Bnos Sarah, NOT pass/fail -- impossible mission?

notshanarishona

Tue, Nov 29 2022, 11:57 pm

I went there about 15 years ago in one of its first years. I don’t remember feeling like the word was so hard, with the exception of the reports. I think if I remember right I only had a bad grade in one subject, I don’t remember it being a problem for transcripts. I definitely had a lot of time for other things, I used to babysit a couple time a week , was clepping about once a month, etc. had plenty of time outside seminary work. It’s possible it changed but that was my experience.

amother

Maize

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 10:53 am

I went about 10 years ago. It is a very hard seminary (and fyi I'm a top stuent who never struggled academically) and I still found it very, very difficult. I did touro option which allowed us to choose 2 classes to be pass/fail. It was a huge pressure to make sure I got good grades in the other classes. You don't want seminary grades to mess up her college transcripts

I would only do pass/fail if that's an option.

It's such a shame to have academic pressure during the seminary year. Let her enjoy all EY has to offer. She will have enough academic pressure in college. You also don't want her to get burned out in seminary and have no cheshek left for studying and schoolwork when she comes home.

amother

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 4:31 pm

notshanarishona wrote:

Wow! From what I hear, either you are naturally brilliant or the intensity level has gone up quite a bit.

amother

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 4:59 pm

amother Maize wrote:

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am very torn. Of course I would like DD to have an amazing year, and not have to stress over grades. She has been working very hard for the past 12 years, and is B"H very successful academically (as well as socially). However, she is a conscientious kid and a bit of a perfectionist. I suspect it would bother her if her grades are lower than her usual high standards, and messing up her transcript is a concern too. She is planning to probably complete her BA at Touro and then continue to graduate school (and possibly beyond). She would prefer to keep all her options open for Grad school; including possibly going to an Ivy league program at some point. So her grades matter to her. I wish she could just go on a pass/fail basis, but if we are eligible for financial aid and decline it, seminaries are not likely to offer her any scholarships (if we don't utilize governmental funds first). Paying 30k is a luxury our family cannot comfortably afford at this point in time. It would be compromising other important areas in our life. It just does not make sense. The other possibility
we are considering is Bnos Avigail but we are concerned that it may not be academic enough for her liking, and that it may be too OOT for her. Yet another concern is seminary reputation and Shiduchim. Due to some circumstances, it is especially important to me that she goes somewhere that is an accurate representation of who she is (both academically and haskafa wise), and all that she is capable of as an individual.

amother

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 5:03 pm

amother Silver wrote:

I have a few daughters that went one found it very challenging and the others found it very manageable. They all got extremely high grades on their reports which don't count on your transcript.

Hi, this is such an important piece of information for me! I understand from what you are saying that the grades on the reports do not count towards the total grade for the coursework and do not go on the academic transcript. Is this correct?

Other than the reports, was it overly challenging to do well in classes (for grade)?

I wish I could talk to you directly; your experience (having several girls go there) is extremely valuable.

amother

Whitewash

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 7:13 pm

amother OP wrote:

I went to Bnos Sarah and am pretty sure that I did get credits for the reports (maybe they were 1 credit apiece?)

amother

Silver

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 7:16 pm

amother OP wrote:

Yes, correct. It is challenging but doable.

amother

Offwhite

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 8:16 pm

My daughter went 6 years ago and is generally an a and a plus student. She took for grades bc she went through Touro and somehow going with grades was helpful. I don't remember why. She did not get straight As and it lowered her gpa since she did hey all As in all classes at Touro once she got back. However it wasn't like she got bad grades. She got a few Bs and it made her average like a 3.7 or something instead of a 4.0 and it was annoying but she still got into graduate school as desired and BH has a great life! If she needs a 4.0 for her hard school it could be bad but if a few Bs or even a C would be annoying but not life changing then it should be ok. Most Grad schools will be fine to get into with a high 3 point average . (Bnos sara grades are averaged into Touro grades for total gpa

amother

Cappuccino

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 10:13 pm

amother Sienna wrote:

I went a few years ago and then got transfer credits for touro. My credits were pass/fail and I used them as filler credits. I had lots of extra time in seminary to do things I wanted and did not find the work extremely hard. In HS I was a straight A student. I didn’t care as much in seminary because I wanted to enjoy my experience without pressure and had a nice sprinkle of grades.

How else can you use seminary credits in Touro besides as filler?
A bit OT, but what happens if you decide not to go back to Touro after seminary? Can't use seminary credits?

notshanarishona

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 10:42 pm

[quote="amother OP"]Wow! From what I hear, either you are naturally brilliant or the intensity level has gone up quite a bit.[/quote}

It could be both are true 😂, or at least were true. I think some girls were overwhelmed with work but not everyone. I think the work level has somewhat increased over the years.
To me the hardest part was the Hebrew, but by Sukkos I was ok with it and happy because that led to me being comfortable with the language (and eventually staying in E”Y and being able to get a job in Hebrew settings).

I was definitely a hard worker and didn’t need so much sleep back then. I finished my Bachelor’s degree by the time seminary was over (through Raizel Rite) so that I could start a Masters program in September. Babysitting / side jobs was because I was one of the few who came without spending money and I also needed to pay for my clepping as I was doing.

notshanarishona

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 10:47 pm

amother OP wrote:

What about BJJ or Bnos Chava?
It’s interesting that you are thinking of these 2 seminaries, they are both very different.
Bnos Avigayil does have a good name in the seminary world, just not for strong academics.

amother

Opal

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 10:58 pm

amother Offwhite wrote:

I remember now what the issue was- Touro gives you more credits for the year if you register through Touro and the grades count in your gpa then if you transfer to Touro after the year- in which case they are just pass fail transfer credits. I think it counted as two more classes that way or something.

It’s also an issue if you’re getting a grant through touro which is what the OPs whole q is.

amother

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 11:40 pm

amother Opal wrote:

It’s also an issue if you’re getting a grant through touro which is what the OPs whole q is.

This! DD would only feel comfortable going there on a pass/fail basis. Otherwise, she is concerned that it would be too stressful, and/or that her GPA will suffer. But if we are eligible for a scholarship, then she has to take it for credit, and taking it as pass/fail isn't an option. Personally, I think she would be fine. But if her perception is that everyone else is taking it as pass/fail, and that she's going to be stressed out about grades, then maybe it's not worth it. Adult life can be stressful enough. This year should be an enjoyable one, filled with joy and personal growth.

amother

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 11:49 pm

notshanarishona wrote:

BJJ is too big and maybe too yeshivish for her. And yes, Bnos Avigail is quite different than Bnos Sarah but both seminaries draw nice, oot girls who are not very materialistic. We are in-town with oot mentality, sincerely frum but not yeshivish. We appreciate kind, intelligent people who care about others and the world we live in. We are put-together but not all about appearances. Brand names are not a conversation topic in our home. Does that (choice of seminaries) make more sense now Smile

amother

Purple

Wed, Nov 30 2022, 11:49 pm

Bnos Sara is known as the more OOT of the very academic seminaries. If she's looking for more in town, there are other schools. If you're willing to look into something new, Neimas is planning to be in this category with slightly less work, or different types. While it's new, it's being run by a well known principal. And they are planning to be quite in town. The principal said the girls she's looking for may be applying to BJJ and Masores Rochel, and Bnos Sara if they're OOT.

Just saw your post- I'm a little confused. Bnos Sara is as OOT as Bnos Avigail, just different focuses. And the Bnos Avigail girls are known as bright and motivated- just lower pressure, less work, maybe a little more focus on creativity.