Semester at sea used to go around the world. It does not anymore. I was fall 90 and my daughter went last fall. Her experience was way more diminished than mine coupled with gestapo breathelizer tactics if you want to stay on the ship any night while at port. Sas is digging their own grave as hard as it is to and how much I loved my program. Sas was the most impactful period of my life but it’s no longer what it was
Semester at Sea is another company still working to return to full normalcy after the effects of COVID. My experience was absolutely not diminished by not circumnavigating the whole world. I agree that perhaps the alcohol related tactics are a bit harsh but they are only that way because of so many horrendous stories of previous voyages where students got way out of hand because of alcohol and endangered the ship and other students. And you only get breathalyzed if you are extremely intoxicated when you come back to the ship. I stayed on the ship many many times while in port and was never once breathalyzed 😊👍🏼
Thank you for sharing. You mentioned you applied in 2020 but didn't voyage until 2023. Question Why the 3 year delay What was your school classification when you applied Why didn't you go in 2020 If you were to.do it again what year of school would you go. How far in advance should a student start preparing (is high school to soon)
Thank you so much for your questions! I applied summer 2020 which was the summer before my senior year of college, so I wanted to wait until after I graduated but also because of COVID the next voyage wasn’t until spring 2022. That voyage ended up being only europe bc of COVID which I didn’t want, and I couldn’t do fall because of my job, so I waited until spring 2023 which was definitely the right choice!! I applied as a post grad student, which also allowed me to choose whatever classes I wanted! Most people are juniors but there’s all ages. I honestly really liked going as post grad because then I didn’t miss any of my regular college experience. You could also do a regular study abroad during school and then do sas post grad! You can definitely start preparing in high school especially to save money! I would recommend waiting until at least sophomore year to go though. I think you’ll get more out of the experience if you’ve already gone to some college!
Hi, did you come across a lot of international students? especially from Europe? more specifically Belgium? Do you know if they got any scholarships? Education in my home country (Belgium) is free so the tuition cost for SAS is really... something.
There’s plenty of international students!! And a lot from Europe too. Everyone is eligible to apply for the regular semester at sea scholarships, which can really add up to a lot!! I got 17k from just sas scholarships alone. And there’s outside scholarships you can get from your home university or other organizations you can apply for too - even as international students!! Remember you’re not just paying for education but travel and housing and food and the whole experience etc etc, and it is truly worth every single cent!!
@mochiandco. My college gpa was 3.93 - I went on sas as a post grad so thats my whole gpa. I’m not sure how high it needs to be to get those scholarships tho, I know mines kinda high :)
Yes it works for anything you would charge to your shipboard account while on the ship! That includes food and snacks on the ship, merch, and any field programs you buy while on the ship!
My parents drove me to the airport but that’s about it! I paid for all of this myself - 2.5 years of saving and applying for every scholarship I could definitely paid off!
You have to pay the $1000 deposit when you first get accepted, but after that you can pay in as little amounts as you want! I also signed up for the payment plan which gave me extra money to use on the ship!
I was a writing center student assistant with one other person. We ran the writing center similar to a writing center on campus. We worked about 2 hours every day when we weren’t in port and just helped students with their essays and brainstorming!
Semester at sea used to go around the world. It does not anymore. I was fall 90 and my daughter went last fall. Her experience was way more diminished than mine coupled with gestapo breathelizer tactics if you want to stay on the ship any night while at port. Sas is digging their own grave as hard as it is to and how much I loved my program. Sas was the most impactful period of my life but it’s no longer what it was
Semester at Sea is another company still working to return to full normalcy after the effects of COVID. My experience was absolutely not diminished by not circumnavigating the whole world. I agree that perhaps the alcohol related tactics are a bit harsh but they are only that way because of so many horrendous stories of previous voyages where students got way out of hand because of alcohol and endangered the ship and other students. And you only get breathalyzed if you are extremely intoxicated when you come back to the ship. I stayed on the ship many many times while in port and was never once breathalyzed 😊👍🏼
Not the 32 milkshakes 😂 super cool to hear all these details though, you are so organized!!
the google sheets reallllly came in clutch
Thank you for sharing. You mentioned you applied in 2020 but didn't voyage until 2023. Question
Why the 3 year delay
What was your school classification when you applied
Why didn't you go in 2020
If you were to.do it again what year of school would you go.
How far in advance should a student start preparing (is high school to soon)
Thank you so much for your questions!
I applied summer 2020 which was the summer before my senior year of college, so I wanted to wait until after I graduated but also because of COVID the next voyage wasn’t until spring 2022. That voyage ended up being only europe bc of COVID which I didn’t want, and I couldn’t do fall because of my job, so I waited until spring 2023 which was definitely the right choice!!
I applied as a post grad student, which also allowed me to choose whatever classes I wanted!
Most people are juniors but there’s all ages. I honestly really liked going as post grad because then I didn’t miss any of my regular college experience. You could also do a regular study abroad during school and then do sas post grad!
You can definitely start preparing in high school especially to save money! I would recommend waiting until at least sophomore year to go though. I think you’ll get more out of the experience if you’ve already gone to some college!
comment down below if you have any questions about semester at sea or how to pay for it!! I love to help make semester at sea a reality :)
Whats your favorite passport stamp from one of the countries on semester at sea?
Ooh that’s such a good question! Probably my Greece stamp, it was the first that had a ship on it!!
Hi, did you come across a lot of international students? especially from Europe? more specifically Belgium? Do you know if they got any scholarships? Education in my home country (Belgium) is free so the tuition cost for SAS is really... something.
There’s plenty of international students!! And a lot from Europe too. Everyone is eligible to apply for the regular semester at sea scholarships, which can really add up to a lot!! I got 17k from just sas scholarships alone. And there’s outside scholarships you can get from your home university or other organizations you can apply for too - even as international students!! Remember you’re not just paying for education but travel and housing and food and the whole experience etc etc, and it is truly worth every single cent!!
@mochiandco. My college gpa was 3.93 - I went on sas as a post grad so thats my whole gpa. I’m not sure how high it needs to be to get those scholarships tho, I know mines kinda high :)
where did you find the coupon for the application
I think I just googled it! I know sometimes they offer that discount - I applied in June so maybe they have discounts in the summer!
Did the $500 you got from doing the payment plan work in the bookstore?
Yes it works for anything you would charge to your shipboard account while on the ship! That includes food and snacks on the ship, merch, and any field programs you buy while on the ship!
Nooo stop, well ok this dose bot really shock me but wow I want to be that rich so my kids can experiment this!!!
My parents drove me to the airport but that’s about it! I paid for all of this myself - 2.5 years of saving and applying for every scholarship I could definitely paid off!
how can I get the coupon for the application fee?
I think it just depends when you apply - sometimes they have discounts available! I applied in June but I think it just depends.
did u have to pay the tuition all at once or can you slowly pay it off
You have to pay the $1000 deposit when you first get accepted, but after that you can pay in as little amounts as you want! I also signed up for the payment plan which gave me extra money to use on the ship!
hi, what did you have to do for your student assistant job?
I was a writing center student assistant with one other person. We ran the writing center similar to a writing center on campus. We worked about 2 hours every day when we weren’t in port and just helped students with their essays and brainstorming!