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My sister wants to go to a regular frum seminary in israel….they want $22,000….is that extohrtion or am I dreaming??
you think the seminaries have no costs? that seems to me, too little to pay for feeding and housing and paying teachers and other staff and air conditioning and heating and electricity and the mortgage on the building and maintenance, etc. for one year.
it probably is subsidized by donations.
Seeing as the parents are handing over the money it isnt extortion… but good one!
Mod-80: Why then is dorming in an out of town high school or seminary in the U.S. MUCH less expensive? They too have all the expenses you mentioned.
i have no idea
i dont really know what the issues are
i just didnt want this to turn into a “those greedy seminaries in Israel” thread.
extohrtion?
Perhaps extortion.
But no one is forcing you (or your parents) to pay. Tell your sister if she wants to go, she should take out student loans.
FAFSA & MASA cover most of the cost (FAFSA works if registering simultaneously with Touro or YU or the like)
my oldest daughter went to BYA’s sem in Israel about 9 yrs ago. I don’t remember how many thousands of dollars it cost, but she got a gov’t financial scholarship thru it being a Touro program. when she returned, she worked part-time while going to Touro for her Bachelors & Masters & paid the rest off… it was very doable, B’H.
it is more expensive then it should be but 100% worth it, it changes you so much in such a good way. it makes the world of a difference
FAFSA is what, $5K max per year? And it’s also income-restricted, right?
So how does FAFSA (is MASA a state program that applies only to your state) help when they want $22K?
By all means, she should go for the 22k.
And, please have her keep in mind, while she is breaking her head to get good grades at this 22k sem, the bocher she we will most likely date (upon her return) probably went to EY for not much more than dira gelt, and $ for bein hazmanim trips.
Oh, and once she gets back, she (and your parents) will also need to promise $$$ in support for the privilige to marry this character.
Great system we have made for ourslelves, no?
Hmmm… 20-somethings are racking up expenses faster that parents (and in some cases, grandparents)can earn it.
Welcome to the world of 40-50 year olds.
Now do you see why we are so cynical of the “system”?
FAFSA has nothing to do with income.
I know several people who sent their daughters to sem in E”Y with just these 2 grants.
Unless it was changed, FAFSA, which is PELL, is based on income.
FAFSA isn’t PELL but its based on EFC, so if your parents aren’t ‘poor enough’ you’re not going to get too much.
To Mod-80
What air conditioning?
Besides being expensive for accepted students, seminaries in Israel also collect non-refundable application fees even from those students who are not accepted.
I’ve often had the idea to open a very selective girl’s seminary and charge a $500 non-refundable application fee. The seminary would be so selective that we wouldn’t accept anyone, just collect application fees.
see my post above wherein i shamefacedly admit my ignorance.
dont rub it in.
the funny thing is my sister has been living in israel for the past three years completing high school….why cant she just do sherut leumi or something???
What a great idea (I’ve mentioned it here before). What did your sister say? (incredulous)
Frummy sister says Sherut isn’t good or frum enough?
fafsa didn’t work for me a few years ago when I was in Israel through YU’s program. And the size of the grant you get is definitely income based. Masa has been $2000 if I remember correctly. Unless the sem/yeshiva are offering a tremendous scholarship themselves, those 2 would not be enough to cover it at all…
I’m told that there are some seminaries that will give scholarships to girls from kollel/chinuch homes.
RK- I wish you luck what are you going to say when ppl ask you what type of girls you are accepting and when you start and who the principal is? Its not such a bad scheme but it will only work one year and i dont think you would make more than 1000 dollars from it….good idea though!
i did not go to sem in israel and can say it was teh best thing in the world. I was home for shab and that was nice and did not miss out on brothers bar mitzvas…. or anything else that was going on at home. I think i had the best of both worlds! And yes I did go to Israel during the year
adorable
until you try spending a year dedicated to growth in Israel, I don’t think you really know what you’re missing…
Eretz Yisroel has more kedusha than galus inherently, you’d also get to visit all these extra extra special kadosh places like kivrei tzadikim and places from tanach. The independance of NOT going home every shabbos and getting to meet new Jews all of the time and be in such an amazing place shouldn’t be discounted.
I don’t mean to sound attacking if I did… sorry
yid: Guys benefit from Yeshiva in E. Yisroel in a major way that girls don’t derive anywhere near the same benefit from.
If a parent cannot afford to send a daughter to seminary then they shouldn’t send! end of story!
yid- i think that I actually have a very good sense of what i am missing because ALL AND I MEAN ALL my friends did go. I did hear how they were more independant and had to take care of things on their own and how they met all sorts of interesting ppl but I think that when you compare what I gained and what they gained its not $22000 in value
Adorable, it wasn’t for you but that doesn’t mean that seminary wasn’t a valuable experience for your friends. To each his or her own.
And Kol Hakavod that you didn’t go just because of peer pressure.
adorable
eretz yisroel isnt worth 22000 (assuming it doesnt break the bank)??!
Shlishi
Kedusha is kedusha is kedusha. And in fact, girls who usually are more well versed in Tanach than their male counterparts, would probably gain a lot from seeing the places and kivrei tzadikim they’ve learned so much about. Don’t sell it short.
I’m not sure who you are to make a claim like that either.
is it your money? then why do you care? obviously your parents feel its neccesary for your sister to take this step and go to sem- do you know your sister as well as your parents? maybe just maybe its what she needs to grow and be sure of herself and her yiddishkeit- who are you to judge? if its not your money- then you have no say!
cshapiro — It seems like you’re upset at your sister/ parents for spending the money. But that doesn’t meant what the seminaries are doing is extortion – no one is forcing you to go!! If you feel it is not worth it you can choose not to go.
mod 80: Most seminaries actually do not raise funds besides tuition, which is probably part of the reason tuition is so high compared to other educational institutions such as boys yeshivos and elementary/ high schools. They need to cover all their expenses (including numerous tiyulim and trips) from only the tuition.
I have a wife who works in one of the seminaries in an administrative capacity here in Israel. The costs of the seminaries (and yeshivos) are high and growing all the time. Additionally, the weak dollar to shekel rate and the vast majority of the expenses (salaries, electricity, food, etc.) being in shekels leads to the rising costs (in dollars) of the year in Israel.
The seminaries differ in cost structure from the yeshivos in one large way financially – they offer fewer meals than the guys get in yeshiva.
The seminary has to have a larger staff than a typical girl’s school in the US – girls are away from home for the first time (for a lot of them) with a huge time difference and great distance between them and their families. This leads to madrichot and other staff to help them deal with issues.
This is additional to any costs of the teachers that there might be.
The dormitories need to be kept up, wear and tear. There is an em bayit who is employed to deal with after hours issues.
There are tiyulim. When you wrap all of this up – it does cost a lot.
I do not know of the US grants or loans or other programs – but MASA is sponsored by the Jewish Agency as a program for that year in Israel and they do offer grants.
phillybubby:
To Mod-80
What air conditioning?
mod-80:
see my post above wherein i shamefacedly admit my ignorance.
dont rub it in.
If I’m not mistaken, the seminary down the block from me (Seminar Bais Yaakov) has air conditioning. At least, they do in the room where I saw a video last year.
If you feel it is not worth it you can choose not to go.
this is the biggest issue of all!!!
IOW, little substance and much style.
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