To view current student blogs, visit here.

The BGU Overseas Student Program can also be found on several study abroad search engines that contain student reviews:

GoAbroad.com

GoOverseas.com

StudyAbroad.com

 

What participants have said about their OSP experience:

Beer-Sheva

“Face to face and person to person, people experience Israel together.  Every aspect of the program is terrific and incomparable.  Whether it be the people or the environment you prefer, Beer-Sheva is the place to be.”

– Rich Oelberger, University of Florida

“The location of the program in Beer-Sheva was wonderful.  Our ability to live in dormitories with regular Israeli students was an invaluable opportunity and allowed me to integrate into Israeli society and practice Hebrew as much as possible.  Beer-Sheva is an ideal location – smaller and yet highly diverse.  By staying away from the international areas, particularly the Americanized ones, it was much easier to feel a part of Israel. The University campus is very friendly and aesthetically beautiful.”

– Joshua Reed, Oberlin College

“The Negev has its own unique beauty unlike anything I have ever imagined. Beer-Sheva is a comfortable, friendly city. The experiences that Ben-Gurion University made possible both in and out of the classroom will continue to affect and inspire me for a long time to come.”

– Andrea Barton-Elson, Syracuse University

Mix of People and Diversity

“My suitemates are a microcosm of Israel’s new mix; an Ethiopian girl who moved to Israel when she was 11 years old, a first generation Russian girl and an Israeli-Arab from a small village near Mount Carmel. One of my most valuable experiences here has been my late night conversations with my roommates;seeing Israeli culture and global current events from their point of view has been eye opening.”

– Daria Carmon, Boston University

“Rather than being surrounded by Americans whose experiences are identical to mine, I chose the more stimulating and challenging experience of living and learning with sabras (native-born Israelis), Ethiopians, Russians and North Africans.  Rather than confining my use of Hebrew to the classroom, I engaged myself by conversing with my Israeli roommates and friends in their language.  This is what Ben-Gurion University’s Overseas Program is all about.”

– Tamar Milstein, McGill University

“I met great people in Beer-Sheva. The city may be in the middle of the Negev, but it is filled with culture. Local citizens are down to earth and easy-going. I often enjoyed sitting and having a conversation about Israel, America, Judaism, or life with a local Beer-Sheva citizen.”

– Matan Wolfson, University of Texas, Austin

Volunteering

“The OSP staff encouraged us to volunteer with various groups around Beer-Sheva. I volunteered at a shelter for abused women and their children, which was very rewarding.  I learned more about Israeli culture by talking with the women, and I improved my Hebrew conversation skills by working with the children.  I also got a chance to meet Israeli students who shared some of my interests.”

– Jennifer Fox, University of Illinois

General

“You really form a bond with these people, and they feel like home away from home. Coming from New York, that has a ton of people and a fast pace, I really appreciated the quiet and chill of the city. I did get to travel a lot. It’s a great place to be a student.”

– Alessa Chaer, City University of New York

“I am extremely happy that I chose the program at Ben-Gurion University. I’ve been given opportunities here, both academic and cultural, that would have been impossible at other institutions and on other programs in Israel.”

– Kevin Schwartz, Cornell University

“When I decided that I wanted to study abroad in Israel, I called my Israeli friends and asked them where I should go. They all had the same answer–Ben-Gurion University.”

– Daniel Estrin, Brandeis University

“Attending Ben-Gurion University was the best possible way I could have spent my year abroad.  The opportunities, friends and experiences I gained could not have been acquired anywhere else.  The personal attention our group had was extremely refreshing and welcomed after being a social security number at my university in the States.”

– Adrienne Pollock, University of Cincinnati