Semester at Sea Application Process

Hello! I decided that I am going to be posting all of my notes from SAS and all the things that I talked about in my videos on my channel. I hope this is helpful! Comment or DM me on instagram if you have any questions!! Check out my video here for more info!

Explanation
So first of all if you don’t know, Semester At Sea is an amazing study abroad experience where you get to live on a giant ship with about 500 other students and take classes while traveling the world. The definition on the website says that “Semester at Sea takes a global comparative approach to study abroad using a ship as its traveling campus and sailing to multiple ports around the world.”

I attended the Fall 2018 semester at sea voyage that began on September 9th, 2018 in Hamburg, Germany. Since I’m from Southern California, I did have to fly there to get on the ship. My voyage travelled to Spain, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hawaii and disembarked in San Diego on December 23rd, 2018.
So the majority of my summer before had been focused on prepping and buying stuff for the voyage and planning. So I had been watching a million videos on youtube about SAS and I never found a single video that just had all the information I needed in one place. Like the tips and tricks were spread out all over many different videos. And also no one really talks about the actual price of this crazy adventure, so I also wanted to lay out all of the numbers including the cost of tuition AND also all the additional costs you have to think about.

I’m sharing this because I really could’ve used this when I was applying and getting ready for SAS.

The Process
I began the application process pretty early, around January, when I was on winter break. So that was about 8 months before my chosen voyage.  It’s always good to start early because there is A TON of things that need to get done if you are seriously considering studying abroad with Semester at Sea.

It’s different for every university and the study abroad requirements vary, but for my school it was kind of a long process. I was going into my third year at the University of San Diego and for our school, you need I think a 2.75 GPA or above for SAS. At USD, we have to make an account on our study abroad portal, which you can find on the school website.

Once we chose which study abroad we wanted to apply for, there was a checklist in the portal that we needed to complete. So before you go any further, you need to make sure that the classes that are offered on the ship line-up with the classes you need to take for your major or to graduate on time lol. You can go on the SAS website and look at the classes because they offer similar classes from voyage to voyage. Also talk to your academic counselor.

In addition to my USD study abroad application, I also needed to make an account on the Semester at Sea website because they have a separate app to fill out. So the first step for me was to apply through the SAS website. It didn’t take me very much time at all, it was actually very simple. There’s the basic information you fill out about yourself, and then I think if I’m remembering this correctly there was only one long essay (about 500 words) about just why you are interested in SAS. I think you have to include something about one of the ports specifically and why you wanna go there. Like i think for me I put I was really excited to see China and Japan, because I’ve taken a couple classes on East Asia and I was excited to see all the places that i’ve learned about. Then after you submit the application to Semester at Sea, you have to send your official transcripts and get approval from your school’s study abroad office. For USD, I had to bring my unofficial transcripts into the international center. Then once you have done those two things, you have to print out the disciplinary clearance form (you know so they can weed the bad seeds out). So you have to get that signed your study abroad office or at USD its a place called Office of Ethical Development and Restorative Practices. So once it’s signed, you scan it and upload it to your Semester at Sea application portal.
So I got all of this done in about a month, so now it’s around February, and now we are at step two: money. Now we’re gonna get into the money part (or the amount you’re going to lack after SAS haha). Once you submit your SAS app and are approved by your home university, you then have to pay the $1000 deposit to Semester at Sea. This is when you choose which kind of cabin you want on the ship. There’s inside triple, inside double, outside triple and outside double. And the price varies depending on which cabin you choose. Now included in this price is the tuition, program fees and housing:
Inside Triple$25,074
Inside Double$28,074
Outside Triple$28,074
Outside Double$31,074
Now there are many other additional costs you need to consider when applying but i will get into that a little later. I requested an outside double because I knew that I get claustrophobic and would need a window. Also, I was late to the game and the cheaper options were already taken lol. But if you want to save a little money, you can choose the inside cabins because they’re a little cheaper. For USD, we pay our tuition directly to our school and they pay SAS, I think that’s how it works, but it could be different for your school. The tuition for USD is very similar to SAS (AKA expensive), so that’s probably why a lot of USD kids go on SAS because it’s basically the same price (and by basically i mean without all the other expenses that keeps showing up after you’re already knee deep in the application process HAHA). And That’s exactly how i convinced my parents to let me apply lol.
But what really made this voyage possible for me was that my scholarship for USD crosses over to my study abroad, does that make sense? Like I could still use my merit scholarship to pay the tuition for SAS. But if there’s anything I wish I had done differently, it would have been to apply for scholarships through SAS. They have so many different scholarship opportunities that I just didn’t think about, because I thought they were need-based and I don’t usually qualify for that kind of aid. But so many people apply and I should’ve looked more into it. So that one’s on me.

Visas & Stuff
After you get assigned your cabin type, step 3 is just to finish submitting all relevant documents to your school and to Semester at Sea. Honestly this step is where it gets the most stressful I would say because now you have to think about Visas and getting the right type of passport and registering for the classes you need and dealing with the fact that wow you’re actually gonna be traveling the world for 4 months and wow thats literally INSANE. The visa process was actually the worst thing of my life. But honestly I think my mom was more stressed out about it than i was haha. So it was about April when me and my friend Mckenna were in the campus coffee shop one day trying to navigate the visa process. Semester at Sea partners with this service called Travisa to help get the visas you need. So for this voyage, we needed visas for Ghana, India and China. So we signed up and filled everything out and soon realized that we were going to be charged like $300 extra for the website’s concierge service lol. So we were like calling and trying to cancel it and it was a mess. So when I was home for spring break me and my mom (thank GOD for allison) went through and figured it all out. It is actually a very complicated process so if you have further questions about it comment below and I will forsure try to help you. So after I got my new passport, we sent away this huge packet of applications for the visas. Let me tell you, the visas are one of the most expensive of the additional costs you have to incur in you go on SAS. My bill from Travisa was $729.17. Let me tell you my father almost had a heart attack. Before I sent the visa packet, I needed to go get a new passport. I already had a valid passport but I had a couple stamps in it so I needed to get the 84 page passport instead of the 17 page standard one because we port in so many countries. That was another $100. If you have to renew your passport anyways, I recommend getting the 84 page one.

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Alright so now we have our acceptance, we paid the deposit, chose our cabin, got our passport and visas. Now it’s time to book our flight to Germany for Embarkation Day. Me and my friend Mckenna booked our flights together so we wouldn’t have to travel alone (which i highly recommend finding a flight buddy). So that was another expense that you need to pay for on your own. So that’s gonna cost you about another $1000. This is when I started to get worried about the costs racking up. But there’s no turning back now lol.

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Classes and Field Programs
In the beginning of May, we registered for our classes. Usually people take 4 classes, but I signed up for 5 because USD approves its students to take a full schedule (and also ya girl needed to graduate on time). Then in June, the portal opened up for us to register for the Semester At Sea field programs. Field programs are excursions that SAS plans and you can basically just pay to go on the program without having to worry about planning in-country travel by yourself. But these programs are EXPENSIVE. The day trips are around $100-200 and the overnight programs can be from $200-1500. I think the most expensive one is over $3000. Granted these programs are already planned, you don’t have to worry about logistics and you feel safer because SAS is liable for you. I signed up for about 6 programs in advance. I signed up for a few day trips and 2 overnight trips. I chose to do the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal through SAS because I just thought those would be the most difficult to plan by myself.  This video is full-disclosure so the total amount i spent on field programs was around $2,700. The overnight trips are the most expensive because you need to pay for flights and hotel accommodations. I was able to pay for most of these field programs from a whole semester of working at the cafe station of a restaurant on campus at USD lol.

Pop up expenses (Vaccinations, Medication, Travel Supplies & Fuel Surcharge)
Okay so these are what i’m going to call the Pop-up expenses and i started to realize there were A LOT of them. Now we are well into summer, and I was running around trying to get the final things done. In order to finish the SAS medical info form, you need to get all the necessary vaccinations and medications you are gonna need. Yellow fever vaccine is required and malaria medication is required. Your normal doctor is probably not going to have yellow fever on hand, so you have to go to a travel health clinic. I went to a place called passport health and it cost $300 for the yellow fever vaccine. I also got a typhoid vaccine which is recommended by SAS but not required. And that was $165.
The malaria medication costs about $90-120 depending on which kind you get. Usually they give you doxycycline, but i’m allergic to that so i got prescribed something called malarone. They also recommend you get medication for seasickness and travelers’ sickness. Another added expense. So, vaccinations. Necessary and expensive. You’ll also need to buy a bunch of over the counter meds.

Another pop-up expense I had was the stuff you actually need to travel the world for 4 months lol. I have not done like any traveling so I had absolutely nothing. If you’ve traveled and you have all this shit already then you are already ahead of me. I swear I had shit delivered from amazon every day. Check out my packing video/list if you have questions about what I brought/packed for SAS. I got 2 roller duffle bags because I needed to be able to shove them under my cabin bed. A big backpack for overnight trips. A converter plug because the ship has European outlets. An external hard drive because the ship vibrations can crash your computer. A money belt. Luggage locks. Emergency sewing kit. But there’s SO MANY things I never even thought about that I needed.

And let’s not forget that you are still going to school on this ship. TEXTBOOKS. I needed to buy over $300 worth of textbooks. I think spending money on textbooks is the most painful thing because they are some of the most expensive things that bring you no joy.

So I’ve obviously done a ton of research about SAS. I’ve gathered that you need about $3000-5000 in your bank account at the start of the voyage. You also need a good amount of cash. I also ordered some of the local currencies. You also need to get a credit card if you don’t have one. This is mostly for emergencies, but also for on-ship purchases. All transactions on the ship are charged to your credit card. This includes laundry services, snacks, food from pool grill, field programs you sign up for on-board and other various services. So there’s another few hundred dollars.

You also need to think about your international phone plan situation. There is no cell service on the ship and wifi is extremely limited. So you either need to get an international plan (which is hella expensive) OR something I found out is that you can get your phone unlocked from your provider and when your in-country you can buy prepaid sim cards or data cards. This is an option that is a lot cheaper, but still an added expense.
And I think this is the last pop-up charge that I encountered was that we would be charged a $895 fuel surcharge. Which varies depending on how many people are on your voyage.
I know it’s A LOT of information I’m throwing at you. After 8 months of preparation and applications and draining your bank account the grand total comes to.. Drum roll please…
$41,403.38
:’)
That is a very large sum of money.
I understand how blessed i am to have this chance with my scholarship and definitely financial help from my parents to make this crazy adventure a reality for me. Though, my dad makes sure I know that over time i will be paying back most of the cost lol.

But if you are thinking of applying or are already starting the process I am so excited for you!! I hope I answered all the questions you might have about the application process and how much of a financial commitment this adventure actually is. Now this is just my experience with the process, some people might have had a different experience, this is just what I know and what I learned going through this process.

If you want more information, or want to know more about Semester At Sea, visit their website here.

Leave a comment if you have any more questions!