• Duke University introduced a neuroscience major and a finance minor; they are building a new dorm on the west side of campus for upperclassmen.
• Rutgers University had a record enrollment. Their experiment with students self-reporting their academic record on their college application was a success and some of the State University of New York (SUNY) colleges will adopt it. Many new dorms are in the works.

Financial Health of Colleges

I recently attended the New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling (NJACAC) program on "Admissions Trends". One trend is that a growing number of small liberal arts colleges are having financial difficulties. A panelist suggested that potential students and their parents be on the look for signs of poor financial health including:

1. Significant deferred maintenance
2. Faculty and staff layoffs
3. Closed programs
4. Dropping of varsity or extra-curricular activities
5. Closed residence halls
6. Downgraded bond ratings.