<p>Does anyone here on CC have any experience with applying to attend college in Israel as a freshman? Anyone know about IDC in Herzylia? Any other Israeli colleges? My son's interest is in Business and does not know Hebrew.</p>
<p>Haddasah has a program called Year Course through Young Judaea. There are several options but one is more “academic”. Credits for Hebrew and several of the history courses can be transfered. I did it in 1981 and got almost a whole year’s worth of college credit. Two summer classes made up the difference for me. Good luck!</p>
<p>Look through [Masa</a> Home - Israel Journey](<a href=“http://www.masaisrael.org/masa/english/]Masa”>http://www.masaisrael.org/masa/english/) for information. It offers some programs with college credits. If he hasn’t really been to Israel before other for pleasure, he should do a year-long program for the purpose of making the transition and learning the Hebrew language. Hebrew is a tough language and he really should have good knowledge of it in order to integrate in the Israeli society. Aside from Jerusalem, most of Israel isn’t all that great about English, unless you run into young Israelis.</p>
<p>The other thing is that he’ll want to think about taking his time going into undergraduate studies if he’s looking to get a bachelors, not just a gap year, as many, many Israelis don’t enter until they’re 24 or 27 years old, after they’ve done their army service and worked for a while. It can be a bit isolating as 18-20 years old because so many of the Israelis at that age are so busy with the army. I’ve found that, even when I was just 21 when I studied in Israel, I got along with 25-27 year olds better than 20 year olds because, despite our age differences, we were in same life stages.</p>
<p>That said, if he does want to live in Israel for more than two years to do a bachelors’ degree, he should consider making aliyah as he’ll get a LOT of benefits, including free (or nearly free) university education, monthly stipend for the first 9 months, ability to work, health insurance, and access to one 5 month ulpan course (enough Hebrew just to survive- you’ll need about minimum total of 15 months of 5 hour/day ulpan to get comfortable in conversational Hebrew with anyone). If he leaves before three years, I believe, the Jewish agency may ask him to pay back for all the money they’ve given him, including university tuition. The downside, really, is that he’ll have to go into the Army for 3 years. He could do national (community) service instead. Either way, he’ll learn enough Hebrew to study at one of the Israeli universities in Hebrew with other Israelis.</p>
<p>My suggestion, as many Americans I’ve known have done, is just do a gap year program to test the waters before committing to what I’ve mentioned, including bachelor studies. Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University do offer a year program for freshmen with college credits that they can earn with classes in English in their international schools. They require everyone to take intensive 6 week ulpan before classes actually start and students continue to take Hebrew (8 hours a week) throughout the semester. It’s really much more pleasant this way, I think, so that he can better balance his studies and travel. It’s rather hard NOT to want to travel when everything is so close by and new! Once he’s done his traveling and exploring after the year, he’ll be more settled to take actual university courses towards his degree.</p>
<p>My daughter spent a year in an academic program in Israel, and they she spoke with IDC admissions personnel. We visited Herzliya and it seems like a great place, although in the end we realized that it only had a limited number of specialized programs. If your son’s interests coincide with one of those programs (and business administration is one of them), then this is a viable choice. In the end our daughter realized that she could not pursue her interests there. Tuition is very reasonable too!</p>
<p>I agree that even if your son takes IDC classes that are offered in English, it would still be a good idea to go to an intensive Ulpan first.</p>
<p>IDC sounds great, but concerned about what happens with a Business degree upon graduation. IDC program is in English, not sure if my son would learn enough Hebrew to become fluent and get a job in Israel. I’ll look into Young Judaea year course and study abroad in Israel. I agree he should go for a summer or year before making a big commitment. Thanks so much for your info. If anyone here has gone to IDC or other Israeli university for undergrad, please share your experience.</p>
<p>I would like to put in a plug for the Young Judaea YearCourse. It is a wonderful program in structure and substance. There is a good balance of classwork, service, and living in a foreign country. </p>
<p>Although I do not know about anything other than the general program (which is great in so many ways), they do offer a business track which is worth investigating. They offer other specialty tracks as well.</p>
<p>The program is structured so that the students experience communal independent living (in 6-8 person apartments) for most of the time. However, there are (minimally invasive) counselors available to help the 18 year olds negotiate not just independent living for the first time but also negotiate how to do things in a different country and different language. They also have liaisons to help the parents adjust to having their children so far away and perhaps not in touch all the time.</p>
<p>It is a great program that allows students to experience Israel and learn independence. It has been around for more than 40 years, and they have learned how to do it right.</p>