When choosing a yeshivah for a child, one needs to start by sharply identifying with the proper goal of sending him to yeshivah: that the bochur become the person that he’s meant to be. Being honest with yourself and finding an outsider who understands your child well [e.g. his high school rebbi], will usually help in finding a good yeshivah fit.
Yes, it is pleasant to be able to tell our neighbors and friends and shadchanim that “my son learns at such-and-such prestigious yeshivah.” But it is far more rewarding — infinitely more rewarding — to tell the Ribbono shel Olam after 120, “I swallowed my pride to fulfill the trust You invested in me.”
Rav Aharon Lopiansky
