SAS: Best Experience of my Life! Past Review
By Michael Y (Finance and Financial Management Services., Trinity University) for
Semester at Sea Study Abroad: Make the World Your Campus
Absolutely. I learned so much about myself and about the world. I will be traveling abroad for sure and have already started applying to the Peace Corps.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The grading system is American. It is basically an American University on a boat with a bunch of awesome Spring Breaks where you go out and experience a country for a week. It is sooo amazing!!! I learned so much and I learned that I want to travel abroad the rest of my life. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The boat had a full staff of deans so I always knew the chain of command to talk to. Lots of surveys went out on how to make SAS better. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Cruise ship cabins are small. Get over it. It can be super fun to fit five people in a bed that doesn't fit one. |
| * Food: |
The food gets super repetitive but its still good. Pick up some spices to add to your own tastes. The cook gets turned over in Hong Kong so that was nice. There is always salad, pasta, rolls, fish/pork/or steak, soup, and a veggie dish. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Had the time of my life. Backpacking with three friends across Japan was one of my major highlights. We never knew what the next hour would bring but we had so much fun experience a Japanese culture I never knew existed. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
We always got health updates before we got to a country and safety tips. Most of the time they were wrong. And it costs tons of money to get a freakin gauze pad for a cut knee because nothing on the ship is free. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | On the boat very, very little. But in each country I spent about $200 but I stayed at hostels that were only $10 a night or by the end I was sleeping in bus stations or on the tables at 24/7 McDonalds. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Budget each country roughly so that you still have money for the end. Bring a lot of American cash (including small bills) so that you have starting money for when you get to a country (most places take USD). I liked going to exchange places rather than ATMs because I never lost/had my ATM card stolen. I didn't have to worry if my pin would be stolen at a fake ATM and it was just a lot quicker generally, but there are no exchange places open late so make sure you exchange a lot of money to get you through a night. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This is by far the best study abroad experience you can have if you want it. You get the most amazing sample of the whole world rather than an in depth taste of one country. |
