Seminary for my DD as a new olah ? any ideas

helimum

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 1:56 pm

We are planning on making aliya summer'15 just as our DD finishes high school , she has decided already not to go to Seminary in the UK and wants to go in Israel which we agree is the best option for her.

Our problem is that the Seminaries don't seem to be keen to have a new oleh, both in terms of how it affects their program ( e.g. that she may want to come home once a month) or in terms of financial flexibility ( we will be living on Israeli scale not chutz standards) .

We are hoping to be based in RBS and are Charedi ( Anglo style) ..any ideas of places that could work for her or anyone who has experience with this would be a great help !!

pickle321

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 1:59 pm

helimum wrote:

what is your daughter like? does she want to go to a bais yaakov seminary?

cbsmommy

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 2:00 pm

Pretend that you aren't making aliya. What seminaries would your DD be interested in? Does she want something academic? Something in Jerusalem? More Bais Yaakov style? Less BY style...

We can help more with a little more information about your daughter's personality.

Also, I had a number of friends that came to Israel with their families WITHOUT making aliya, and then made aliya the following year as a single girl. That might be something that you are interested in doing.

helimum

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:12 pm

DD is an easy going tsnius girl who has gone through our local BY ( which is OOT style) she is a solid, thinking but not heavy. She wants somewhere hashkofo based where girls grow but not through pressure ! Probably needs open BY or BY with a broader staff but good girls !!

The Seminaries so far we've looked at are Meohr and Darchei Binah type , she is happy to do uniform but doesn't want somewhere very rule ridden. She can't make be excluded from making aliya because she is going to be under 18 and my DH is Israeli.. also I'm really not comfortable misleading the Seminary and we just can't commit ourselves to $$$$ fees when we'll be living on an Israeli salary etc , so we need to negotiate on fees with them !!

cbsmommy

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:26 pm

I actually would NOT suggest the seminaries listed above by Lizzie4 if you think that your DD is more the "BY Open" type and that she has been interested in Darchei Bina. Those schools are much more "right wing".

I would look into Tomer Devora (Rabbi Rosenstein), Midreshet Tehilla (Rabbi Kagan), or honestly, if she liked the looks of Darchei Bina - speak with Rabbi Kurland! Tomer Devora and Midreshet Tehillah are both smaller schools than DB, so they might be more flexible with an aliya student. MT is also on the Neve campus in Har Nof, so that might help as well.

helimum

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:27 pm

Thank you I know those Sems but its not just general advice of Seminaries I 'm looking for .

I'm being given very contrary advice as far as ... apply early and secure your place ... to don't worry about it bang on doors when you take her with for your pilot trip (purim/pesach time) .
it s all a bit confusing ..
I specifically need help/advice from people who have taken their DDs on aliya at this stage and who have experience of working with the hanholo of the Seminary ?

Thanks again its great to know you're all trying to help me with this ... the whole aliya thing is ENORMOUS!!

cbsmommy

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:34 pm

helimum wrote:

Nono, my advice was to literally CALL UP those seminaries and ask to leave a message for Rabbi Rosenstein, Rabbi Kagan, etc and tell them what you posted before - "I have a wonderful teenage daughter that needs a seminary for next year, however we are making aliyah. Have you ever dealt with this situation before and what do you advise?" I have experience talking with all three of those seminaries that I listed, and they might be terrific resources for your DD.

With regards to waiting until Purim/Pesach time, that's wayyyyyy too late. Seminaries start sending out ambassadors to speak to girls in various worldwide high schools in November of 2014. If you knock on doors in the Spring, DD's ability to get into sem will have come and gone.

I also happen to know that quite a few of the schools mentioned have dealt with aliya making girls in the past.

amother

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:42 pm

helimum wrote:

I've met both Rabbi Kagan and Rabbi Rosenstein when they were last in the UK , they were both lovely and I'll definitely get in contact with them !
What's your feel for Darchei Bina ... I can't work out how academic it really is?

High school teacher chiming in. What I've seen is that Midreshet Tehillah and Tomar Devora are fairly hashkofically academic with wonderful teachers and they are a fairly small, warm school. Girls have reported back to me that they felt like they received "alot of individual attention" and that they weren't allowed to slip through any cracks. While Darchei Binah is also very academic, it's significantly larger. Girls are better able to slip through seminary without creating a solid place for themselves. Does that happen to everyone? No. But I've seen it happen to a number of "quiet" girls.

Since students usually apply to three schools, I often find that students that are interested in Darchei Bina will apply to some combination of Midreshet Tehillah, Tomer Devora, and Michlala. I have never seen a girl apply to Darchei Bina, Peninim, and Meor.

shabbatiscoming

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:44 pm

helimum wrote:

So not exactly the same thing but my parents just made aliyah and my sister is doing her shana bet in a seminary (not a BY one, so the specfic one is not important) and about how often to go home (to you guys in rbs) I would assume that would be up to your daughter and what experience she wants to have. When my parents were almost making aliyah while my sister was in her first year of sem, she had already said that she was planning to not go home to parents at all and to only call them as if they were overseas. She wanted the regular sem experience. She is almost doing that this year as well.

And in terms of paying for sem, I dont know all of th sems, but my parents have to pay in dollars even though they are living in Israel now.

Talk to the sems to find out what they do in terms of that. Good luck.

shabbatiscoming

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:46 pm

amother wrote:

Completely off topic, but I was just curious about this. Is this a specific high school thing? I never heard of applying to 3 schools. Why? What if they only want one? Or if they want to apply to more than 3?

helimum

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:47 pm

That is interesting because I definitely know of girls where I'm from who applied to both Meohr and Darchei Binah maybe that is just a UK thing?

I know both Midreshet Tehillah and Tomer Devorah are excellent seminaries but the impression I got was that the girls are broader and that MT is quite into philosopical thinking rather than developing a girls day to day hashkofos?

helimum

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:49 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

Where I'm from most girls don't apply to more than 2...each town has its own norms I suppose!

helimum

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:51 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

Will do , thank you ... the paying in dollars thing isn't a problem it's the amount that is ! if we are still in the UK we can receive funding ( MASA) and in Israel not Confused

.... so thats why it's an issue... we have considered delaying aliya another year to help with that but we still have a younger child who we feel would find it harder the longer we delay!!

shabbatiscoming

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:53 pm

helimum wrote:

Will do , thank you ... the paying in dollars thing isn't a problem it's the amount that is ! if we are still in the UK we can receive funding ( MASA) and in Israel not Confused

.... so thats why it's an issue... we have considered delaying aliya another year to help with that but we still have a younger child who we feel would find it harder the longer we delay!!

I meant the amount as in dollars. I understand that you meant the amount. Look, the sems should know about this or even MASA themselves. Talk to someone from masa.

helimum

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:55 pm

Its on my list of phone calls and questions ... thank you for getting me on the right track!

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I meant the amount as in dollars. I understand that you meant the amount. Look, the sems should know about this or even MASA themselves. Talk to someone from masa.

sara_s

Sun, Sep 28 2014, 3:58 pm

Maybe Ofakim? Its a seminary in the south of Israel (in the town of Ofakim) for Israeli girls. But it will all be in Hebrew, so the language may be very difficult for her. And its more to the right of BY. The plus is that there will be a lot of Anglo girls from RBS and Jerusalem going there, and the tuition is much more reasonable than American seems (I'm guessing around 20,000 shekels for the year)