Yeshiva University
November 23, 2010 7:49 PM   Subscribe

What's the deal with Yeshiva University?

I'm starting to apply to transfer to 4-year schools in the fall. Anyone who has even quickly glanced at my post history will find that even though my Jewish involvement in childhood was bare, I've become interested in Judaism lately, and I would really like to study Judaism in depth. So I'm not worried about academic rigor or having too many core classes in Jewish Studies.

I'm already applying to Brandeis and the Jewish Theological Seminary-List College, and I heard that Stern College has good academics, but I'm worried about the other aspects. I read someone's blog post once, which said that all the women were always talking about who they were going to marry (I wish I could find this post again!!), and according to the school's own newspaper, everyone somehow had the resources to go to seminary in Israel. I could ask the admissions office about this, obviously, but I have a feeling they wouldn't tell me the truth, just like any admissions office. And of course I'm going to suspect the worst and the scariest, since I don't know the school. I was wondering if any of you went here or know someone who went here and can tell me anything about it?
posted by lhude sing cuccu to Education (10 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I went to YU. I can tell you lots about it. What do you want to know specifically?

yes, most (somewhere around 80%, IIRC) of the freshman class actually spends their first year in seminary or yeshiva in Israel, then comes to YU. The overwhelming trend used to be to just complete the degree in three years, though that is changing now and there is a strong emphasis on taking four additional years to graduate. that is what I did.

I'm not sure what exactly you're worried about the implications of this information being, though there are plenty of implications. There are still a wide variety of people at YU, etc.

Anyway, please feel free to ask more questions here, or memail me, and I'll do my best to answer them.

I wonder if any other MeFites went to YU. None I've ever come across.
posted by milestogo at 8:06 PM on November 23, 2010


oh and the marriage thing: there is a HUGE emphasis for the more right wing crowd on dating and marriage, so you definitely can find plenty of people for whom marriage is their number one priority. But there are also plenty of folks who have more typical attitudes toward that, and plenty of social circles where it's not that much of an issue. But everyone knows that it exists, and most people who aren't into it are probably annoyed by it.
posted by milestogo at 8:09 PM on November 23, 2010


Not sure I understand your question - what makes a Jewish school "scary" to you? Yeshiva University is an Orthodox Jewish institution. While there are certainly non-Orthodox Jewish students at the college, most students are Orthodox, and yes, a large percentage (especially the women) have taken a year or two after college to learn in Israel (not as big a drain on resources as it may sound, as many seminaries and Jewish philanthropies offer scholarships for this purpose and the costs of studying abroad pale next to the cost of US tuition). And since marriage is seen as the next step after reaching maturity, it is absolutely taken seriously as a topic of conversation in the same way that casual dating is in the secular world. Not that everyone buys into it, just that those who do are not ashamed to make their goals known. If you don't affiliate Orthodox (and I'm guessing you don't as JTS certainly isn't), you might not feel comfortable socially at Stern.

Are you specifically looking for Jewish-affiliated colleges, or are the ones you mentioned just a few among many options? You might look into Touro College as an alternative. They have a great Jewish studies program, and a large Orthodox student body, but also a fairly diverse group of non-Jewish students as well. Another possibility would be the University of Maryland, which has a huge Jewish population (all denominations), a really vibrant Hillel, and also offers Judaic Studies - but because it's a massive state university, you can decide to blend in or affiliate as much as you choose.

My husband went to YU and I can probably get you in contact with current Stern students (memail me), but with the caveat that they will all be Orthodox and therefore may not be sensitive to whatever it is that you find off-putting.
posted by Mchelly at 8:19 PM on November 23, 2010


Would you feel out of place at Yeshiva if you don't identify as Orthodox? My guess is yes, based on the two not-Orthodox people I know who went there and then transferred out.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:44 PM on November 23, 2010 [1 favorite]


Another option, if you don't want a strictly seminary experience, is a school with a large, active Jewish population and a Jewish studies program (if the school has a large Jewish population, the Jewish studies program is probably pretty good) that offers a year abroad. You can usually find very low-cost Birthright Israel programs that will subsidize these expenses (I was always peeved that the cutoff is age 29...I didn't have time to take a trip that substantial until I was in my thirties....sigh. anyway.) But anyway, look into that.

You'll find the marriage issue among any Jewish community at any college. You find a lot of small-town Jews who have been dying to get somewhere that they can find Jewish singles that they didn't go to preschool with and can actually envision as adult partners. Among urban Jews, especially wealthy ones, being Jewish was like belonging to a country club--finding another member is a win. There is way more nuance, but those are the two sort of biggish categories that stick out to me. So don't make that a dealbreaker because you'll pretty much find it everywhere.
posted by thinkingwoman at 9:04 PM on November 23, 2010


My medium-sized New England university was about 25% Jewish. In addition to an amazing Hillel center and kosher dining hall, there were also *many* other flourishing organizations, such as Chabad. Judaic studies fellowships were handed out like candy and many of my friends went on to do a free post-grad year of Judaic study. Since these classes were in addition to regular courses, they were free to major in anything (although some chose to do Religious studies).

Students ranged from ultra-orthodox, standing on corners every Friday asking passersby "Are you Jewish?" to a vibrant system of fraternities, sororities, and a capella groups, to people who just did holiday stuff.

I'm fairly certain that this is the case in many universities with a sizable Jewish population (this may be a regional thing, but East coast definitely). Just something to think about. There is a *lot* of money flowing to Jewish students and Judaic studies and much of it is directed to secular institutions.
posted by acidic at 10:36 PM on November 23, 2010


From a friend:

"YU is great! they are generous with their aid packages and offer programs to study in israel for students who never did. there is mechina program for students with limited backgrounds and the jewish studies tare taken seriously and are discussed on a adult level. no one here is out to make anyone religious. most of the student body is orthodox, but not everybody and those who aren't are not ostracized. the v.p. of our torah council is not your typical orthodox jew to say the least. i think yu is a great option and in a wonderful location, but note it is academically very challenging and our schedule is different. we work around the jewish holidays, and we take 6-7 courses a semester."
posted by oceano at 8:22 AM on November 24, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks everyone; this is helpful!
I started getting worried when I saw "Parents' Hebrew Names" on the application. I'm not worried about my being "put off" by too much Orthodoxy so much as I'm worried about everyone thinking I shouldn't be there or something.
milestogo and Mchelly: I will PM you soon.
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 8:39 AM on November 24, 2010


I'd agree with acidic above. The University of Wisconsin-Madison, for example, has one of the largest and most active Hillel centers in the country, offering kosher meal plans, services at just about every point on the spectrum of Judaism, and connections with programs in Jewish Studies and the Abrahamic religions. This is due in part to the historically significant influx of Jewish students from both coasts. Now, I would be remiss to not mention that fact that "Coasties" and "Sconnies" do not typically mix socially in groups, but on an individual level it's no big deal -- I've been to services at Hillel (as a Gentile going with friends) and worked/studied with people in many situations, and unless you're heavily involved in a Jewish Greek organization or something it's just sort of a local quirk.

If you're looking at Brandeis, you might also consider Tufts. Nearly a third of the student body is Jewish, and they have a strong tradition, but it might not be quite as heavily Jewish as Yeshiva.
posted by Madamina at 9:33 AM on November 24, 2010


Best answer: I went to YU for a year after I went to Israel for a year and before I transferred to a state school on my way to becoming an atheist.

The marriage obsession is not exaggerated. There are literally parties every week for a different senior girl who got engaged. The joke is that you graduate stern with an MRS degree.

The school population is overwhelmingly Orthodox. The Judaic studies are all Orthodox, so don't expect any honest discussion or tolerance of non-Orthodox viewpoints in those classes. If you want traditional Talmud study you can get it at pretty high quality, though. There are a bunch of students who are sort of non-observant, but it's more of a rebellious/apathetic kind of thing than a "Oh, yeah, I'm not Orthodox" kinda thing. There are only a few openly non-Orthodox people. Like very few. There's very little tolerance and understanding. It was a pretty big controversy last year when there was an event where some gay Orthodox students spoke about their lives and experiences.

Scholastically, it was a bit of a joke compared to the pretty good state school I transferred to. There was a lot of memorizing old tests/cheating, and a lot of professors just handed out As for nothing. Judaic studies took up most of the day and secular studies felt like more of an afterthought. Secular studies are treated more as trade school than worthy intellectual pursuits.

Many students were horrified that I was taking Introduction to Art History, because there are nude women in a lot of the paintings.

I felt I had to retake the intro to computer science courses when I got to my state school even though I'd gotten As at YU because I didn't really learn anything. I found the courses that I was "retaking" after getting As at YU extremely hard.

My dorm building overwhelmingly voted down the idea of having a (free!) t.v. in one of the four lounges because t.v. is bad, mmkay? The other two buildings had t.v.s in at least one lounge, though.

Stern has a somewhat better reputation, but still. "Somewhat better."

After I transferred, literally ten fellow YU students I knew also transferred just to my state school. In a totally different state.

This is a very smart, intellectual woman who went to Stern and edited the paper. You might want to talk to her. Fittingly, she just got married after graduating, so that's all you'll see on her blog recently. :-)
posted by callmejay at 11:07 AM on November 24, 2010 [1 favorite]


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