Majoring in Aliyah: Deciding on a college path

Flashback to eleventh grade: All around me, my classmates panicked, going on college visits around the country, while I stuck with the few that were close to home (Penn, Princeton, Columbia and Rutgers). In twelfth grade, while my friends wrote essay after essay on "Why I want to study at [insert school-name here]," I applied to four schools (see list above), all of which, even the Ivy Leagues, I considered back-up plans. My college advisor didn't know what to do with me; how could such a dedicated student be so lazy when it came to applying to college?

The answer was simple. I had no motivation to go through the motions when I already had a different plan for myself. I knew I would go to Israel, serve my country, and start a new life there. This new life, of course, would include college in Israel. However, at my parents' insistence, I applied to American universities, but not with the zeal of my peers.

I’m proud to say that my plan worked out. My dream of making aliyah came true a mere month after I graduated the Ramaz Upper School in New York. Soon after, I began Sherut Leumi (national service). After two inspiring years of service, in which I met Israelis from all over the country, I applied to Bar-Ilan University.

Today, I am a second-year student at Bar-Ilan, majoring in political science and communications. The experience is very different from what I had always expected college to be as a kid growing up in New Jersey, from the application process, to campus life, to classes themselves.

I plan to tell you all about Israeli college life in this blog. I'll keep you posted on all the trials and tribulations of getting a higher education in Israel; and, of course, I'll write about all the positive aspects as well.