I do not have a daughter in the age group of going EY, but my son returned in June after his first post-high school year there. I know he didn’t do everything he was supposed to but in general he followed his program. It is true though that there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of oversight of the boys. When I was there to visit several months back, I couldn’t help but see how many of these “yeshiva boys” were out and about. I’m not saying anyone was doing anything they weren’t supposed to, rather that the sheer numbers of “bochrim” that I saw walking around in the middle of the day was astounding to me. It really made me think about why I sent my kids there to begin with.
Long story short – my son came home a man! My wife and I continue to marvel at the growth he experienced while he was there and the level of maturity he’s reached. So much so, he’s asked to return for more and we have agreed because we’ve seen the growth and trust that there is more to come. We believe that this growth came as a result of his being away from us, and in the end what better place to be than in EY.