BJJ vs. Bnos Sara (Time Sensitive)

amother

Seashell

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:41 am

amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:

I agree BJJ has the top name. My sister got into BJJ and another seminary and everyone said ooooh BJJ it has the name. It sounds good for shidduchim (a BJJ girl). She was back and forth and someone told her BJJ is like Harvard it’s all the name. She went to BJJ and got tons of shidduch suggestions

I didn’t care about the name went to seminar wasn’t interested in working hard and didn’t get names for shidduchim. My mother was calling shadchanim for me. I got married older.

Bnos Sara might be amazing but BJJ has the name

I don't know which circles you're in, but where I live Bnos Sarah has a better name than BJJ at this point. Although they're both absolutely top seminaries.

cookies6

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:42 am

amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:

It may have been like that a few years ago but at this point Bnos Sarah has the name as well.

amother

Oak

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:43 am

Everyone will find her bashert according to Hashem's time table and the strength she puts into tefillah and emunah, nothing to do with seminary name. Going to seminary for "the name" is just a facade of the ego.

Chayalle

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:45 am

amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:

And I knew someone whose father said he wanted a refund (from BJJ) because it did not help her shidduch.

(ridiculous, of course, but maybe your sister got those suggestions because she had a great reputation on her own?)

Chayalle

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:47 am

cookies6 wrote:

It may have been like that a few years ago but at this point Bnos Sarah has the name as well.

Agreed.

Also have heard people say they like the fact that the staff is younger and more relatable.

Though I'd go back just for Rebbetzin David's classes....

amother

Lime

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:53 am

I went to BJJ about 16 years ago and food would not have been on the pro list! We still had Israelis in the dorm and food was really nothing great.
In my time, BJJ was somewhat more diverse but I think that changed.

amother

Oak

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:54 am

Just want to add that a truly lovely girl from my highschool class that went to BJJ, and had a very nice solid family background, found her bashert close to 30. I did not get into BJJ, had a terrible, dysfunctional family background, and found my bashert at a young age. My husband and I are community leaders today. I daven HARD for everything Hashem has kindly given me, and work on emunah every single day. Truly, the Torah they teach you in seminary is what you should depend on, not a seminary name. Names, materialism, ego...it will betray you. The foundations of faith will always be there to support you.

Chayalle

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:56 am

amother [ Lime ] wrote:

Agree about the food...but I always did like the dorm. It seemed less crowded than other dorms - it was built to be a dorm. There was space to go somewhere quiet if you needed....the mirpesets, the miklat, the miktzoei rooms....

And yes, I think the diversity changed, about when the Israelis left, maybe a bit later.

But I've heard that BS has a tight budget, and that the food wasn't great. Not sure if that changed for the better.

Mollie

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 11:05 am

I know girls in BJJ this year and it seems like it’s been a rough year.. a lot of girls aren’t happy, supposedly a lot of teachers are teaching over Zoom because afraid to come in.. something to keep in mind as next year will possibly the same as this year

amother

Taupe

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 12:13 pm

I have two girls. The older one went to BJJ and the younger one to Bnos Sarah.
They both have pros and cons that were already stated very well by other posters.
The one thing I will add is that Bnos Sarah is in Har Nof so it's a little far from everything, although the pro of that is Bnos Sarah is on the Neve campus so even in a lockdown, they have lots of space o walk around. Plus they can see their friends in other seminaries which are on the campus or close by. In BJJ, if there is a lockdown I don't think they leave the building, but they are a little more centrally located (they are across the street from Belz).
Good luck with your decision, you have two amazing places to choose from and she should have hatzlacha wherever you decide to send.

amother

Cyan

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 12:28 pm

My sister is currently in Bnos Sarah and loves it. My whole family is very bright, and none of us even applied to BJJ. We found its reputation very cold. Bnos Sarah is much warmer.

That being said, Har Nof is faaaar from everything. I joke that you have somewhere, nowhere, and then Har Nof at the outer edge of nowhere. It does become tiresome. Additionally, the food on Neve leaves much to be desired.

That being said, everyone I know who went to Bnos Sarah is really nice and loved it there. I'm a big fan of it if you can get in (harder than BJJ in some ways because it's smaller).

Happens to be that I have one classmate who chose Bnos Sarah over BJJ. The teacher in charge was trying to convince her to go to BJJ, but she insisted on Bnos Sarah. She actually got into both places. She went to Bnos Sarah against the exhortations of our teachers and never looked back.

amother

Coral

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 12:35 pm

I agree BJJ is more cold- my personality is a bit chilly so I was happy to be there as opposed to say like Hadar which wld have been too warm and fuzzy for me. I heard the Eim Bayit had to retire and she was the most beloved mom for all wonder who’s there instead now... I was there abt 11 years ago - don’t do Israelis in dorm anymore and food was superb. Teachers are old but all amazing

amother

Aqua

Thu, Feb 18 2021, 8:30 pm

My dd went to Bnos Sara and did not want to consider BJJ because Bnos Sara is warmer. My dd absolutely loved Bnos Sara and thinks it is the BEST seminary. The girls are very frum, I would not consider that an issue, the friends my dd made are definitely very frum. There is some more diversity. Bnos Sara is known for having very nice and friendly girls, they are all nice to each other, not clicky at all. As other posters said, this is a great choice that you are getting to make Smile

Both seminaries have good names where I live, I don't think one is better than the other, I would not think that has to factor into your decision.

amother

Fri, Feb 19 2021, 1:17 pm

Mollie wrote:

Just want to note that DD spoke with someone who is in BJJ now, and she said that the teachers are NOT teaching over Zoom. (That was only the first two weeks, when the girls were all in quarantine.)

amother

Wheat

Fri, Feb 19 2021, 1:21 pm

cookies6 wrote:

I would say Bnos Sara reputation is just as good or almost as good as BJJ

Not really
Bjj is definitely a brand name
To some boys moms that’s a must!

Chayalle

Fri, Feb 19 2021, 1:28 pm

amother [ Wheat ] wrote:

Not really
Bjj is definitely a brand name
To some boys moms that’s a must!

There may be a narrow circle of people where this is true, but definitely not universal anymore. I know alot of people (in Lakewood and beyond) who sent older daughters to BJJ, and now consider Bnos Sarah, Masores Rochel, Machon Raaya, and others to be an equal choice.