The Bronfman Fellowships (BYFI) are currently recruiting for the twenty-ninth annual(!) cohort.

BYFI is a fully-funded Fellowship available to outstanding Jewish students of all backgrounds who are in their junior year of high school. The purpose of the Bronfman Fellowships is to invest in a cohort of bright young Jews who will be leaders of tomorrow in all areas of Jewish and public life. They seek intellectually curious and mature applicants with a strong character.

The program includes an all-expense paid five-week trip to Israel and two seminars in New York City where Fellows explore Jewish identity, Jewish ideas, and connect to other young Jews from both Israel and America. No Jewish educational background is required for eligibility. They select Fellows who are religiously observant and those only marginally affiliated with Judaism.

The academic and professional successes of BYFI’s 1000+ alumni reflect the high quality of the program and highlight the kinds of benefits that can redound to its participants. For example, over 50% of alumni have attended Ivy League schools. Indeed The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel has been listed by Chuck Hughes, former Senior Admissions Officer at Harvard, in his book, “What it Really Takes to Get into the Ivy League and other Highly Selective Colleges,” as one of the programs which “act as filters for admissions officers to validate candidates who have been similarly identified by other organizations for talent and promise.”

Professionally, BYFI alumni comprise former U.S. Supreme Court Clerks, celebrated authors, journalists and producers with leading news organizations such as The New York Times and NBC, and numerous teachers, scholars and clergy.

The Fellowships are awarded competitively to twenty-six individuals who will be entering the twelfth grade of school in the fall of 2015. Fellowship awards are based on merit.

For more information, visit www.bronfman.org.