bpt:
“Keep in mind, the bocher you will eventualy date, when thru NONE of this grief to get into bais medrash (not in the USA or in EY).”
Not necessarily true at all; in many of the top yeshivos, the faher is very difficult indeed. Instead of just reading a Ramban, a bachur often must make his own shtickle Torah, and then say it over to some of the top Roshei Yeshivos of our generation. In one particular yeshiva, the faher is not just given by one person; rather, the bachur must say his shtickle Torah to a “panel” of three Roshei Yeshivos, all of them “bombing” questions at him. Not exactly a walk in the park.
Really, the guys do not have life handed to them on a silver platter, as some here seem to believe they do.
“Nor did his parents shell out $10,000-$12,000 for the year.”
True… but Beis Medrash isn’t quite that cheap, either. At $6,000 (which I believe is a fairly conservative estimate) for 3-4 years, we’re in the ballpark of $18,000 – $24,000 for the Beis Medrash experience. Definitely not spare change.