Apply to the Program

Every admitted participant receives a scholarship for the full cost of tuition, room, board, books, and special events.

General Application Information:

Our online form now allows you to save a draft of your application. Click the “save draft” button at the bottom of the page, enter your e-mail, and you’ll be sent a personalized link to return to your draft at any time.

Your complete application must include:

This form
Self-reported high school transcripts
Two recommendation forms

The application deadline is March 1, 2021. Acceptance decisions will be announced by early April. If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].

IMPORTANT PROGRAM INFORMATION REGARDING COVID-19:
We hope to conduct the final week of the 2021 Great Jewish Books Summer Program in-person at the Yiddish Book Center. However, due to the uncertain nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, a residential program may not be possible. If that is the case, the final week of the program will be held online. We will inform students of the final course format (part-online/part-residential or fully online) upon acceptance. In the meantime, please see our FAQ for more information regarding Great Jewish Books’ possible remote learning adaptation.

Contact Information

First Name (required)

Last Name (required)

E-mail Address (required)

Home Phone

Cell Phone

Street Address (required)

City (required)

State (required)

Zip Code (required)

Basic Information

Date of Birth (required)

Gender

Pronouns

(e.g. she/her, they/them, he/him, etc.)

Name of High School (required)

Type of High School (required)

If you chose "other" above, or if you want to provide further description of your high school, please elaborate here:

What grade will you be entering in Fall 2021? (required)

Parent/Guardian 1 Information

Parent/Guardian 1 Name (required)

Relationship to Applicant: (required)

E-mail Address (required)

Home Phone

Cell Phone

Parent/Guardian 2 Information

Parent/Guardian 2 Name

Relationship to Applicant:

E-mail Address

Home Phone

Cell Phone

Have you applied to Great Jewish Books before? (required)

Yes

Where did you hear about Great Jewish Books? If on the internet, which site specifically? (required)

If one of our alumni recommended that you apply to this program, please write their name below:

More About You

Please list any work experience you've had (include dates and a brief description of each job): (required)

Please list any extracurricular activities with which you have been significantly involved (include dates and a brief description): (required)

Please tell us about your experience (if any) with Jewish education or Jewish cultural activities: (required)

Please list any languages, other than English, that you are able to speak, understand, or read:

Short Essay Questions

Each answer should be between 150 and 350 words.

1) What's the best class you've taken in high school? What about the subject matter particularly intrigued you? (required)

2) Tell us about one of your favorite books. When did you first encounter it? Why is it meaningful to you? (required)

3) Describe your connection to, affiliation with, or interest in Jewish culture or Judaism. You can tell us about your family background, your religious practice, your cultural engagement, or simply your curiosity and questions about Jewishness: (required)

We are not looking for any specific answer here; we’d just like to get to know a little more about you. We are seeking students from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.

Additional Materials

In addition to this application form, self-reported transcripts and two recommendation forms must be submitted by March 1, 2021, in order for your application to be considered. One recommendation must be from a high school teacher whose class you have taken; the second can be from another teacher, guidance counselor, coach, youth group leader, club adviser, synagogue educator, or supervisor.

Please share the link to the recommendation form with your two recommenders and ask them to submit the form no later than March 1.

Please attach academic transcripts below or email transcripts directly to us at [email protected]. If you are unable to provide digital copies of your transcripts, please mail or fax them to us at:

Yiddish Book Center
Attn: Great Jewish Books
1021 West Street
Amherst, MA 01002
Fax: 413-256-4700 (attention: Great Jewish Books)

Attach your transcript(s) here:

Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: jpg, jpeg, png, pdf, doc, docx.

Both the applicant and the applicant's parent/guardian must type their full names and the date below, acknowledging that this application is being submitted.

Applicant's name and date (required)

Parent/guardian's name and date (required)

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