Pre-academic programs for former Haredim are the new black in Israeli higher education

Year-long preparatory programs for higher education are fairly de rigueur in Israel. Young people looking to be accepted into competitive academic tracks often need to improve their matriculation and psychometric scores once they finish their army service – and a slew of pre-academic programs are available for them. Former Haredi young people need this service with even greater urgency but the programs available were traditionally not geared toward graduates of the Haredi school system with their unique, sizeable gaps. In order to help them access higher education, Out for Change has been working with universities and colleges countrywide to develop pre-academic programs specifically geared for former Haredim. The success of this endeavor is almost overwhelming! In recent years, six such pre-academic programs have opened at Hebrew University, Hadassah College, Sapir College, Bar Ilan University, Ruppin College and the Technion. A new program at Ben Gurion University in Be’er Sheva will be opening soon.