Tzippi, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the concept either, but it is not done realistically at all. I was just responding to what you said about the American seminaries being the same as the Israeli ones in this respect.
bored@work, it sounds like your parents have no problem being able to afford sending you to seminary. In that case, I’m not saying that someone should davka not go. I’m just saying that it’s a luxury, not a necessity.
As far as coming back from seminary wanting to live in e”y after marriage, I don’t necessarily think that’s such a good thing. For one, the choice of where to live is not usually the wife’s. Secondly, if someone plans on supporting their husband in kollel, there aren’t any jobs to be found here that can even cover the rent. So they are essentially asking their parents to support them fully, which is about double the cost of one year in sem.