How to get scholarships for College and University in Israel
Are you studying in college or university... or do you know anyone studying in Israel?
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| Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash |
This is the post for you! I am also in college and decided to do the research for myself... later I realized that all my work can help others as well so I decided to spread the word!
While tuition is much cheaper in Israel than in North America, you can still get scholarships and subsidies to cover most if not all of your costs! Note that some of these grants have strings attached such as volunteer work or a minimum grade in order to receive them. My best piece of advice is to find the מרכז צעירים nearest to your residency, they are very helpful and assist with finding and applying for grants!
Next, make sure that you supply all the necessary documents online and put them in a special folder. In addition, apply as soon as possible for the scholarships in order to have a greater chance at being accepted.
If you missed the end date, mark your calendar for next year and try again! It appears that most of these scholarships will only last for a single year forcing you to re-apply each year to receive them again.
Ministry of Education and Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration Scholarship
If you are a new immigrant, the Ministry of Education and Aliyah have worked together to provide assistance for you! There are stipulations including meeting a certain GPA, community service, as well as a maximum age and lastly, you need to start learning within 36 months of getting the new immigrant status. If you were in the army, you can get them to "freeze" your benefits for that period of time which will buy you some time before you have to start college after being released.
Information here:
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/general/students_eligibility
or https://govextra.gov.il/moia/study_il/en
Make sure to fill out all the forms and then go to your משרד הקליטה in your city (with an appointment) and they will receive the documents for verification. In my case, I was towards the end of my eligibility period but I was able to get in the system by opening a תיק - file with them before.
Sign up is here: https://www.gov.il/he/service/online_application_administration_assistance_for_immigrant_students
Update your existing documents and add more: https://www.gov.il/he/service/submission_documents_the_immigrant_students_administration
There are some strings attached to this scholarship such as maintaining a 65% average, required volunteering (in the 3rd year), go to ulpan, among others.
Released soldier scholarship from the Ministry of Defense
If you are a released soldier, the Ministry of Defense will provide assistance. Note that there is a stipulation of volunteering or serving a certain amount of time in reserve duty every year.
Make sure you can log into Hachvana (the portal for released soldiers form the Ministry of Defense), this is also where you can see your פיקדון as well. On that note, you can also withdraw money from your פיקדון directly to pay for tuition. This is good because your פיקדון/account is only available to use for specific purposes for the first 5 years, and it is a waste (in my opinion) to leave money there (without interest) for years. Getting back to the point, the Ministry of Defense will usually either pay the school directly (with your permission) or they will put money into your "account" with them... By using your "account" to pay tuition, essentially they are replenishing most of the money once you meet their eligibility requirements.
https://www.hachvana.mod.gov.il/education/Pages/mimadim.aspx
Besides for the main one called ממדים ללימודים, there are some additional ones for people who live in the periphery (45 certain areas) or if the school is in the periphery (44) In addition, there is a way for the school to report to the Ministry of Defense at the end of your first year... and they are supposed to "refund" your tuition by placing the equivalent amount of money into your פיקדון. This is a special clause that only covers year 1 of your 3 (or 4) year degree.
It can be a bit confusing whether you can stack on several scholarships together...Unfortunately (with some exceptions) but specifically to government provided grants, it is forbidden to... You should have less issues if you combine 1 government grant with a civilian but it is best to be honest and clear things up first!
Lone soldiers can also apply for the IMPACT scholarship and the HESEG one which is highly recommended.
If you were a National Service Volunteer שירות לאומי, some of the soldier posts apply to you as well, in addition to the new immigrant scholarships! As I served in the army and not in National Service, I don't have personal recommendations unfortunately.
Religious Scholarships
If you come from an Ultra-Orthodox background, These scholarships might be relevant for you:
Otherwise, there are still plenty of scholarships that may be relevant to you! I recommend finding the person in charge of scholarships and tuition at your school for further assistance.
General and additional scholarships:
Gruss Scholarship - is available for released lone soldiers, בנות שירות,ultra-orthodox people, Ethiopian immigrants, people who live in the periphery, and minorities.
If you can speak Hebrew or use a translator app the following sites may be useful as well!
universities-colleges.org.il/ is a forum with a bunch of information on various grants
This is the tip of the iceberg, there are plenty of scholarships that I haven't mentioned but are widely available! As a resident of Bet Shemesh, I use their site which has a pretty extensive list as well! https://www.ybshemesh.co.il/melagot2021/
In addition to: https://www.nuis.co.il//%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%92%D7%95%D7%AA/
Milgapo Coupons קופונים למלגהפו
Personally, I paid for the basic plan with a site called Milgapo which takes my information and applies on my behalf. Unfortunately, since paying, I didn't actually get any assistance and cannot recommend them yet. If you decide to use their site, try to find a coupon code such as:
אלו קופונים למלגהפו, אנא נסו את כולם בנפרד
STUGROUP (10% off הנחה)
HIGAMILG (10% off הנחה)
AGUDA-4-U
SALE2022
5% off for people with the Yoter credit card
Try them all and see what gives you the biggest discount and be sure to comment here for others to see!
Make sure to complete the forms and click proceed, sometimes it doesn't think you are finished uploading information which will delay the process... They also claim to have some exclusive scholarships for paid users of their site, I applied and am waiting for responses in the meantime.
אתם מוזמנים להצטרף לקבוצת דילים שלנו
If there is further interest, I'd love to share more tips for college students as well as the ins-and-outs of these scholarships - let me know in the comments!
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