The location and duration of our voyages differ greatly, so selecting the program that has the right balance of activities and passage making for you is the most important step. A lot of this has to do with you as a person… your interests and goals, yet if you’re not sure then call or email us with any questions that you have. We would be thrilled to talk through our options and help you decide.
Sea|mester Admissions
Follow these steps to set your own course and embark on a voyage of a lifetime.
1.Submit your application with the $75.00 fee
The online application consists of five steps, and will likely take about 20 minutes to complete. Review the following to help prepare, as our system does not provide for the opportunity to save mid-session.
Start the Enrollment Application
- Step 1: Student and Family Contact Information
- Step 2: Voyage Selection and Personal References
You will be asked for the email and phone number for two references. The persons you choose should be professors, employers, coaches etc, NOT family or friends. - Step 3: Student Insight Questions
This portion is completed in short answers and will take the bulk of your time. Consider preparing and proofreading your questions ahead of time by downloading the Student Insight Questions Draft - Step 4: Agree to the Enrollment Terms and Conditions and submit your $75 application fee
- Step 5: Review & Submit
2. Internal review
Once we receive your application we’ll automatically send out the reference requests and then follow up with phone calls if necessary. Once those are complete a director will review all of your materials and hopefully offer you a provisional acceptance pending the phone/video interview. Your berth deposit (typically $750) is due at that point to secure and hold your berth aboard and proceed to the interview phase.
3. Interview
Download and review a copy of the Student Handbook and when the berth deposit has been received, a Sea|mester admissions coordinator will contact you for the video conference interview which usually takes around an hour or more. Formal acceptance into the program is typically given after this interview.
4. Should You Need to Cancel
While we hope that this doesn’t happen, we understand that plans change from time to time. If you’ve already applied but need to initiate a cancellation please complete the form found HERE.
Other steps to consider before & during your application process
If you think that you’ve found the right voyage, we encourage you to speak to those whose wake you’ll be following. We recognize that taking the plunge and committing to joining our team is a big step. Speaking to someone who was once in your shoes can greatly help. Contact our office and we’ll connect you with some of our alumni.
Hopefully, you’ve already had a chance to consider the value of the experience, yet it’s equally important to fully understand the total cost of your attendance. Follow the link to learn more.
The mission of Sea|mester is to deliver outstanding experience-based educational adventures for young adults. Through supportive yet challenging course design we create environments that promote self-discovery as well as social, emotional, and intellectual growth.
While the environment we create is appropriate for most, it is not appropriate for all. Successful Sea|mester students are in good physical, and emotional health and have an interest in immersing themselves fully in our community. Sea|mester is not a therapeutic program, so our experience is inappropriate for those experiencing behavioral, motivational, mental health, substance abuse, self-harm, or eating disorder issues (Please contact us prior to applying if you have experienced any of the above within 12 months of the scheduled program start date.) Sea|mester students are excited to learn new skills, experience new places and are capable of working positively within a close-knit team even when tired. They are enthusiastic, well mannered, and have a healthy dose of curiosity.
While not all-encompassing, please download and read the following Essential Eligibility Criteria Document to see whether you consider Sea|mester to be an appropriate educational experience. Feel free to call us with any questions.
The social and educational atmosphere created during a Sea|mester voyage is unique and something that we take great pride in. The very nature of the program allows students to take responsibility for the running of the vessel, the program and their own lives while aboard.
Sea|mester students need to be responsible for their conduct at all times. Any student who engages in academic or social misconduct shall be subject to disciplinary action by the Program Directors and/or the Student Honor Committee. The purpose of our Student Code of Conduct is to express community standards of honesty, respect for persons and property. Each student is responsible for reading and reviewing the Code of Student Conduct, and for understanding the responsibilities he/she assumes by enrolling with Sea|mester.
Space is limited and our admissions operate on a rolling basis. Start your application as soon as you can. This will give you the best possibility of being offered a position on the team of your choice. Important to note is that Sea|mester considers student suitability as the highest priority when offering a position on our team. We do not pay commission for new referrals and would never prioritize alumni over other applicants.
Waitlist Policy & Process
Sea|mester enrollment is rolling, and berths are limited, so availability for a student’s first-choice voyage may shift to waitlist status at any point throughout the application process. It’s hard to anticipate when this shift may occur, so, to increase the likelihood of acceptance, we encourage students to punctually:
- Complete the application requirements, including references, counseling questionnaire, and scholarship form (if required).
- Remit the required berth deposit upon receiving provisional acceptance.
When we receive deposits for all available berths, we start a waitlist divided by gender and populated on a first-come, first-served basis defined by the date and time the berth deposit was received. When a space becomes available, our team will immediately assign the open berth to a student based on their position on the waitlist.
Waitlist FAQs
Yes. All students must authorize payment for their deposit to gain a place on a waitlist. We typically capture the funds for the first 3 students on the waitlist, then leave any others as authorized (not captured) for a period of time.
No, but you do need to be ready to accept the berth and complete the interview within 72 hrs of a berth becoming available. See “What happens when a space becomes available?” FAQ below.
This question is tricky to answer because it is dependent upon a range of factors. Historically there is a higher chance of a berth becoming available if:
- You are one of the first students on the waitlist.
- The makeup of the student body is weighted more heavily toward your gender.
- The voyage entered waitlist status in advance of the tuition due date (90 days before the start date).
The reasons for points one and two relate to the law of averages, whereas the reasoning for point three is a little more nuanced. The berth deposit holds a student’s berth up until the tuition is due, but no further. When tuition is overdue, we work to clear as many students from the waitlist as we can. From a purely financial perspective, we expect to see more attrition at this point than we would once a student is fully paid. That said, life is uncertain, and a lot can happen over this 90-day lead up to the voyage starting date.
Absolutely, and many students select to do just that. Students choosing this option do not need to submit a second berth deposit.
When you reach the top of the waitlist for your gender, we will attempt to contact you by phone and email to set up your interview.
The interview must be completed within 72 hrs of our office informing you of the opportunity. We temporarily hold the berth for you over this time, but will assume that you are no longer interested and have canceled your application if you do not respond. For this reason, we recommend that waitlist students inform us if there is a period of time that they know they will be non-contactable.
Once accepted, tuition due dates are as follows:
- If accepted more than 90 days before the voyage start date, tuition is due on the standard date (90 days out).
- If accepted less than 90 days before the voyage start date, an additional deposit amount of $2000 USD is due within 24 hrs of acceptance. Full tuition is due within 10 days of the interview date but no later than the voyage start date.
All deposits will be refunded automatically (or applied to a future voyage) for any unsuccessful waitlist applicant. A waitlist applicant can request a refund for their deposit under the following situations:
- Within 69 days of the voyage start date, IF your deposit was received more than 90 days before the voyage start date.
- Within 14 days of the voyage start date, IF your deposit was received less than 90 days before the voyage start date.
The berth deposit is not refundable if a student cancels outside of the above scenarios or declines an available berth. Rather than penalize students unnecessarily, this policy’s goal is to deter students from occupying a waitlist position if they are not 100% committed.
As stated in the above FAQ, waitlist deposits will be refunded (or applied to a future voyage) for any unsuccessful waitlist applicant within ten days after the voyage start date.
Unfortunately not. Your application fee covers a small part of our administrative and onboarding process and is not refundable. However, you can select to apply your application to a future voyage in accordance with our Trip Switch Policy.