The 32 Best Colleges For Orthodox Jews
Image by OU-JLIC Facebook
By Laura E. Adkins August 15, 2018
As an Orthodox Jew who is a fairly recent college graduate (and proud alumna of NYU), I know firsthand the challenges of being an observant Jew on a college campus. At many universities, Shabbat, holidays and everyday meal planning can be a hassle — especially in universities far from a large Jewish community. Thankfully, I attended a college with an abundance of resources — including delicious kosher food available on the meal plan and at Hillel events, abundant Jewish programming on campus, an engaged and tight-knit Jewish student community, dedicated Jewish professionals and plenty of synagogues nearby.
The schools on this list provide all of these things and more: our formula for Orthodox-friendly campuses is designed to ensure that all of the colleges on this list have kosher food on the meal plan, at least one Orthodox synagogue within 10 miles, abundant Jewish programming and an eruv surrounding their campus (a construct that allows Jewish residents to carry certain objects outside their own homes on Shabbat), allowing community members to observe Shabbat more easily. The following list is presented in alphabetical order:
American Jewish University
Barnard College
Binghamton University
Boston University
Brandeis University
Brown University
College of Charleston
Columbia University
Cornell University
Harvard University
Hunter College
Johns Hopkins University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Muhlenberg College
New York University
Princeton University
Queens College
Rutgers University
Stanford University
Stony Brook University
Syracuse University
Temple University
Touro College
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, San Diego
University of Maryland
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
Washington University in St. Louis
Yale University
Yeshiva University
Image by Kurt Hoffman
This article is part of the award-winning Forward College Guide — to read more fascinating stories and see the definitive rankings, click here.
Laura E. Adkins is the Forward’s deputy opinion editor. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @Laura_E_Adkins
