americansabra

@writersoul it seems like you haven’t been active in a while, but do you think you can help me? i’m an american girl living in israel. i attended an american jewish day school (co-ed but separate classes) and was in a typical strict bais yaakov freshman year (at my parent’s insistence, which i hated. my friends were all either at the MO co-ed high school or the more lenient girl’s bais yaakov). my family made aliyah the summer before my sophomore year, and i’m currently in my junior year at an israeli bais yaakov, which is considered a very lenient school by israeli standards (many don’t even consider it BY, but i disagree; the girls might not be classic bais yaakov, but the staff and atmosphere are very much that). i’m planning on graduating early due to a variety of reasons. an trusted adult close to me is pushing me to apply to machon raaya, but a) they only accept one girl living in israel per year and b) i’m looking for something less right-wing. while i’m definitely looking for spiritual growth, i’ve had a hard time with BY environments in the past and want something more accepting and growth-oriented rather than in the box and laden with strict rules. as of now, i plan on applying to college in the U.S. after my seminary year, so i’m also looking for a seminary where graduates have gone on to college before. (i hope i’m explaining myself well.) i’ve been looking at tomer devorah, but after doing some research, michalah and midreshet moriah seem like great options as well. i’m not sure where to go from here, as i don’t really have an advisor in this area that isn’t biased towards more bais yaakov seminaries. do you or anyone else have advice for me?