What's the point of an open house?

amother

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 10:02 am

I mean, I understand the general idea, but I feel like every seminary is going to make themselves sound amazing, and say that they want frum eidel bais yaakov girls, etc etc. So how does it help you to go? To see if you like the principal? And even that, I find that very often even seminaries that target more modern girls are more yeshivish themselves, so you can't even judge based on that. So is the point of going to see the type of people who attend and draw my conclusions from that?

I am not trying to be facetious, I am really trying to understand how to make the experience productive and really learn about the seminary. Are there certain questions that you find it helpful to ask? Certain things you pay attention to? Please share your wisdom!

Thanks in advance!

amother

DarkKhaki

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 10:13 am

its a little like shidduch information.. even tho everyone says the same things.. you can still get a picture on what they stress, on what they dont say. and honestly just meeting the hanhala.. or whoever comes in for it in person can be a huge determining factor.

I absolutely loved the principal that came in for the open house for my seminary.. and I actually ended up going there.. she was so warm and genuine.

maybe if its one of the huge in-town gatherings it can be harder to pick up nuiances tho.. im from oot

scruffy

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 10:15 am

I was seriously considering applying to a certain seminary before I went to the open house and was turned off by the principal.

amother

Hosta

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 11:50 am

You really do get a feel for who they are by attending the open house and meeting the heads and seeing how they respond to questions. They also often have one of their teachers give a little speech, so you can get a feel for who they hire and the messages they give. Also, you can tell a lot by looking at all the rest of the people who are attending... Very, very worthwhile.

amother

Bergamot

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 11:50 am

You get a feel of the type of seminary it is from the way the principal speaks and interacts with you. Yes, they will often sound similar, but each will emphasize the things that they value over others. And you can read between the lines-if one principal is talking a lot about the trips they take with the girls, and another seminary focuses on the shiurim and building the girls for life in this modern world, you bet I know what each value.
And you should come prepared with what things are important for you/dd. Is it important that the seminary has an option on shabbos for girls to eat in? Do you want a specific level or type of learning? Or whatever it is that will help you determine what is important or needed in the seminary, and then does this seminary offer this?

amother

Dahlia

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 11:59 am

amother Hosta wrote:

So I'm not at that stage yet but that's how I felt about school open houses. I know it's a superficial judgement, but looking around at the parents attending and the school parents helping with the open house gave me some helpful info. There was one school that I knew we wouldn't fit into at all because the parents all looked a certain way and I did not.