[ PLANNING FOR EDUCATION ]  

Selecting a college or other post-secondary education is a crucial, complex and costly challenge with long-lasting effect. JVS gives priority to helping students and their families sort out and examine the many issues involved in college and educational planning.

 

 

JVS' Individualized Educational Counseling:

  • Jewish aspects of college life
  • Individualized appointments
  • Assessment of interests, abilities, and career personality
  • Clarification of educational and vocational priorities
  • Understanding and using college admissions criteria
  • Evaluating high school transcripts and SATs
  • Personalized financial aspects of college choice / financial aid assessment

The most important indicators of a successful college experience are academic fit, appropriate major, and social adjustment. Investing in educational counseling at JVS during the 11th and 12th grades helps assure students and families that they have made sound decisions based upon the personal needs of the student.

Financial Aid Counseling

  • Helps families identify grants, loans, and other resources to manage college costs
  • Jewish community scholarship programs

Helpful Hints for College Selection

See below for information on the following topics:

Selection Advice

  • Know Yourself -- Think about what you like and what you dislike. Identify your strong points and your interests. Think about what success means to you; what you want your life to be like. Think about what is important for you socially, academically, personally.
  • Research Schools -- Think about size, cost, location, academics, social climate, special programs you might be interested in. Consult college selection books; talk to people who went to the school, if you can; visit the campus. Look for a school that is a good match for you, rather than a "good school."
  • Keep your options open -- Select three to five appropriate schools to apply to. Develop Plan B, and even Plan C, just in case.

Frequently Asked Questions about Admissions

  1. What is the most important part of the application? Your high school transcript.
  2. Do schools place any value on work experience? Yes, they do. Work shows dependability and reliability. And, depending on the type of job, it could show your ability to interact with people. The same goes for activities: a variety of extra-curricular involvement shows your leadership skills.
  3. Do schools mind if you wait to take honors or advanced placement classes until your senior year? They prefer to see students take as many advanced courses as early as they can. But if your high school suggests that you wait until your senior year, that is what you should do.
  4. Do schools like to see grade improvement on high school transcripts? Generally, schools value your grade point average and class rank the most. But, of course, grades that are improving are better credentials than grades that are dropping.
  5. Do schools prefer your honest reason on why you are applying or should you write what they want to hear? Be honest, not phony. College officials read your application to find out who you are. Don't try to guess what admissions officers "want to hear," because they want to hear about you.
  6. How is it possible to get an interview if the college of your choice is on the other side of the country? Easy. Ask for one. Most colleges, especially selective ones, have networks of alumni and students who interview applicants across the country. Admissions officers will also schedule interviews when they visit certain cities.
  7. Is it better to type or hand-write an application? Admissions officers are human beings. And human beings react negatively to extra work. Trying to read someone's handwriting may be extra work. So, type.
  8. Is it important to apply as early as possible? See the above. They are human, remember? Although officially it does not matter, if they have extra time to review your application, they may be willing to go an extra mile for you.
  9. If your parents are alums, are your chances of acceptance increased? Yes, at private schools, but probably not at most public colleges and universities. Private colleges that rely heavily on alumni/alumnae for financial support reward generosity by giving breaks to the kids of their alum. But they still look at the total picture.

Educational Planning Resources

Some useful books for selecting a college:

  • The College Board Index of Majors and Graduate Degrees. College Board Publications, New York, NY.
  • The Insider's Guide to American Colleges. St. Martin's Press, New York, NY.
  • J. Cass-Lieperman, ed. Cass & Birnbaum's Guide to American Colleges. Harper Perennial, New York, NY.
  • The College Handbook. The College Board. College Entrance Examination Board, New York, NY.

Some other resources to consult with when planning your education:

  • Professional career counselor at JVS. JVS can give you a more in-depth service than a guidance counselor at school, and can focus more on your personal needs.
  • High school guidance counselor. Guidance counselors are a good resource, although limited.
  • College selection literature. There is a wealth of information on every aspect of college life, from selecting a major to locating financial aid. Most of these books are available from a reference desk of any library, or you can use the library at JVS, which also has college catalogs from all over the country. You can also find all this information on the Internet. Some sites that will get you started:

    See the Resources page on this website for more information!

  • Admissions offices of colleges. Their job is to sell their college, yet you can get lots of useful information about admissions criteria, requirements, transferring credits, and many other things. The admissions office is also a good indicator of an overall climate of the college. If it was easy to get to somebody in admissions and that person was helpful and knowledgable, you can safely assume that this is a trend. Beware if admissions representatives are hard to reach and are not willing to spend time with you and don't care to answer your questions.
  • Friends, relatives, their friends, etc. You can get a very good picture of a school from someone who went there. Be cautious, though, as these people give you their perspective, and they do not necessarily know what is right for you.

Jewish Student's College Selection Inventory (designed by R.S. Moline, Director of KOACH)

When selecting a school, academic, social, and financial considerations are very important. Often, students searching for the "right" college neglect to investigate fully Jewish life on campus. This inventory will help you see how much value you place on Jewish aspects of campus life when you are searching for a school. Rate each item using the following scale:

  1. Not important at all
  2. Not very important
  3. Pretty important
  4. Very important

Compare your answers with those of your parents.

How do I feel about...

  • Going to school with a large and active Jewish population
  • The presence of a Hillel Foundation which offers a range of programs and services
  • The opportunity to observe Kashrut at school
  • Being part of a Jewish community when celebrating Shabbat and Holidays
  • Having to attend mandatory classes on Jewish holidays or Shabbat
  • Being able to take some courses in Jewish Studies
  • Keeping up with my friends from home
  • Dating only Jews
  • Identifying as a Conservative (or Reform, Orthodox, Reconstructionist) Jew
  • Having Israel-oriented activities
  • Having Jewish fraternities and sororities
  • The availability of Kosher for Pesach food
  • Being able to study in Israel
  • Having a Jewish Political Action Committee

Writing College Admissions Essays

Four rules to remember:

  1. Be Yourself -- Honesty is paramount in presenting yourself to the colleges. Do not try to double guess admissions counselors and write what you think they want to hear. The purpose of the essay is to give the admissions counselors a chance to know you.
  2. Showcase Your Talents -- Be it academics, sports, community involvement, or any other special achievement or talent of yours, write about it in your essay.
  3. Show Your Desire to Contribute -- Colleges are most interested in applicants with leadership potential, the ones who are going to be involved in the college community and, eventually, in the general community.
  4. Set Yourself Apart -- Find something that makes you different from everyone else, and write in your essay what it means to you.

Ten Tips on Writing a Good Essay

  1. Start early
  2. Choose a specific topic
  3. Outline what you want to cover
  4. Work on the opening paragraph
  5. Compose a rough draft
  6. Review what you have written
  7. Rewrite your essay
  8. Edit your final draft
  9. Proofread
  10. Take a last look for details

When you write...

  • answer the question
  • reveal yourself in your writing. Show rather than tell
  • reflect on the meaning of your story
  • do not exceed the suggested length
  • rewrite, rewrite, rewrite!

Some more useful resources:

JVS administers the scholarship funds of the Jewish community. These include:

  • Edward E. Grossman/I.S. Joseph Scholarship Fund
     Endowed at the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. Provides encouragement and recruitment awards for students pursuing or considering a career in Jewish communal service work. Applicants must be junior or senior undergraduates or graduate students.
  • Galinson Family Scholarship Fund
    Endowed at the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. Provides grants to Jewish residents of Minnesota accepted to or attending post-secondary educational institutions.
  • Morris Berenberg Family Scholarship Fund
     Endowed at the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. Provides post-secondary educational grants to Minnesota residents.
  • Marge Baker Scholarship Fund
     A fund at JVS for pursing graduate degrees in vocational services or psychology.
  • Guita Bearman Gordon Scholarship Fund
     A fund of Jewish Family and Children's Service To encourage women to enter the rabbinate or cantorate.
  • Sheri and Les Biller Family Scholarship Fund
     A fund of Jewish Family and Children's Service for émigrés and their children.
  • Dr. Ian Swatez Memorial Scholarship Fund
    A fund at JVS for University of Minnesota Medical School students.
  • Robin Family University Merit Scholarship
    A fund at JVS for University of Minnesota students who demonstrate need and merit.

Applications are accepted November 1 through March 31 each year.

Click here to download a PDF version of the scholarship application.

Submit three letters of recommendation and your most recent academic transcript with your application. Mail to: JVS, Attn: Scholarship, 13100 Wayzata Boulevard, Suite 300, Minnetonka, MN 55305.