Program Reviews

Aardvark was the best 7 months of my entire life!

I spent a semester in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem which allowed me to experience the vastly different aspects of Israeli society. In both places I got to enjoy everything the city had to offer. In Jerusalem I chose to go to hosted shabbos every Friday and spend my weekends doing picnics in the park or walking around the Old City. In Tel Aviv I spent almost every weekend on the beach, exploring Yafo with my friends, and sometimes going clubbing.

The program allows for plenty of free time to explore the country and your city, while also having really interesting structured programs (especially Tiyul Tuesdays in Jerusalem).

The staff is beyond caring and provide you with the perfect safety net while you learn to live on your own. They check in to make sure you're doing okay but they definitely don't baby you.

Also, Aardvark offers AMAZING international trip add-ons. I went to China and Spain and had the absolute best time. This is a huge advantage to choosing Aardvark over another gap year program.

To summarize, I can assuredly say that I left Aardvark as a more confident and capable person, with a deeper appreciation for Israel, and best friends that I know will last a life time.

If you're even considering a gap year in Israel I highly recommend Aardvark and encourage you to call and speak to someone from the program!

I spent 2 semesters on the Aardvark Israel program and I look back at the time I spent there as truly the best year of my life to date. The program allowed me enough freedom to enjoy my time here to the fullest but also provided structure to keep me busy and on track. I was set up with an amazing volunteering opportunity working in a soup kitchen first semester and I was able to continue working in a kitchen with my internship in a restaurant second semester. I learnt so many valuable skills during my work and I’m grateful for the work that my internship coordinators put in to make sure I was being keeping myself happy and productive. The friends I made on the program are family to me and the environment that Aardvark created allowed me to form bonds with people from all walks of life that I would never have met otherwise. I’m grateful for the time I spent on the program and I wish I could come back for another semester

aardvark israel was the best year of my life. i was able to make israel exactly what i wanted to be and learn the things about myself i set out to learn. i gained independence, met friends, and learned about judaism and zionism. it was my first time in israel, and aardvark allowed me to see the whole country. the israel education comes from both sides and allows you to form your own opinions about the conflict, which is so important, and the classes teach you so much. i love aardvark and am trying to get my brother to do it i love it so much!

I spent a semester in Aardvark's Tel Aviv program and it left me feeling let down and lied to. The program looks great on paper - college courses, internships, and weekly trips around Israel sound like a thrilling and productive way to spend a semester or two. Unfortunately, this isn't true.

The classes:
Most of the classes are taught poorly with seemingly random structure, and all of the classes are basic to the point where it is insulting to call them college level courses. They are freshman year of high school level.
The Hebrew classes are the most atrocious - regardless of what level you are in, you will be faced with Hebrew teachers who spend only about half of the allotted class time teaching Hebrew, while the other half is spent on lessons that are simple and meandering, and the end result is a bunch of students who walk away without having learned little (if any) new Hebrew from when they began. Also, three teachers for Aardvark quit during the fall 2019 semester, which in itself is concerning.

The internship:
The internship aspect of the program is a bit like a lottery. There is one internship coordinator for the whole Tel Aviv program and one for the Jerusalem program. They are hardworking and really care about all of their students, but not all students will land good internships. They only hired one person for this job per city, and while Aardvark boasts that they have a large quantity of internships to choose from, this is misleading. When the semester started, many of these options declared that they would not be accepting any interns this term, and several dozen students were left without an internship for the first 1 to 4 weeks of the program. Some people were very happy with their internship, but be warned that the results vary greatly.

The weekly trips (tiyuls):
The weekly trips were hit or miss. Some were truly wonderful, most were incredibly boring. It is worth noting that not all of the tiyuls are field trips, I'd say only about a quarter of the total trips fit this description. For the most part, these consist of visits to nearby museums, or a day of lectures, or simply a day off - meaning no activities planned whatsoever. I'd say there were about five trips that were genuinely fun and engaging. You could possibly have more fun trips packed into a ten day birthright program if you haven't done birthright yet (this program will invalidate your ability to since it is 4+ months in Israel).
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Here's the main bright spot amidst an otherwise abysmal program: The madrichim (counselors). All of the counselors in Aardvark Tel Aviv genuinely care about their students and work hard to try and help their students have fun. I love all of the Tel Aviv madrichim. It is worth noting that there are more mixed reviews for the Aardvark Jerusalem madrichim. There is one madrich in particular who many find unprofessional, inappropriate, and cruel. People tend to dislike most of the others as well.
Other than the madrichim, the other staff members clearly care about bringing the best program possible to the students. The director of education is a really really great guy who is trying his hardest to patch up all the holes of the sinking ship that is Aardvark.
I really like talking to all the staff members I've interacted with, they're wonderful people and they're doing their best, but this can't fix the fact that the experience provided to students is substandard at best, and false advertising at its worst.

If you care at all about having educational, engaging, or meaninful experiences during your gap year, this is not the program for you.

A gap year for a parent can mean one of two things, firstly it could be a bank balance sucking mechanism where your darling parties around the world spending your money and coming back with limited life experience or alcohol poisoning, on the other hand, it could be a life changing experience whose value is worth many times more than the currency you paid for it.

Our daughter Hannah chose Aardvark and the indelible mark it has left on her could not be paid for in hard currency. Like everything in life, you are given opportunities, how you choose to utilize them is up to you. The Aardvark programme gives the young people some structure, but freedom as well, what they choose to do with the freedom is up to them and they sometimes don’t realise the impact that it has on others. You can choose to go to your Internship, but should you miss regularly it will have an impact when Aardvark approaches the companies to take on interns again, as well as, the opportunity to learn about a potential career choice. If you want to skip the Hebrew classes your ability to integrate with the society will be compromised. There is no one telling you to get up in the morning and make your bed or eat, if you party hard the night before (you are a young adult) that decision is yours, if you are legally allowed to drink there is no one to tell you not to overdo it, however if you choose to follow the system you will definitely grow.

You will experience the culture and the peoples and the food and pretty much everything else Israel has to offer, if you choose to go on one or more of the add on trips, you will get an opportunity to meet people and see places that you would otherwise never get. You will learn what it is like to live with at least 4 other people who may be very different to you, you will learn about conflict resolution, you will learn to compromise, you may even learn what your limits are and how to push them, and all the while have an awesome, fun, raving time. You will meet people from all around the world, and you will learn what it is like for a short period of time to live in the amazing land of Israel.

As a parent if you are looking for a gap year for your young adult to grow or grow up in, then I highly recommend Shay-El, Idan and the team at Aardvark. Warning; you may just lose your child to the beautiful land of Israel.

It was purely by chance that I found aardvark Israel at an expo in South Africa, but it is something that I will always be grateful for as the aardvark Israel program changed my life, literally forever. I had the most amazing time and I am now currently living in Israel after making Aliyah and going to the IDF – all thanks to Aardvark.

I woke up everyday and went to an internship that I loved. I worked at an architectural firm where I did web design, content writing, building design and worked on floor plans. My office was down the street from my very modern and homey apartment in the center of Florentine which meant that I could run home and have a quick lunch with my roommates before we headed off to classes together. My middle eastern politics class was the class I looked forward to on most days. It was just so interesting, and Mr. Goldstein kept me extremely intrigued. If I wasn’t busy in the evenings with the awesome night programs with our madrichim (such as going to see Eurovision live) I was chilling at home or exploring the arty city of Tel Aviv. My weekends were calm and uninterrupted, but I always knew that should something go wrong or I just need to chat that there was a madrich close by that I could count on. I was able to meet people from all over the world and learn so much about so many different cultures because Aardvark had such a mixed group of students.

Aardvark allowed me to explore Israel and explore myself within a structured but free environment. We travelled all over the country, from north to south, Aardvark made sure that we were exposed to every aspect of Israel. My favorite trip was the one to Ethiopia – I mean who goes to Ethiopia?? Well we did and it was absolutely incredible! I was given insight into the privilege of living in Israel as we interacted with the Jews in Gondar and even attended a Shacrit service with them! I then also had an awesome week travelling in America before I embarked on a journey to work on Summer Camp in Pennsylvania as part of the Plus Program. Every trip I went on, whether within Israel or overseas, was meticulously planned and executed so that every student could gain the most from the experience.

If anyone were to ask me if I would do it again, my answer would be 100% yes and I would not change a thing. Six months later just about to start the IDF I still pop into the office to see my Madrich Idan and Shay-El because I know that they were not only my support system whilst I was on the program but they have become my family and will be one of my support systems as I live out the rest of my life in Israel (a decision I have made based purely on the experience that Aardvark Israel gave me).

For anyone who does not recommend this program was clearly wrong for it from the start. One must be open minded and ready for a change in their life as you live in what I believe (but I am biased) to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world and to be on one of the best gap year programs that is out there in the world.

This year was really great for me and allowed me to grow. It was great learning from people and meeting new people. I really matured a lot and learnt to live independently without my parents.
I participated in the Year Plus Program doing one semester in Tel Aviv, going and working at Summer Camp in America, and then coming back to Israel for a Semester in Jerusalem. It was the best decision I ever made to participate in Year Plus because I really matured being a counselor and the extra time on the program really helped me figure out what I want to do in life.
I really wish I could do a third semester, but they don’t have that yet. But maybe one day!

Honestly, going on aardvark for a semester in Tel Aviv was the best decision I’ve ever made. I made friends for life, memories for life, and every single day I think of my experience in Israel.
I don’t mean to sound cheesy, but I promise it will be the best best decision you make! You can get college credits, an internship, and have the most fun you’ve probably ever had in your life.
I would say you should at least do one semester of THIS program. Aardvark does things right. They give you the freedom, responsibility, and opportunities you need to grow.

I had the most amazing year on Aardvark! I traveled, I studied and got college credits, and my Internship was the best thing that happened to me.
The staff really helped set me up for success, and I don't think I would be where I am today without them. I still feel like they support me to this day.
The friends I made on the program I am still in contact with today and are still some of my closest friends.
I really recommend this program to anyone who is adventurous and wants to step out of their comfort zone and try new things.

Arriving at the Aardvark you are greeted by experienced and friendly staff who tend to go the extra mile for their students. In my experience the staff were always ready to help the students grow and mature as young adults by going the extra mile in finding out how the students are doing socially, mentally and hygienically... Apart from the counselors, the support staff also go the extra mile to make sure a student has everything they need and push the student to achieve academically, through classes, and socially through the various weekly activities whilst still allowing for bounds of freedom. Reflecting on my time at Aardvark, even though it was a roller-coaster, I truly feel that Aardvark helped me find a career I enjoy through their internship programmes and helped me acquire life long friends along the way. Even though there were some things on the program I found redundant, the program and staff always made sure everyone was catered for and included. In all honesty... I would do Aardvark again, I would advocate for some minor changes but Aardvark is constantly improving. This I know through friends, currently on the program. If you're looking for a structured gap year program with tons of freedom I would recommend Aardvark.