Yeshiva tuition financial burden

amother

Slateblue

Tue, Jul 24 2018, 8:44 am

Wondering how many of you decided to transfer your kids from yeshiva to public due to not being able to afford it anymore? We’ve been trying... it’s our 3rd year paying a yeshiva but this time it will be with another kid to pay for. I used to think I’m doing the right thing, but how much can I endure this?! I mean, there’s a limit. I hate feeling guilty if I take them to public... when I first had kids, I thought if I could at least pay through elementary but we can barely make it. No savings, just paying bills and food. We don’t go on vacations or do summer camps. I don’t buy expensive clothes and toys. We’re living in a one bedroom and I never thought we could all live like this for years but I really don’t see how we could ever move while paying tuition. We got a scholarship from the school, but it’s still not enough... even with a little help from my parents! Every day I’m in tears because I’ve also became depressed and I don’t like being like this for my kids. So as a result from not having enough money and paying tuition, we can’t give our kids their own bedrooms and we also can’t have one more child if we decide on more kids. People say that having your kids in a yeshiva is a great sacrifice but what if you just can’t take it anymore?! And no.. we can’t move to another state or anywhere now. Sorry for vent... as I said, I’m depressed.

amother

Puce

Tue, Jul 24 2018, 8:50 am

amother wrote:

Sorry you're going thru this and hopefully it will get much better. Often the weight of yeshiva tuition doesn't kick in until there are multiple children in yeshiva. I get that tuition is hard. However, if you've been struggling with only 1 tuition while living in a 1 bedroom while getting some help from parents, it sounds like the problem is your income, not tuition. Do both you and dh work? Can either of you make a professional salary? I think most yeshivos are very warm and will go to great lengths to make sure a child doesn't end up in public school. Have you communicated your difficulties to them?

amother

Slateblue

Tue, Jul 24 2018, 9:02 am

amother wrote:

I did write a letter to the principal and mentioned everything and asked for a bigger scholarship sum but of course they said they can’t give it to everyone and the school is big (almost 1000 students). I didn’t mention that we might send to public, maybe I should have... but just didn’t seem like there was much they can do.