Is YU Smarter Than a 12th Grader?
We were only there for free hamburgers. In 2024, a YU representative presented plans for YU’s Israel college for the coming year. Enrolling in the program would entail paying thousands of dollars more in tuition than Israeli universities, commuting multiple times a week between the YU campus and the classes at Israeli universities and going back to America for courses one summer. It didn’t make much sense for anyone at the presentation to go, but we all kept our mouths shut to be nice until someone finally pointed out the absurdity. The best reason the representative could think of for joining this program was “the YU environment,” despite the tons of money YU was spending to start a branch there.
Then why did YU go ahead with this program if there were no compelling reasons? YU had the admirable goal of “strengthening Yeshiva University's deep bond with Israel for the long term,” along with “present[ing] additional avenues for collaboration and expand[ing] YU's footprint across the Israeli landscape.” In short, the program was started for the sake of advancing YU’s mission, not for the sake of the students. However, for YU’s initiatives to succeed, the equation needs to be flipped. If YU fails to focus on the students, students will stop coming. But by focusing on the students, strong students will come, and YU will in turn be strengthened by their achievements.
Following Oct. 7, it became clear through media presence that there was a shift in YU’s self-perception. YU positioned itself as the solution to the problems of antisemitism brewing in other campuses, encouraging students in other universities to transfer. My sense is that YU then started believing that it was ideal for every single student, and any new program they started would attract flocks of students. But this ignores the clear reality that YU is not the ideal for everyone. For YU to be the right place for a student, there needs to be a compelling reason for that student to be there.
The gap between the programs pushed by the administration and the actual needs of the student body is what led to YU Israel’s dissolution. And this very same lack of understanding threatens to ruin YU’s honors program as well.
Last year, YU started limiting honors admissions to those who apply early decision because they want to compete for those students against Ivy League schools. Again, YU has the admirable goal of getting the top flight of students as they have emphasized in different press releases after the decision. But this policy change limits their pool of potential students to those committed to coming to YU at a very specific point in their lives.
The administration needs to realize this: I am YU, but that wasn’t always the case. I love YU, and that expectation is what brought me to YU in the first place. The amazing friends, professors and rebbeim make for an unparalleled opportunity to learn and grow. But there is an unspoken requirement to liking YU: valuing both the Torah learning and the college. A lot. Spending hours a day on either means that if you don’t see the value in one, you will not like YU, where you are forced to spend hours a day on both.
High schoolers realize that, and therefore, YU is not the clear choice for many high school students. As twelfth graders, perhaps they don’t think they are ready to learn Torah for so many hours of the day — it is a tall task. Or they think they can better pursue their secular studies at a different university with larger departments and more resources. Many high school seniors become more passionate about Torah learning and Judaism as twelfth grade progresses and as they spend time in Israel and come to value what YU provides — the ability to engage in Torah and college at a high level as opposed to just college at a higher level. But, under the recently modified rules, the doors of YU honors are shut to them. These supposedly ideal YU students, fascinated by Torah and madda, which led them to explore other options, will now never enter YU’s doors.
If YU wants to create a stronger cohort of honors students, its focus should be on creating and advertising more positive opportunities for honors students rather than artificially getting students to apply by threatening them with no scholarship for delaying their decision. The new electrical engineering program is a great start, and relatedly, YU can work to bolster the rigor of the science classes offered, thereby increasing the prestige of STEM degrees. But ultimately, getting the strongest students might simply entail YU opening its arms to those who only start appreciating the amazing programs YU already offers after the first months of twelfth grade.
YU will benefit from students who come in with a positive attitude toward all the amazing opportunities YU offers. These will be students who made a willful choice to attend YU among other options, not students who applied begrudgingly to avoid losing out on a scholarship. Feeling forced to be at YU is not good for any individual student or for the culture around them. They will be jealous of their friends at other universities and will then spread pessimism at YU. A student who confidently chose YU over other options is more likely to see all the positives around them, take advantage of opportunities and truly get a world-class education.
Ultimately, focusing on creating better experiences for students will benefit YU institutionally. If they correctly focus their priorities, YU can benefit the students and itself. If it prematurely attempts to focus on its reputation, both will suffer. As an honors student who applied regular decision and is immensely grateful for my YU experience, I hope YU chooses wisely.
Photo Caption: The Class of ‘29 JJS Honors Program
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University
