One of the greatest experiences of your life Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The summer session is a bit intense academically, because you only have four weeks on land for the vast majority of your classwork. This is challenging, but definitely a bonding experience with many a late night (if you spend your days at the beach like I did) in the library, and midnight runs to dukendonughts! Also, every professor is beyond fantastic. They love what they do and want to help you in any way possible. There were several folks who struggled a bit with some of the science and math aspects of our work, and the staff would spend all the extra time with them that they needed. Our captain often would come in at night for review sessions and homework help.

On-site administration of your program

The people who work in SEA's administration, admittance, and alumni offices are all lovely and helpful.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

On land you get to live in some cabin-style houses with other students from your program. You bond with your housemates over everything from your workload, to cooking, to spontaneous trips to the Beach or Martha's vineyard. At sea you sleep in a bunk amongst other bunks filled by your fellow students. It is a bit cozy, and quite rocky. The first couple days may seem a bit cramped, but after that your bunk feels like the most comfortable place on earth. You get gently rocked to bed every night by the ocean, and the sounds of the waves lull you to sleep. When you return to land from your venture, I promise nothing will seem as comfortable as that bunk.

On land you and your housemates shop and cook food together (food money included in tuition). Brekfast and lunch are generally cooked / prepared individually, but often enjoyed together. Every dinner is prepared, cooked, and eaten family style. You often rotate who cooks and who washes dishes. One of my housemates had never cooked a day in his life and by the end of our four week stay he volunteered to cook us all pizza! He did a fantastic job too. On the ship a steward and one student will be cooking your meals every day. The food is delicious! And you never need to worry about going hungry as they serve Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and midnight snack every day. There are almost no repeats in what is cooked (unless it is by popular demand) and you are always left satisfied at the end of every meal! There is also a good chance of catching some tuna and mahi mahi while on board, which everyone enjoys. Vegans, Vegetarians, Gluten Free, or whatever your dietary restriction may be, have no fear! I was a vegetarian (as was my captain), and two other students were gluten free. Both on land and at sea these dietary restrictions were easily accommodated for. Just make sure when you do your shopping on land you plan ahead of time what these people will be eating as alternatives.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

While my program sailed from Hawaii to San Francisco, I will tell you with confidence that there is quite a bit of "culture shock" when you get on that boat. It is absolutely one of the greatest things you could ever hope to do, and will test your ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations, to work with others, and your level of responsibility. Integrating properly into the running of the vessel is extremely important and adds to the entire experience. The entire crew will help you with this and make the boat feel like your true home.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There is at least one on-boat health provider / nurse. On my trip, one of my shipmates wisdom teeth began to come in (and did rather rapidly). This issue was diagnosed and properly taken care of with her first complaint of pain. On land, if anything were to happen there are people available 24/7 in case of emergency.

Life at sea can be dangerous, and this is why every member of the staff is fully prepared for any incident. Anytime you are climbing the ships rigging, or there is particularly stormy weather, you are hooked in with a harness, just in case.

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

Once you are on campus, everything is provided for you. We definitely made some extra trips into town (bikes provided), to a local bakery, to martha's vineyard, etc. just for fun. But with all of this I did not spend more than $150 of my own money in 4 weeks.

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• Other

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• Americans
• Other

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• Americans

• Learning to Sail
• The Staff
• The other students

• Nothing