Hillel helps ease frustration of college applicants.
Hillel is expanding the ways it helps high school students in the college search process. Hillel professionals have long assisted high school students in exploratory campus visits and in becoming oriented to their new home away from home. Hillel recently upgraded its online "Guide to Jewish Life on Campus" to make finding schools a lot easier.
The Hillel Guide, the most comprehensive online campus database for Jewish college students, includes estimated Jewish population statistics, campus activities, the availability of kosher dining, and many other criteria for prospective students. Now, users can search the database for many different criteria simultaneously. For example, students will be able to find the school with a large Jewish population and kosher dining in Massachusetts, or a university in the West with Reform services and a cappella singing.
The new Web site function is part of a greater Hillel effort to enrich the lives of Jewish college students of all backgrounds even before they arrive on campus. “Hillel is uniquely positioned to help a broad cross-section of Jewish students explore their many college options, and to provide first-hand information that no one else can provide,” explains Hillel International President Avraham Infeld.
Hillel recently sent communications to 20,000 high school juniors and seniors advising them about Hillel and directing them to the online Guide. Thousands of young people visited the Web site in search of colleges. Many subscribed to Hillel Campus Report, a monthly newsletter that provides college guidance tips and campus news.
Hillel is also cooperating with Reform Judaism magazine which is producing a special fall edition devoted to college choice.
The magazine will include:
Trends 101: A comprehensive look at how colleges, courses, students, fraternities and sororities, Hillels, and Jewish studies programs have changed for Jewish students over the last 50 years—and what’s cutting-edge today.
The Right College 100: A guide, in chart form, to the top 60 schools attended by Jewish students—the top 30 private schools and the top 30 public universities, marked with critical choice criteria: the number and percentage of Jews on campus, the Hillel presence, whether there are Jewish fraternities and sororities, if the college credits study in Israel, the kinds of Jewish services on campus, and more.
The Money Tree 1000: A top advisor at the National Association of College Admissions Counselors lays out an “orchard map” for the best picks from the money tree that encompasses scholarships, interest-free loans, contests, and much more.
Lessons from Harvard 010: The former Dean of Harvard, Harry R. Lewis, advises on how to “Get More out of College by Doing Less.”
Best Programs—Survey Course 001: Best Jewish programs on campus, best Jewish junior year abroad experiences through the eyes of college students, best summer leadership and social activist training programs, best temple programs for college students.
For copies, contact rjmagazine@urj.org.