Bnos Sarah vs Machon Raaya and everything in between

amother

Wed, Dec 23 2020, 10:51 pm

So dd is looking for a seminary and is overwhelmed with choices. She's a nice smart girl (straight A minus student in HS and valedictorian in elementary) with a big heart that works hard and is looking to grow both spiritually & academically. She's not looking for a "chill" seminary.

We're a simple OOT family where the kids don't go to sleep-away camp because of $, that is frum but not yeshivish - think no TV but yes to occasional movie, listens to some non jewish music, wears full cover up but goes to co-ed water parks, does not wear leggings or tight clothes.

dd does not wear designer/fancy clothes nor does she even get along with those girls that are very materialistic. Plans on attending college afterward and would like to marry an earner.

I've read thru nearly every seminary post on this site but cant seem to narrow down to 2 just choices.

bnos sarah - was highly recommended to her; but my dd thinks it may be too yeshivish as most are destined for kollel life + sounds like too much work.

BJJ - dd is willing to study & work hard, but not kill herself. this place is too much work for her.

machon raaya - my dd liked what she heard at open house, esp with large variety of classes to choose form; but not fond of the large # of fancy/rich girls attending.

bnos avigayil - more for "out of the box" girls, though I have no idea what that even means.

ateres - not the brightest girls and/or looking to be challenged from what I read.

me'or, nachlas, tehillas - all have good smart girls except have alot of "in towners". other than that I couldnt differentiate between them from what I heard.

rinas, binas, kitov - unknown

seminar - not consistent, some yrs good and some not.

mesoras rochel, chemdas - too yeshivish

darchei binah, michlala - not frum of enough for dd

please please help. deadline is in like 1 week. if I'm right please tell. if I'm wrong please tell.

Edit: what we/dd is looking for:

- frum but not yeshivish seminary,
- where low maintenance OOT girls would feel comfortable,
- education on higher end of spectrum/more academic,
- girls are hard workers and desire at least a low A (she’s tired of slackers in HS)
- most girls are not into Kollel lifestyle, but still
- want to grow before entering the real world where there she will interact with males.

amother

Hotpink

Wed, Dec 23 2020, 11:06 pm

I went to both Bnos Avigail and Meohr (one for Shana Alec one for Shana bet) And I think they sound more for your daughter than the other ones...
Bnos Sarah attracts a yeshivish crowd and they do have work, although I can’t tell you how much bc I didn’t go.
Machon Raaya and Meohr both attract in town girls, but have a nice size group of girls who aren’t. (I think- Meohr for sure)

Does she want to work?

amother

Mint

Wed, Dec 23 2020, 11:23 pm

I think you should seriously consider Ateres. They take a diverse group of girls, some with top grades and some not. They use tracking so there are various levels. I know two girls who are there this year, one was valedictorian, and one had an excellent GPA and is heading to a good college after seminary after being offered an academic scholarship. Their open house is tomorrow night at 10. Sign up and see what you think, I think it might be ideal for your dd. They actually have a link to sign up here on imamother. Both girls I know that are there now are from your type of families and are very happy.

A lot of the places on your list are yeshivish and not really what you want. Bnos Avigayil could be a good option since they want smart sincere BY girls who aren't yeshivish. M'eor could possibly be a good option as well. They have an excellent hashkafa-focused program and it's not yeshivish. I think they get a lot of girls who are questioning and want good answers.

Nachlas and Tehillas aren't your crowd, so cross them off your list. Rinas is small and warm, chilled yeshivish, not really your crowd either. Binas and Kitov I don't have personal experience with but from what I hear, also not really your crowd.

Have you considered Darchei Binah? I think my top choices for your dd based on your description would be Ateres and Darchei Binah.

amother

Wed, Dec 23 2020, 11:37 pm

amother [ Hotpink ] wrote:

care to elaborate on BA and Me'or since you went there.

BA - I read that its more of an "out of the box" seminary but have no idea what that even means. my dd wants to be around other smart girls (even if a little nerdy) that want to succeed.

amother

Wed, Dec 23 2020, 11:43 pm

amother [ Goldenrod ] wrote:

My sister is very similar to your daughter, and she had an amazing year in Bnos Sarah, though that was quite some time ago. A very close friend has a daughter also very much like your daughter, and she was thrilled in Bnos Avigayil about 3-4 years ago.

lol. I guess that is why these 2 are on my dd short list, though each one has its own pros & cons.

biggest con for BS is that many girls end up in Kollel life; while for BA it's that many girls are average to good students, and my dd prefers on the higher end academically speaking.

amother

Wed, Dec 23 2020, 11:45 pm

amf wrote:

I was an A student who sailed through high school, one of many in Ateres. There are plenty of bright girls there, and plenty of girls who sound like your daughter. You can PM me for more info if you'd like.

love to hear more about Ateres.

My dd's seminary advisor told her tonight that Ateres would be a good 2nd choice for her, but doesnt know anything about it. crazy - all she said was that my dd should call up girls that went there w/o even giving her names.

amother

Wed, Dec 23 2020, 11:53 pm

amother [ Mint ] wrote:

I already signed up for Ateres' open house and plan on watching it. the downside is that these open houses if done well are very persuasive. my dd wasnt seriously considering machon raaya until after her zoom meeting and then it shot to #1 on her list.
like I mentioned the post before this, I would consider it more if knew more about it. seminary advisor knew nothing about nor do I know any girs that went there in past yr or 2.

we r thinking about BA, trying to find more info about since not offering an open house and they arent responding to my emails.

to a lesser degree Me'or because of its "in town" reputation. valid or not, not sure.

is your thinking on nachlas/tehillas because of the many high maintenance girls attending or academics? if the former then I agree.

what have you heard about Binas & kitov?

DB is not on my list for number of reasons; but for dd its not "frum" enough for her.

cat81

Thu, Dec 24 2020, 1:18 am

amother [ Mint ] wrote:

I think you should seriously consider Ateres.... I know two girls who are there this year, one was valedictorian, and one had an excellent GPA and is heading to a good college after seminary after being offered an academic scholarship.

What good college is offering academic scholarships? Any ideas on amount? My daughter has high GPA and ACT so looking for good colleges with generous scholarships besides Touro.

amother

Emerald

Thu, Dec 24 2020, 1:43 am

I hear you, OP. One DD went to Machon Raaya and the other went to Bnos Sarah. If she doesn’t want to work hard, Bnos Sarah is out. It’s not busy work at all, but it’s highly intellectual, for a girl who really enjoys it and gains and grows from delving onto text. Similar level to BJJ. From your description, it may be a stretch in terms of hashkafa- many marry Lakewood type and a number don’t attend any sort of college.
Machon Raaya is a great school. Bright girls, academic, not as intense or as yeshivish as Bnos Sarah. The reputation for attracting wealthy girls is true, but there are girls from very average homes as well. We are not wealthy by any stretch, and DD found like minded friends and was very happy there.
I think Bnos Avigayil is a great choice, too. One DD applied there and was very impressed. I hear the out of the box comments, but as an above poster said, it really means “out of town” perhaps “bookish” and “nerdy” by in-town standards.
Meohr would work in terms of hashkafa, but is not as academic as Machon Raaya. There are some out of town girls there as well.
I don’t see Ateres as a fit so much. While I know some very academic girls that went, my sense is that’s more of an exception.
In choosing a seminary, I think it’s a good idea to look at the girls from your DD’s school that are 1-3 years older and see where they went. That gives you a sense as to a general “type.” I think it’s strange that the advisor didn’t give the phone numbers. Our school provides a list of alumni that want to speak about their seminary and their phone numbers. Are there other people you could ask to get the phone numbers? You should speak to the mothers of the girls as well to get an adult’s perspective. I know you are trying to do that on this forum, and it does help somewhat, but you will get a better picture from someone who understands your community.
Based on how you described DD, I would recommend Machon Raaya and Bnos Avigayil as the top 2 choices and Meohr as a fallback. Hatzlacha!!

amother

Emerald

Thu, Dec 24 2020, 2:08 am

Thinking about this more, OP. Are you sure Michlalah is not frum enough? There are girls that fit the hashkafic description of your daughter there. There are many girls from Bais Yaakov high schools that apply to both Machon Raaya and Michlalah. (There are even some that apply to BJJ and Bnos Sarah and Michlalah.) I think the main hashkafic difference is in the Zionism. Machon Raaya is a Bais Yaakov and is not Zionist on any way. Michlalah as a school is a Zionist institution- they celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, but their teachers tend to be from yeshivish communities. It’s academic, has a broad range of classes to choose from, more than any other school. Your DD may appreciate that. It has both out of town and in town types. I think you should revisit it. Make sure you are speaking to someone with current info, from the last 2-3 years.

amother

Thu, Dec 24 2020, 8:29 am

amother [ Emerald ] wrote:

It’s not me that ruled out michlala, it’s my dd. It’s funny as she went to hard core MO elementary school. I don’t think it’s just the “frum” factor that made her rule it out, it’s also that a number of her classmates are attending there.

OTOH, dd#2 is considering michlala.

amother

Thu, Dec 24 2020, 8:32 am

notshanarishona wrote:

You anyways need a few places to apply to so why not apply to both and see where she gets in?

If I only had 2 or even 3 choices, I would gladly use that strategy. But sadly as the search progresses, the list gets longer Confused

I never thought it would be difficult to find a:

- frum but not yeshivish seminary,
- a place where low maintenance OOT girls would feel comfortable,
- where the education is on higher end of spectrum/more academic,
- where the girls are hard workers and desire at least a low A (she’s tired of slackers in HS) and
- where most girls are not into Kollel lifestyle but still
- want to grow before entering the real world where there are males.

Is this asking too much?

amother

Brown

Thu, Dec 24 2020, 8:38 am

My sister is in Bnos Avigayil and LOVES it.
I second the poster that says "out of the box" means OOT yesheivish. That describes my family to a T
From what I've heard recently Meohr attracts a much more in-town crowd than it sounds like you're looking for.
Bnos Sarah definitely caters to girls looking for a kollel lifestyle, but if everything else sounds like a good fit, I wouldn't discount it because of that. I know a few girls who went there that are now married to professionals. It doesn't sound like the type of place that will try and brainwash her thinking.