Changes at Bnos Chava Seminary upcoming year 2014/2015?

happymom4

Thu, Apr 24 2014, 10:47 am

DD is planning on going to Bnos Chava next year...she was accepted & they have deposited the first check. Then the rumors started.
They are moving?!?
The principal is leaving?!?!
They want a "different type" of year than previous?!?
They are having a smaller school?
Has anyone heard anything about this? I am very frustrated! She applied based on all the info we had from previous students & am concerned with what will really be!
Before you say contact the school....I DID! They said all paper work will be sent out after pesach!
Just hoping someone out there has some answers!
Thanks!

Fox

Thu, Apr 24 2014, 11:59 am

My DDs have friends there this year, and apparently there was a lot of unhappiness. According to what my DDs were told by their friends (so take it with a grain of salt!), some unexpected tax obligations forced them to significantly scale back expenditures in a number of areas, including activities, food, etc. The girls ended up having a lot of unexpected out-of-pocket expenses.

amother

Thu, Apr 24 2014, 12:07 pm

I heard that they are moving. My dd is going to benos sara which is also on the neve campus. She has friends that go to benos Chava. Dd told me she can't believe they didn't say it ahead that they are moving. It would never would have happen if it was a secular college.
Btw does anybody know if benos sara have any changes? Dd applied partly because of the comfortable and easy life on the neve campus. Are they still going to have food around the clock like past years?

Chayalle

Thu, Apr 24 2014, 12:13 pm

I heard that Bnos Chava is moving.

In terms of the crowd, it's nothing new - they have been moving a bit to the right in their crowd, for a few years already.

I know quite a few girls from Lakewood who are going there next year. (Very nice girls, I might add. )

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Apr 24 2014, 9:59 pm

I can tell you what I know (I spoke with my sister this afternoon who is an employee there). Some of this information is from my other sisters, so take it with a grain of salt.

They're moving to Ganei Geulah (my other sisters said this) and will have around 80 girls (so says the sister who works there). My other sisters had heard something about Rabbi Geisler leaving, but what my sister who works there heard from Rabbi Abramov (mind you this is before Nissan) was that "Rabbi Geisler and I are splitting from Neve" which made it sound like they are both still running the school.

Until now, the seminaries on the Neve campus (Bnos Sarah and Bnos Chava) were subject to the budgetary constraints of Neve. As such, they didn't have AC in the Bnos Chava dorms, for example. Only apples at snack break, etc. With the split, Bnos Chava will be able to budget their money differently, and it is probably for the better. According to yet another source of information (not a sister Wink

) all the "yeshivish" seminaries have 3 meals a day, and BC will not do less than that! This will actually help the "gashmi" aspect of seminary by having better accommodations....

amother

Fri, Apr 25 2014, 12:53 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

) all the "yeshivish" seminaries have 3 meals a day, and BC will not do less than that! This will actually help the "gashmi" aspect of seminary by having better accommodations....

Why didn't they tell us all of this until now? and what about their financial problems?

happymom4

Fri, Apr 25 2014, 8:45 am

It would have been the right thing to tell people in advance....
They are charging a fortune & not giving any breaks. Rabbi Geisler interviewed the girls himself. Why would he be doing that if he was leaving? I heard from Rabbi Abramov that they are moving to Romeima. As for splitting with Neve, that was something that parents & girls should have known before the process was started. I feel like we have been deceived. I am disappointed that the administration of the school would be dishonest. What type of role models will they be for their students if this is how they conduct themselves????
Do you think it is too late to find another seminary???? I am sure I will lose my deposit of $4000!

Hashem_Yaazor

Fri, Apr 25 2014, 10:18 am

I don't think they knew!! This was just decided a few weeks ago. Had they known earlier, I'm POSITIVE they would have loved to tell others, as there will be improvements in many ways and would be a better selling point.

According to my youngest sister (because she was the most recent BC graduate in the family) the tuition at BC was cheaper than all the other seminaries her friends went to.

happymom4

Fri, Apr 25 2014, 10:31 am

Thats a pretty big decision to make on the fly:
-Separating from neve, moving to a new location, Rabbi Geisler leaving... that doesn't happen overnight. Sorry but I don't think so.
As for tuition, maybe that was the case when your sister was there but today (& I have compared with other mothers whose daughters are graduating this year & going next) BC is one of the most expensive & offering no breaks
Hope all the changes are for the best & they might be, but for now it is frustrating

amother

Fri, Apr 25 2014, 11:36 am

Fox wrote:

What does the tax obligations and the scaling back mean? Is it part if the splitting from neve?

amother

Fri, Apr 25 2014, 3:22 pm

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

Until now, their budget was dictated by Neve. Any money they had to spend was given to them by Neve, so I wouldn't translate past years' experiences into future budgetary concerns, necessarily.

What does that mean?

amother

Fri, Apr 25 2014, 4:20 pm

I went Bnos Chava a long time ago so I don't know how much of this is true anymore. but I remember R' Geisler telling us then that the expense of running Bnos Chava is a lot less then other seminaries because they share a campus, food, cook, billing dept, etc. the tuition from Bnos Chava gets put in the general pot and helps support other neve programs. If I recall correctly he said that he had complaints about that in the past, but because the tuition was in line with other schools he brushed it off.

happymom4

Sun, Apr 27 2014, 12:58 pm

UPDATE:
Fri afternoon around 5pm we received an email from a travel agent saying we will be getting flight & date info immediatley after shabbos as per request of Rabbi Geisler & Abramov...
The only news we got came this morning from a student currently in Bnos Chava saying they were told by the administration that the new building fell thru & that the school has no idea where they will be for next year or when they will start...Not sure why the school would share that info with current students who will not be affected....

Mom with sister that works there: can you get more info?????