To confused Tatty:
Being that I went to Machon Raaya last year, I just wanted to say a few things about the Seminary, which may help you out!
I am a very “Bais Yaakovy” type girl, and to be perfectly honest, Im pretty much as they say “In the box”. I went to a very good Bais Yaakov school-one of the tops in Brooklyn (at least in most ppls opinions) and Baruch Hashem, from that p int of view, All othat I have to say about Machion Raaya is that it is an unbelievable place.
The girls who go there will of course vary from year to year, but on a whole, they are extremely solid and frum girls, some of who are yeshivish and some who are not. But definately all very frum and solid.
The staff and teachers can probably not be matched, without exaggeration! They are a group of extrememly amazing, chashuv, and wonderful ppl. Whether in the classroom or by their shabbos tables, they are truly all ppl to look up to, learn from, and maybe most importantly, to keep in touch with.
Machon Raaya is extremely warm, as I said each girl really felt that the teachers were approachable either for questions or places for shabbos. And the hanhala is extremely accomidating, and not to mention well connected!:) (With R Elyashiv, R Chaim, R Shteinman to name a few…Just a side point that I thought was AMAZING!)
As for academically, I saw girls who came from less advanced schools in areas like meforshim and “text” become really adept at just those things over the year!
Busy work was also pretty rare.
Trips and stuff were awesome and they took us places that no other sems go bec there are trips within Yerushalayim on a constant basis.
Hatzlacha figuring everything out!!!!