What do girls in seminary typically pay for?

amother

Aquamarine

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 11:00 am

Obviously there is a huge range of parental financial ability, but if you sent your DD to seminary in E"Y, what was she responsible to pay for herself? Part of tuition? airfare? cell phone? Bus pass? Toiletries? Eating out? And if you give her spending money (or if she spent her own), how much did she need/use per month?

amother

Amethyst

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 11:22 am

I did not go to E"Y ( stayed in North America), but I will tell my experience.
I paid for:
part of my travel to and from home
all personal food purchases: snacks, going out to Ice cream/dinner with friends, etc.
all toiletries
laundry ( fee for wash, fee for drier, detergent)
shoes ( needed new ones, lots of walking!)
new clothes, not often
bus/train travel to get anywhere
dorm room accessories
bed linens (unless traveling with them or if sem provides them)
mandatory sefarim (unless traveling with them or if sem provides them)
contribution towards gifts
souvenirs from different cool places on Seminary trips
printing out pictures
phone

most seminaries allow you to have small jobs, be it babysitting, tutoring or whatnot, this helps offset the costs

amother

Powderblue

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 11:37 am

As you said, there's obviously a huge range.

When I went to seminary in Israel close to 15 years ago, my parents paid for most expenses. They paid for seminary (I got Fafsa and Tap through Touro), airfare (and coming home for Pesach), and a certain amount of money to use during the year, which I used for bus fares, toiletries, etc. They paid for my cell phone - it was a basic israeli plan.

I don't remember how much money they gave me, but it was enough because I was careful in my spending. Rarely ate out, only bought what I needed.

Other girls took jobs to have spending money. They also enjoyed eating out every night, so I guess that's where it went.

amother

Wine

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 12:17 pm

I went to sem in israel 2 years ago. My parents paid tuition, cell phone, insurance, seforim and bought everything I brought to sem (clothing, shoes, etc) and linen which had delivered to sem. They also flew me home for pesach and occasionally sent a bit of spending money. I paid for flight to and from sem, going out to eat, gifts for shabbos hosts and at end of the year, bus pass and for optional Europe trip and other trips I took in sem

Iymnok

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 12:23 pm

Most parents pay for tuition, airfare, phone plan and sefarim. The wealthier families give an allowance that could support eating out more than once a week, shopping and transportation including cabs.
Many girls use their own money for these things.

amother

Maroon

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 1:15 pm

Really depends on which seminary- some are more local some u really depend on the bus. Some offer full food some you have to supplement etc.

Most of my friends parents paid for airfare sefarim tuition and clothing shopping to go (I think I bought like 6 blouses, had uniform skirts maybe a pair of sneaker shoes not a full spree but whatever their parents usually did at the start of a new season) and gave some money for expenses- not like going out to eat or taxis but just enough for toiletries/ buying water bottles/ small gifts for Shabbos hosts etc.

Then again, none of us were expected to pay for things like toiletries or clothing at home.

My friends come from different backgrounds and there was definitely a difference in the level of spending (some may have bought a new bag for each year of school including sem, I used mine throughout etc.) some went to sem based on the scholarship they got some chose wherever they wanted. Some came back pesach some stayed (sems sometimes don’t let to go back if u get scholarship, was really hard for the girls that didn’t have family and costed them quite a bit also). Definitely not a bunch of rich spoiled girls but you might have different chinuch and financial reality.

amother

Slategray

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 2:17 pm

My daughter is in seminary in Israel this year. She doesn't really have much money of her own or opportunity to earn very much money in the past and currently. We pay for airfare (seminary only allows one trip home for pesach) and spending money for toiletries, bus fare, gifts, eating out. I don't really keep track but its not a lot of money. Maybe $100 a month or so, or a bit more if she needs for something special. She also spends her own money on stuff if needed. She also tends to bring a lot of stuff from home toiletries, clothing, underwear, even food, and I sent her a package recently.