Fair for high schoolers details Jewish offerings at universities

About 300 Chicago-area high-school students and their parents learned about Jewish-related offerings on university campuses during a college fair Sunday in Norris University Center.

The annual FACETS College Conference and Fair kicked off with a performance by the Chicago improvisational group ComedySportz.

Students and parents then attended general information sessions on topics such as the different ways to explore Judaism at college and how parents can learn to let go. The topics of financial aid and college applications were very popular, coordinator Tami Manton said. After the sessions, more than 40 college representatives presented the Jewish options on their campuses.

Hillels of Illinois organized the conference “to provide students with the opportunity to learn how they can express themselves Jewishly on campus,” Manton said.

Students placed varying degrees of importance on the presence of a Jewish community at the schools represented at the fair.

Eliyahu Rosen, a senior at Rabbi Oscar Fasman Yeshiva High School in Skokie, said the presence of an Orthodox Jewish community is a very important factor in where he goes to college.

“They have to have daily services, holiday services, kosher meals,” said Rosen, who also is looking for a strong pre-medical program.

In addition to the Jewish component, location of the schools and their academic programs are important to Steve Weiner, a junior at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.

“It’s just another factor in my decision,” Weiner said.

Many of the students at the fair were juniors starting the college search early.

“I don’t want to end up somewhere that I’m not going to like because I didn’t know anything about it,” said Kelly Nipp, a junior at Trinity High School in River Forest.

Manton said the conference and fair was a success.

“Most people usually like to complain,” Manton said. “I haven’t heard any complaints.”