How many applications do sems receive?

amother

Tue, Dec 26 2023, 11:51 am

While I know this number varies a LOT based on many factors, I want to get a general idea.

A mainstream BY seminary that is established- how many applications are they getting and how many are they accepting?
What about a more modern established seminary?

Again, I know it varies but I wonder whether they are getting 40, 400, 4000 or somewhere in the middle for their 80-100 spots.

amother

Cerulean

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 7:31 am

amother OP wrote:

It probably varies greatly depending on a bunch factors. How long established- many siblings trend towards the same seminaries. “Good” vs. “bad” names. The “type” they’re catering to. America vs. Israel. Keep in mind many people apply to a few seminaries as backups but don’t intend to send there unless they don’t get into their first option.

Local is different than Israel but I just heard Bnos Chaim in Lakewood received over a thousand applications already this year. I don’t know if that’s typical or there are more this year due to the situation in Israel. Also I don’t know how many applications come after the deadline, some people aren’t great at deadlines 🤣.

amother

Bottlebrush

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 7:43 am

amother Cerulean wrote:

That sounds like a ton. I thought seminaries take most applicants and turn down a certain percentage. If 1,000 girls apply that means they turn down almost 90%. That’s crazy.

They’re probably an exception because there aren’t many local places and I think they’re pretty large for an American sem. I heard from a relative that Masores Rochel gets between 200-300 applicants a year, that number makes much more sense to me. I also once heard similar for Chemdas but someone posted last year that Chemdas got 1,000 applicants so who knows.

amother

Stone

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 8:04 am

It’s not just about how many applications they received and how many spots they have. Many places accept more than the exact amount of spots as they have a ratio of how many girls say yes back. Most girls apply to more than one place and if they are accepted to more than one place that’s already one place getting a no in return.
So most places have a ratio of how many girls respond yes out of all the acceptances.

amother

Cyan

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 8:48 am

seminaries make a killing off applications.

I have a family member that owns a more modern sem.

in general, seminary is a business... and as lofty as the people running it might seem they are here to make a parnassah just like everyone else

amother

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 8:51 am

gdgirl wrote:

wow...and how much are application fees?
if $100, they can be making 20-30k or even 100k just off applications!

I always joke that a great parnassa idea is to 'open' a seminary, collect all the application fees, and then decide not to open at the end.
(yes, I know there are halachic ramifications but it still sounds like fun).

amother

Lavender

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 8:52 am

I asked my daughter's seminary advisor last night.
She said ballpark.

Zimras received 4-5000 applications.
Nishmas- 3000
Migdal and Kerem (in Lakewood) 3-4000 each
Bnos Chaim in Lakewood 1500-2000.
BJJ 2000
Hadar 2000

These are approximates.

amother

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 8:58 am

amother Lavender wrote:

WHOA!!! That is consistent with what I heard- Meohr approximately 4000. I thought the number must have been mistaken which was part of why I asked.

amother

Copper

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 8:59 am

They're obviously making a lot of money off of the applications, but there are significant costs involved in the process (a secretary to process all of them, staff members flying in to the US multiple times for open houses, interview etc)

amother

Bottlebrush

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 11:37 am

amother Outerspace wrote:

This is so beyond exaggerated its not even a funny joke.
Seminaries DO NOT get thousands of applications. The numbers are in the hundreds.
signed by someone in the know

Yes exactly, I can hear that maybe one or two places out of a few dozen options get ONE thousand applications (here Bnos Chaim and Chemdas) in an exceptional year for whatever reason but there is no way a typical seminary gets more than a few hundred applications a year. Are there even 4,000 girls total that apply to seminary?! I would guesstimate off the top of my head there are only 2,000-3,000 girls applying.

Like I said I heard the typical ”good” seminary gets 200-300 applicants a year.

That list is highly suspect for a few reasons. The 4,000-5,000 numbers are obviously way off, Kerem obviously isn’t getting nearly as many as Migdal and Bnos Chaim, and BJJ is definitely getting more than Haddar and Nishmas. Maybe there was a mistake with the info?

amother

Outerspace

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 3:27 pm

amother Bottlebrush wrote:

Exactly.
There are no 4000 girls applying to seminary, even if you count every single high school from the right to the left.
It’s quite funny how people throw out these random astronomical numbers without even thinking if they makes the slightest dot of sense.

amother

Lilac

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 3:35 pm

amother Outerspace wrote:

This is so beyond exaggerated its not even a funny joke.
Seminaries DO NOT get thousands of applications. The numbers are in the hundreds.
signed by someone in the know

Agree. I know for a fact that nachlas gets between 400-600 applications
Not 4000!

Simple1

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 3:49 pm

amother Outerspace wrote:

I’m not in the know, but these numbers make sense to me. And consider the fact that girls are applying to multiple seminaries.

amother

Bottlebrush

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 4:55 pm

Simple1 wrote:

I’m not in the know, but these numbers make sense to me. And consider the fact that girls are applying to multiple seminaries.

How many girls would you guess are applying to all seminaries across the spectrum?

amf

Wed, Dec 27 2023, 5:00 pm

So where are all these huge swathes of rejected girls going? I can't believe that sems get 4000 applications, and only take 80 girls, but still somehow most girls (nowhere near as low as 15-20%) are accepted somewhere and going to sem next year somewhere