Hit or Miss Past Review
By Courtney D (CMC, Rollins College) for
Semester at Sea Study Abroad: Make the World Your Campus
Parts of it were really great but I would do it differently next time
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 concept of SAS just does not work with the balance of work and play. you only get 4 or 5 days in a country and a lot of students either stayed on the boat to do homework during one of these days, or went out anyway and failed their classes. It was also too difficult to arrange excursions since you have to pick them months before departure and you have no way of knowing what your plans will be once you actually experience the trip. The professors were not that great either. I took an Entrepreneurship class and our professor tried to grade us for how well we could build a paper airplane... it was not an engineering class. I think it is really a hit or miss with the professors since they are all from different schools and they change each voyage so good luck. Be prepared to have literally no internet access on the boat. It is also hard to find a good connection while in a country. Make sure you are ready to rely on email and your only communication with friends and family back home because calling and internet are way too expensive. As for the countries, they were amazing and unfortunately it is one of the only programs that lets you tour so many. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Best it could be for a small boat |
| * Food: |
about what you can expect for boat food, its edible |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
They were really careful about safety |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | i got a Visa travel money card that worked great at atms and in a lot of stores. My mom could load more money on it online any time i needed it. It was a lot easier than exchanging currency when you arrive at each country. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Good program for outgoing and adventurous individuals, Best if you don't plan ahead, but wait till you meet people and plan trips on your own with them |
