[COMMUNICATED CONTENT] If you have a daughter considering a year of seminary in Israel, you are no doubt familiar with the elation, the heartache, and most of all the questions that this raises. Questions like:
“Who can tell me about financial aid and tax credit opportunities?”
“How will I ever figure out all of this paperwork?”
“Is there a way for my daughter to earn college credits from her seminary year?”
Fortunately, Testing & Training International (TTI) is available to answer all of these questions and more. TTI is an educational consulting firm dedicated to helping frum Jews obtain academic certifications and degrees. They partner with a number of accredited American universities to offer programs custom-tailored to the heimishe population, enabling them to earn career-oriented college degrees. And now, through their partnership with TTI, the Albany-based Excelsior College is offering an Israel Study Abroad Program for our Bais Yaakov girls.
Thanks to agreements between Excelsior and nearly two dozen popular seminaries in Israel, participants can spend a year in Eretz Yisroel and simultaneously accrue up 30 college credits in the process. And for those who reserve their spot in seminary through TTI, the initial deposit is just $2,000, a competitive rate compared with direct enrollment. In addition to earning a year’s worth of college credits, participants are eligible for the same financial aid as college students all over the United States, as well as the American Opportunity Tax Credit – up to $5,000 – all of which wouldn’t be available through seminary alone.
To raise awareness of this program and make seminary in Israel and college education more accessible to women in the frum community, TTI is holding a series of open houses in the Jewish communities of Brooklyn, Lakewood, and Monsey.
The first event in this series is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 17 at Bais Yaakov of 18th Avenue, 4419 18th Ave, Brooklyn. On Monday, Nov. 18, an event will be hosted by Bais Yaakov D’Rav Hirsch, located at 235 N Main St., Spring Valley, NY. The final open house will take place the next day, Tuesday, Nov. 19 at Bnos Bais Yaakov, 155 Oberlin Ave. N, Lakewood, NJ. All of the events are scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
Interested parties can learn more by calling TTI at 1-877-RING-TTI (1-877-746-4884) or by attending one of their open houses.
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2 Responses
all of my girls’ seminaries created a sheet with 30 credits. they were accepted at all the schools my girls went to- colleges, not jewish programs. so don’t pay extra to have it go through a program, the schools generate credits and every place accepts them.
Many colleges do accept seminary transcripts directly, but many do not. The bigger advantage of going through an Israel abroad option is for someone who qualifies for financial aid. The neediest students can get $12,000 in federal and state grants to help pay for their seminary tuition. Even those who do not qualify for financial aid can get a tuition tax credit by going through this option and paying tuition to a US college. The college transfers the money to the seminary but it is eligible for a tax credit for qualifying families.