When choosing a study abroad program, there are so many choices. Students must consider how long they would like to study, and they need to narrow down where and what they would like to study.
When I was looking into studying abroad, I searched every school, website, and program I could get my hands on for an entire year. The problems I faced were deciding what country and figuring out how to pay for it.
I currently pay next-to-nothing for my schooling and have no student loans. Studying abroad is very costly, and I didn’t want to have over $10,000 in student loans for one semester abroad. Also, it would be my first time in Europe, and having so many areas of interest, I couldn’t settle on where I wanted to study.
Then I came across a program called Semester at Sea. The program basically puts close to 1,000 people— students, staff and life-long learners—on a boat that travels around multiple continents while stopping at ports for a few days and letting participants explore different cultures and countries. This is all while students take classes that essentially are based around the countries they will visit. The only drawback I found to the program was that the boat docks in port for only a few days, making it hard for the student to live like the locals. Nonetheless, it had everything else that I was looking for in a study abroad program, so I decided to attend the 2008 summer voyage.
Semester at Sea is definitely for students looking for a cheaper study abroad program that still has all of the same perks as regular one, mainly because you essentially choose how much your trip is going to cost. Semester at Sea’s program fees are based on accommodations. If living in a quad cabin, a student will pay $9,795 for Summer 2009 and around $20,000 for the fall and spring 2009 trips. Still seem like a lot? It is until you break down the costs, and then you realize that it’s actually quite a steal.
For the Summer 2009 program, students will visit eight countries in Europe and North Africa and be on the ship for 67 days. For the Spring 2009 students will visit 10 countries including Europe, Asia and North Africa, and be on board for 108 days, which is 33 days more than a normal semester. The price includes nine credits for the summer and 9–12 credits in the spring/fall, accommodations, insurance, three meals a day, and a midnight snack. Prices don’t include cost of books, flight to the departure port and back home when the boat re-docks in the States, food from snack bars, field programs offered when docked in countries, or extra Internet minutes. When you embark on the ship, you start off with an allotted number of free Internet minutes, but when they are gone, and they go fast, you have to pay an outrageous amount to get more. You are given a free e-mail address where family and friends can contact you, but without Internet minutes, you can’t access home-based e-mail accounts or Facebook.
So, for example, a student living in a single suite with an ocean view is going to pay $17,000 for the summer 2009 trip, or around $30,000 for the fall and spring trips. But the good news is that anyone can do Semester at Sea on a budget. I chose the quad room and applied for the financial aid and work study programs. I ended up receiving a few thousand dollars of aid and only paying around $6,000 for my trip. Of course, I brought some spending money, but I only allotted myself $100 in each port. The ship’s dining hall was open even while in port, so I ate there for meals and used the money for traveling within the countries and for things to bring back for family members. Two things I didn’t expect were that we were all charged an extra $600 for fuel charges when we arrived on the ship and that it cost an extra $300 for a Russian visa—and while Russia may be one of only a few countries that now force travelers to get a visa before entry, it was well worth it.
So how does this compare to any other study abroad program? Many programs are around $15,000 for one semester, and not all of them include housing and food, though some do. I found many that were around $11,000, but you had to pay separately for housing, and you were expected to feed yourself. Stressing that food is expensive in Europe would be an understatement. A friend and I went out for drinks one night in Norway. She got a student-discounted beer while I got a well vodka and Coke, and our bill came to $25 American. A simple Mc Donald’s burger with fries and a drink cost around $30 American dollars in Norway as well. It isn’t that expensive everywhere, but where I was in Northern Europe, they don’t use the Euro, and things cost a little more.
Semester at Sea’s program may seem a little more costly than others offered, but when it comes down to it, it’s the best for your buck. All the basics are provided, plus a great education with teachers from all over the United States. So if you’re looking for an experience of a lifetime and a great educational semester, check out Semester at Sea before choosing a study abroad program.
Photo from: Rebecca Hantman (Summer 2008 Semester at Sea participant)
November 11th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
What courses were offered? Or was it a set schedule? And no issues transferring credits?
November 11th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Hey Jay! What is really cool about the program is they offer a little something for everyone. Here is actually the course listings that I had to choose from: Everyone had to take the first class Europe: East and West. But other than that we were allowed to choose anything we wanted. What was nice is that no matter what school you go to you need to take prereq.’s. While a lot of the classes have to do with majors, a lot of them can also be used to prereq.’s. You choose your schedule. Classes don’t take place while you’re in port, which rocks! As for transferring credits, you have to sit down with an advisor before choosing classes. That way you know for sure they will count. If your school isn’t associated with SAS *which I don’t think any but U of V is* your credits come in pass or fail. Hope this helps
Semester at Sea
Summer 2008 Final Course Listing
May 14, 2008
This is a listing of course offerings for the Summer 2008 voyage.
• Each course is three credits except where noted.
• Lower Division course numbers are 100s and 200s.
• Upper Division course numbers are 300s and 400s.
• SEMS 101: Europe: East and West is mandatory for all students.
SEMS 101: Europe: East and West (Global Studies)
ANTH 101Z: Introduction to Anthropology
ANTH 232Z: Ritual and Belief
ANTH 239Z: Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective (cross listed as SWAG 271Z)
ANTH 386Z: From Egalitarian to Empire
ARTS 161Z: Introduction to Drawing I
ARTH 104Z: Survey of European Art
ARTH 105Z: Survey of European Architecture and Urbanism
BIOL 157Z: Modern Evolutionary Theory: History, Nature and Implications
BIOL 158Z: Infectious Disease in Humans
COMM 384: International Business
COMM 460X: Special Topics in Management: Family Business
COMM 468X: Entrepreneurship
SEMS 480-4: Communication in Conflict Management (formerly Language and Behavior)
DRAM 208Z: The Circus: An Historical Overview
DRAM 492Z: European Theatres through History
SEMS 121: Special Topics: Russian Economic History in a European of agriculture
EDIS 589: Globalizing the Curriculum (Syllabus)
ENGR 495: Engineering in a Global Context: New Perspectives on the orld
MSE 491: Materials and Manufacturing: Our Material World and How It’s Made
Discipline: Engineering/Materials Science
ENSP 358Z: Classic European Comparative Literature
ENSP 357Z: European Horrors
RUTR 393Z: Masterpieces of Russian Literature
SLTR 393Z: Fiction into Film
Discipline: Literature/Communications/Media Studies
RUTR 391Z: Russian Literature and Society-Creating a Perfect World (.
ENWR 230Z: Poetry Workshop
SEMS 121-2: Women in Eastern Europe, Russia, and the U.S.
SEMS 121-3: Imperial Russia
SEMS 480-3: Emigration from Europe to the United States
MUSI 211Z: Introduction to World Music
MUSI 305Z: Music in the 20th Century
PSYC 300M-1: Evolutionary Personality
PSYC 341Z: Abnormal Psychology
RELG 253Z: Comparative Religious Ethics – Judaism, Christianity, Islam
RELG 382Z: Europe After Christendom
SWAG 271Z: Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective
November 13th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I’m higly interested in SAS. I’ve been obessing over it for about two years now. I’m worried about getting accepted, though. I have a high GPA, but I currently don’t attend a university. I am full time at a college. What do you think my chances are of getting accepted? How was it like being away from home? Do you feel like you had enough time at each port?
November 13th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Hey Brooke! Being at a University has nothing to do with getting accepted. You will be more than fine! My one roommate was from a design school and she had already graduated 2 semesters before the boat set sail and SHE was accepted!
It was weird being away from home at first. The boat becomes VERY small and I’m not really one that likes to be in such close quarters with thatmany people. It was hard being away from home because I didn’t realize how much I relied on my cell phone and internet. A lot of the students got skype on their laptops beforehand only to realize they couldn’t use it on the boat. The staff said the internet wasn’t fast enough or something like that. But, most of us think they just wanted us to buy more of their internet packages instead and thats why. I personally didn’t think before I left that we would have enough time in port, but, when there, I felt we did. A lot of the times students were saying, “I love it here… but I wouldn’t want to stay more than 4 days.” So I thought that the short time alotted was actually just enough time. If you have any more questions feel free to ask 
-Rachel
November 17th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Hey everybody-
As a Summer 2008 SAS Alumni, I can say that the MV Explorer is the best place to call home for a few months of your life. SAS is the most amazing experience in the world. The financial aid is out there (check out http://www.nscs.org/scholarships), so get out there and do it!
Everyday I think about my summer travels, the people I met, the places I went, and the things I learned. I recommend this program to anyone who wants to change their life in the best way possible. Cheers-
November 17th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
In case you were wondering, I went on SAS Spring 2005, and I think about it at least once every 3 days or so, more than 3 years later! It is the experience of a lifetime, I would do it again and pay twice as much for it. It really changed my life and made me a better person. You will never meet someone who regretted it, or said it wasn’t the best thing they ever did!
November 18th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hey Kira/Mark- I agree totally. Many of the people I had talked to on from past voyages said that it was the most amazing experience of their life and changed them forever. I agree. Anyone with any desire to study abroad should really check out the program. Thanks for the posts! -Rachel
December 5th, 2008 at 10:26 am
I like and admire people making blogs because it is not always easy to come up with new material and information all the time. I am always looking for good information and latest news about Advisor Aid College Financial. I like reading posts related to it like and what people think. I will keep an eye on the information you will add and see what you come up with. thank you
December 6th, 2008 at 12:30 am
I would really love to go on semester at sea but I am not sure if I can afford it. However, I see that you were able to get your costs down to $6000 which is good news. But I was wondering how much you actually spent altogether… including travel to and from SAS, books, spending money, field practica, laundry, visas, etc. If you have a rough estimate that would be great! Thanks so much.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Hey Erik. Anyone can do Semester at Sea on a budget! I sure did. The hardest part, though, is having the self control. Many of the students I was there with went insane. They were blowing money left and right like it was water. But, above, when I said $6,000…. that is what I estimated I spent on the whole trip. Let’s do a run down together and see how close I was. Starting with…..
VISAS- We only needed a visa to Russia which was about $250.
LAUNDRY- You will read in my upcoming post titled “Semester at Sea Do’s and Don’ts” that I actually spent $4 on laundry. I handwashed all of my stuff with detergent I brought from home. I have a lot of vintage and one-of-a-kind pieces that I didn’t want to let out of my site.
FIELD PROGRAMS- I was kind of strict on myself when it came to field programs. I gave myself $100 bucks per port for programs. If I didn’t spend any money on programs in one port, I’d add it to the next port and so on. I also made sure that I didn’t have a field program more than 2 days we were in port. It was very important to me to just walk around and enjoy everything. There were a few ports that I didn’t really see anything I wanted to do, though, so all together I spent $300 in field programs.
SPENDING MONEY- While a few people brought 1,000’s I brought,200, $200 of which was from my parents as a gift. The ship is open when at port, so I ate their, saving me a TON of money. Food was probably the main expense for people on the ship. I came home with $300 so I only spent $900. A good way to help costs is get an ISIC card from the Student Travel Ass. or STA *STA.COM* this card (for $25 bucks) gives you discounts on nearly everything in Europe.
BOOKS- I was torn when it came to books. I frequent half.com and save a ton on books normally, but, they had a program where if you bought books from them, they’d ship them to your room on the ship. I decided to do half and half, buying the most expensive books on half.com. My total for books was $150.
TRAVEL- We left from Nova Scotia which is SOOO expensive to fly into. My flight to their was $250 alone. Coming home it was $120.
And my SAS total *aka room and board*- When I said I got a hell of a deal, I wasn’t kidding. I got $3,000 in aid. Then, before the trip started they had some staff rooms open up. They said students could take them if they wanted to, but, they were a lot smaller and didn’t have matching linens… like I cared! lol For taking them we got around another $1,000 off. So by the end of all of the aid I ended up paying around $4,500 for my room and board. You can’t go anywhere in Europe and stay for 3 months for that price. SO when we add it all up….
Ok… so I was a little off… $6,474! Not bad though right? If you need any help planning this so you get costs down I would love to help! I hope this helps Erik! Enjoy!
December 6th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Wow, I guess I can go as long as I save most of the money I make at work during the next year and budget during the trip. Thank you!! I am so excited… I just hope the tuition doesn’t keep increasing so much during the next year because of oil.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Oil… is actually down! So… let’s hope it stays down for you huh!
yay economy…
December 11th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Hey there:) so im really interested in SAS.. but im not sure of what GPA you need going in… does anyone know??? and im from Canada.. so the canadians GPA are different the American ones…
December 11th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Hello Dear! The first set of information is about AMERICANS applying…. The second set is for YOU
I thought I’d include both so everyone can have them. These are taken right off of the website *but can be hard to find*
Admission Requirements
Students must be enrolled full-time in a degree-granting program at an accredited college/university (domestic or international)
Students must have completed at least one full term at the post-secondary level
Students must demonstrate at least a 2.75 cumulative GPA
Students must be in good academic and judicial standing at time of application
Students must demonstrate their writing skills in a 300-500 word essay as indicated on the application
YOUR INFO.
Students whose first language is English are exempt from the TOEFL requirement. Students who are bilingual in English and their native language who have scored well on the verbal portion of the SAT or have otherwise documented English proficiency may be exempted from the TOEFL. Some applicants may be asked to take the writing portion of the University of Virginia English language proficiency exam.
Submit official transcripts and certificates from any colleges or universities attended. If the documents are in a language other than English, please attach a certified English translation.
Now.. personally… that info. doesn’t tell me anything. But, I would assume that international students applying have to have the same GPA as American Students. So, with that said, if you have a high C average then you are gold. Sorry I can’t be more help.
December 13th, 2008 at 2:01 am
hi all! I’m really excited about SAS. I just have one issue. I’m scared of rogue waves. I’ve seen videos on youtube that are enough to scare me off a ship forever. Did any of you experience these while on the ship?
December 13th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
The boat is so big that you can’t really feel the waves. I’m guessing that this also has to do with what waters you travel on or the time of year, weather, ect. But, just getting on a boat that big was an adjustment. You will feel every wave at first, even the small ones. I found after about three days that the waves were soothing and actually helped me sleep better. It was like getting rocked to sleep every night.