Switching seminary?

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following Log in

Join Now

| | | | |

Switching seminary?

Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling -> Seminary Info

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 2:44 pm

Does anyone know/has anyone experienced a daughter switching from one seminary to another mid year? Is this a thing, sort of like transferring from one college to another mid semester?

amother

Burgundy

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 2:44 pm

no never heard of it.

amother

Forsythia

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 2:45 pm

It's happened but it's extremely rare.

amother

Amaryllis

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 2:48 pm

It usually only happens if the first place was a really bad fit.

Elfrida

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 2:50 pm

It happens, but I think not so much among the Beis Yaakov type seminaries.

amother

Burgundy

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 2:52 pm

The girls are there for just about a 2 weeks now. Is it really so bad? can she wait it out a few more weeks ? things change a lot after the beginning.
That is, if this question is not just theoretical but real.

notshanarishona

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 3:00 pm

Extremely unlikely that a half decent seminary would stam have an empty space and be willing to consider a new kid after the year starts. Most seminaries have a waiting list and they first take people from their, not someone who didn't have a good start somewhere else.

amother

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 3:02 pm

So if she just wants a change because the place doesn't fit her so well, most kids just ride the year out?

amother

Snowdrop

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 3:04 pm

No seminary would refund you even if your dd doesn't like it.

amother

Holly

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 3:17 pm

I would call your high school for advice.

What can she know in two weeks that she didn't know before. Give it time to be a better fit.

amother

Topaz

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 3:18 pm

I've heard of kids coming home and finishing out the year in a local place

amother

Tulip

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 3:44 pm

amother OP wrote:

So if she just wants a change because the place doesn't fit her so well, most kids just ride the year out?

Yup! This was me! My parents told me to suck it up because they weren't getting refunded. No seminary would have taken me anyways because they were all full to capacity. But my parents should have brought me home because I ended up
Just wasting my year and their money.

ShaniF

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 3:45 pm

It's really early on in the year. Don't you think it can get better soon?
The first few weeks are always the hardest especially since there's the Yomim Tovim and takes a while to get into routine.

Elfrida

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 3:54 pm

She should give it a longer chance. If, bh around chanukah she still feels that she is in the wrong place, it might be worth leaving at the end of the first semester. Then she might be able to fit into domething in America for the rest of the year.

In the meantime, she can try speaking to staff about other options, andxresearching other schools.

As a parent, consider if you are willing or able to pay two sets of seminary fees. If she does switch, you won't get much of a refund from the first, but the second will want something close yo full tuition.

amother

Natural

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 3:59 pm

amother Holly wrote:

What can she know in two weeks that she didn't know before.

This happened to my friend's DD. She chose a Sem to fit with her hashkafa. When she arrived, she discovered that the aim was to get the girls to BECOME that hashkafa, but they arrived very, very different...

She switched and had a wonderful year BH.

amother

Electricblue

Mon, Sep 18 2023, 4:01 pm

It's rare, but it can happen.

My time there were two girls with me in a bais yaakov style seminary. They were from a more modern high school and felt they didn't fit in. They switched after a few months to a more modern seminary.

This was over 25 years ago though.

amother

Mocha

Tue, Sep 26 2023, 10:02 pm

Sadly, my DD is at a sem in Israel this year and is miserable. She feels the sem misrepresented itself when she interviewed and is very disappointed. It’s a fairly well known seminary and she had gotten really encouraging feedback from others who had been before.
There has been a change in staff this year and there is a lack of leadership.
If she comes home early, there is no way she would consider a different sem. She is soured. And feels her Yiddishkeit has suffered because it’s been a traumatic experience for her. Some girls are having fun though. Lots of girls going out at night. Meeting boys. Flaunting the dress code. Definitely not something she was expecting. Crying

amother

DarkViolet

Tue, Sep 26 2023, 10:38 pm

First of all, everyone is taking about not getting a refund. I am pretty sure I paid monthly, not everything upfront.

I don’t know if she can switch, but if someone from a school does go home, a space would in theory open up. They may also have southern hemisphere girls who have a different semester/year schedule, or Shana bet girls who are only staying 1/2 the year.

Bottom line is I don’t know but it doesn’t hurt to try.

I hope your daughter is happy, that either she adjusts/finds her space in her current school, or is able to switch to one which is a better fit.

Page 1 of 1