Semester at Sea?

[Anonymous]

My SIL did it in the early 2000s. She is not rich (attended her state school with financial aid) and is very smart and serious (now has a PhD and teaches at an ivy). She loved it and considers it instrumental to her academic career.

[Anonymous]

My roommate in college did it during her Junior year. (This was not too long ago--we graduated in 2013.) She had an amazing experience with them and ended up working for them after graduation! She is now back in grad school for marine biology.

[Anonymous]

I did it in the late 80's and it is life changing. If your child has the opportunity, wants to go and you can afford it, do it. Exposure to new and different cultures and how others live (and I don't mean a teen tour of Europe). Are there kids on board with too much money and more interested in trying the local beer than meeting the locals, yes. But so many more real people. We went to: Spain (Cadiz), Yugoslavia (Dubrovnik, Montenegro, Split - we were there just before the civil war broke out), Soviet Union (Moscow, St Petersberg), Egypt, Turkey, India, China (weeks before Tiananmen Square), Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Learned a lot about the world and myself.

[Anonymous]

My roommate at Bates did this back in the late 80's and she was a serious student who got a lot out of the experience. It seemed pretty life changing to her. I think it sounded great for the right person.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but if you follow the thread (on the internet) about the deaths that have occurred under their oversight...you would likely be concerned. I understand that you cannot eliminate all risk, especially when visiting the types of countries that would offer American teens "life changing" experiences. BUT, a lot of advance planning is required to pull such adventures off (with young people) in a responsible manner. It is not clear that they follow that model.

[Anonymous]

You could join the Navy and get eight semesters on the sea. ?

[Anonymous]

Kids from USC back in the day did this. California . Good experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids from USC back in the day did this. California . Good experience.

And that's why we called it the University of Spoiled Children.

[Anonymous]

I very strongly considered this when I was looking st study abroad programs. I ended up in one location for the semester because the classes offered better suited my needs. The idea of the program sounds amazing, and if done well seems excellent. Thinking about it now, I would be incredibly wary of sending my child out with this program, but only because of the inherent risks of the set up. Not necessarily academics. Let’s be honest, with most study abroad programs you can definitely learn a lot, but it’s isuall an excuse to party in a different location.

[Anonymous]

When I was in college we called it the Booze Cruise. I even think the Real World has a season where they are semester at sea.

Everyone I know who did it loved it. I say let her go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I very strongly considered this when I was looking st study abroad programs. I ended up in one location for the semester because the classes offered better suited my needs. The idea of the program sounds amazing, and if done well seems excellent. Thinking about it now, I would be incredibly wary of sending my child out with this program, but only because of the inherent risks of the set up. Not necessarily academics. Let’s be honest, with most study abroad programs you can definitely learn a lot, but it’s isuall an excuse to party in a different location.

UVA terminated its program in 2016 for this reason. It is still possible to do through UVA but the affiliation with with the University of Colorado.

[Anonymous]

I went in the mid 90s when it was based out of Pitt but I was at an Ivy. Amazing experience. Simply can’t be replicated by any other program. I wouldn’t think twice about letting my child go.

[Anonymous]

My Harvard Law School friend did it while she was an undergrad at UCLA. It was clearly life-changing for her; all positive. I've never heard about it before or since until this post reminded me of it.

[Anonymous]

^^she probably did it in 1989

[Anonymous]

Literally a cruise ship. Reputation is very much rich kids drinking around the world and my DD had no interest.
Our DD instead did Sea Semester https://www.sea.edu, a very different program run out of Woods Hole (where the students spend the first 6 weeks in intensive academics preparing for the ocean part). The ships are "tall ships", sailing vessels, very intense experience learning a lot about sailing, weather, oceanography, and depending on the trip, local history and culture. Very physically-demanding, on "watch" in quite crazed schedule throughout the trip which was about 6 weeks in the Southern Ocean coming and going from New Zealand. Primary research on plastics in ocean among other interesting and important projects. My DD adored it and the academics did seem excellent. I think Boston U is the academic sponsor. On her trip students from UCLA, UNC, Harvard, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Hopkins, UMD, Cornell, can't remember where else. Major emphasis on safety. If your student interested in learning about the ocean and sailing, rather than just lots of travel on cruise ship, he/she should check it out.