Exploring Pathways to Higher Education in Israel: A Transformative Trip for Guidance Counselors
The Tzemach David Educational Foundation, in partnership with JLIC, The Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and World Mizrachi, orchestrated an impactful trip for guidance counselors from distinguished high schools across the United States. Participating schools included RASG Hebrew Academy, Ramaz, Yeshiva University High School for Girls, The Frisch School, Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, SKA, Schechter […]
2020 Virtual Campus Meetings
Are you taking classes at one of these campuses this fall, make sure to mark your calendar! Meet your OU-JLIC educators, learn about Jewish life on (and off) campus and ask any questions…. http://www.oujlic.org/register/
A support system for college in Israel
This advice was submitted by Rabbi Yehuda and Chagit Peles, OU-JLIC Mizrachi Educators at Bar-Ilan University. I am considering attending college in Israel after I complete my gap year program. If I decide to stay in Israel for college, how can I ensure that I am in the most supportive framework? Being far away from […]
How to handle blind roommate assignments
This advice was submitted by Rabbi Alex Ozar and Lauren Steinberg, OU-JLIC Educators at Yale University. How do I handle blind roommate assignments when my roommate might therefore not be frum, or even Jewish? At some universities, first year students do not get any input into who their roommates are. Instead, they fill out a […]
Considering Leadership Opportunities When Choosing a College
This advice was submitted by Rabbi Hart Levine, Director of Student Leadership Development for Yavneh On Campus and Founder of Heart to Heart. What leadership opportunities can I find within my college Jewish community, how can I evaluate the opportunities at different schools, and how should that affect my choice of where to enroll? College […]
Setting Yourself Up For Spiritual Success in College
This advice was submitted by Rabbi Josh and Margot Botwinick, OU-JLIC Educators at IDC Herzliya. How do I set myself up for Jewish growth and spirituality in college, and not get distracted by classes, work, social media, and life? Step 1: Keep Judaism at your fingertips Someone recently asked me what accessories he should buy […]
Where to draw the line?
This advice was submitted by Rabbi Tzvi and Tali Wohlgelernter, OU-JLIC Educators at Rutgers University. Setting Boundaries at College from the Outset The college campus is a place where a student is given an unprecedented amount of freedom. This is a novel experience for a student who has spent the last 12 years in a […]
Anti-Semitism on Campus
Jewish Action recently spoke with National Director of the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (OU-JLIC) Rabbi Ilan Haber about the rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism on college campuses. Jewish Action: Is the perception that anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism is growing on the American college campus accurate? Rabbi Ilan Haber: Anti-Semitism is certainly growing in American society in general. The campus is, in some ways, […]
Bigger is better?
This question was submitted by Rabbi Shlomo Schachter and Ahava Zarembski- Schachter, OU-JLIC Educators at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. When looking at Jewish life on a campus, bigger is better right? The conventional wisdom is that a school with more Jews is obviously better for Jewish life. This is especially true within the Orthodox […]
Jewish Roommates?
This question was submitted by Rabbi Elie and Miriam Schwartz, incoming educators at the University of Pennsylvania (previously educators at the University of Maryland). I’m very nervous because I am going to a college where I don’t know anyone and I would really like to have an observant Jewish roommate. How do I find a roommate […]
Missing work and exams for Jewish holidays?
Contributed by Rabbi Aryeh and Sharona Kaplan, OU-JLIC UCLA What is the college’s policy regarding work and exams missed due to Jewish holiday observance? Yeshiva High School graduates can, at times, be surprised to realize that their new academic calendar is not designed to consider Shabbat and significant Jewish holidays. Accustomed to the comfortable accommodations […]
Jewish Life on Campus: An Informed Choice is the Best Choice
On Wednesday evening, December 26th, TABC and Ma’ayanot hosted their annual Jewish Life on Campus joint program. The evening featured over 27 college students from such varied universities as Cornell, SUNY at Binghamton, Cooper Union, New York University, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, Princeton, Brandeis, Yale, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Rutgers, Queens, UMass at […]
13 Questions Every Jewish Student Should Ask Prospective Colleges
There are many questions Jewish students and parents should ask when considering colleges. Recently, Dr. Yvette Alt Miller, shared her top 13 on Aish.com. Her questions definitely offer food for thought, but don’t stop there. Use OU-JLIC’s student checklist to expand on many of Dr. Miller’s questions and discover additional questions. You can find the checklist […]
Torah Learning On Campus
From the East Coast to the West Coast, OU-JLIC Campuses offer an impressive assortment of Torah learning options for students. PENN: SNL CHAVRUTA PROGRAM SNL, a staple every week at Penn, is one of the most important programs within the Hillel building and community. The fact that 100 students take a break from their Sunday […]
With An Eye On Zion
COLLEGE STUDENTS STRENGTHEN THEIR CONNECTION TO ISRAEL THROUGH INVOLVEMENT IN ISRAEL GROUPS ON CAMPUS, INTERNSHIPS AT ISRAELI COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS, AND OU-JLIC SUMMER PROGRAMS IN ISRAEL. Sitting in my friend’s dorm room at Brandeis University, I begin to look around the room. Everywhere I look there are pictures of Israel: an Israeli flag, beautiful flowers […]
Halachic Q & A on Campus
Each year hundreds of college students turn to OU-JLIC Torah Educators for answers to halachic questions. A YOM TOV COOKING CONUNDRUM Question: I want to cook fresh food on yom tov for the yom tov meals in my dormitory kitchen as my family does at home. University housing, however, prohibits us from leaving our […]
Commuter Community
Commuting to college is an attractive option for many students who, with the help of OU-JLIC, can still feel like members of a young student community. Would you rather live on campus or get your own car? That’s the dilemma that many students face each year when deciding whether to commute to college or not. […]
Challenges
STUDENTS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND ADVICE ON NAVIGATING THE COLLEGE ENVIRONMENT AS AN ORTHODOX JEW. SURVIVING OR THRIVING? Even though I still live at home, life in college feels like it is worlds away from my experience as a student in an Orthodox private high school. In my academic studies, I am constantly confronted with […]
From Consumer to Producer: Student Leadership on Campus
Alongside a rigorous academic schedule, students serve as the driving force behind many aspects of Orthodox life on campus. Student leaders from three different universities discuss the integral role Orthodox student groups play in facilitating Orthodox life on campus. Eitan Meisels; Columbia University ‘20; Yavneh President: Yavneh boasts 300+ members, most of whom consistently attend our religious, […]
Navigating the College Journey: My First and Last Shabbat on Campus
A Penn alumnus, gives advice to high school students on how to best transition from a gap year in Israel to life in college. The feeling was all too familiar; it started as an anxious pit at the bottom of my stomach and slowly spread. We had all eaten Shabbat lunch together in the Hillel’s […]
Noodles and Poodles and Drama (OH MY)!
An adapted version of Yakira Cohen’s Times of Israel blog post. A self-described foodie, explains the types of Shabbt Meals you can find on college campuses. A few hours before my second Shabbat of college, a stranger added me along with ten or so other people I did not know to a Facebook group titled […]
Surviving the College Application Process
The prevailing wisdom is that junior year of high school is the toughest. However, Ross Mankuta, director of college counseling and academic planning at Milken Community Schools, disagrees. “We’re firm believers that senior year is the hardest year,” he told the Journal. “They are taking their hardest curriculum in high school while simultaneously applying to college.” […]
Know What’s Important
Doing this self-assessment will assist you in quickly eliminating schools that don't match your standards and help determine which colleges still under consideration best fit your ideals.
4 Things To Do Before Choosing A College
Follow these four steps to make sure you are choosing the right Jewish community for you.