5 Busy, Science-Filled Weeks on a Tropical Island Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This program is promoted as an intense experience and it is - expect to be working hard during the days and at night. The classwork is not terribly difficult but involves a lot of memorization and some writing. The real strength of the program - and the majority of the academic experience - lies outside of the classroom and is in the fieldwork. You learn through diving, snorkeling, taking fieldtrips, and actually practicing research techniques.

On-site administration of your program

The administrators were also our teachers as the program staff is pretty small. Everyone is very organized though and is very knowledgable. I think if anyone had had a big problem, they would have handled it well. Really friendly teachers who want to pass their passion onto you.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The house itself that we all stayed in was fine, but they didn't use any sort of system to match us up with our roommates and I know my experience overall could really have been improved by having different roommates. This was my only major complaint about the problem - an issue came up about this and I don't think it was handled the best it could have been.

The food was fine, they fed us three meals everyday 6 days a week. Peoples' individual dietary restrictions were accommodated for (vegetarian, vegan, etc...), and the man who brings the food (his family cooks it) is really nice, but the food itself is someone heavy and somewhat greasy. If you like dessert, you'll enjoy it though cause he brings a different dessert (like cheesecake) every night. They took us to the grocery store once a week to get anything else we wanted like special foods, drinks, or candy.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Culture really wasn't a focus of the program. It's such a short program that we really didn't have time to concentrate on the academic/scientific and cultural sides. We were more focused on learning as much as we could about the Island's environment and creatures and various research techniques rather than on the people who live there. You can of course get more involved in the local culture during the semester program and can see some of island life just by walking around town or hanging out at local restaurants or bars.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

No one had any issues so I don't have any complaints. The hospital is nearby (as is pretty much everything on the island) and they gave us the number of a doctor we could contact if we had questions. I'm sure they would have handled any issue responsibly and appropriately.

The island is pretty small and not many people live there so in general it's pretty safe. There is somewhat of a Machismo culture there so if you're a girl, you will get whistled, cat-called, and hollered at just for walking down the street, but it's actually less than in some Latin American countries.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Things on the island are expensive because, well, it's an island. But most food is included in the program cost and anything else is completely voluntary - so it could get expensive if you go out every weekend and buy lots of snacks/eat out often, but otherwise, it's very manageable.

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• Dorm

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• International Students

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• International Students

• The hands-on, always in the field emphasis
• The intensity of the program- you're almost always busy
• Getting to live on a beautiful island and dive everday

• The food could be lighter and healthier
• They could assign a bit less homework - if we've been busy from 8-5:30, we don't really want to study for several more hours
• More attention when assigning roommates/addressing housing concerns

The Avid Adventurer