Semester Program Costs for Gap Year Students
The cost of an expedition semester includes: tuition (faculty/staff), program costs (library, technology, art and music, entrance fees, and consulting fees – for meeting with experts), room and board (camping fees, group tents, and food for all daily meals), and the EEI bus (group travel, storage, and study hall). The per semester cost for this is $12,000 + $500 deposit and administrative fee = $12,500.
College students are automatically enrolled in the 5 courses for a total of 15 semester credits. Anyone not currently enrolled in college, may opt to enroll for credit. The additional cost for the 15 credits is $3000. Thus, the full semester cost with college credit = $15,500.
You will need to procure health insurance, and you may need to buy (or borrow) personal gear for living outdoors (e.g., sleeping bag, boots, backpack). The only other costs on a semester are the necessary academic supplies (e.g, learning journal, personal art supplies, pre-semester books–books rarely cost more than $50), personal/optional spending (e.g., toiletries and sundries, cappuccinos and lattes, souvenirs), and personal travel to and from the semester start and end locations in the bioregion or during the midsemester break. While this may sound like a lot, because we spend most of our time outside and not in towns, your cost of living (in terms of personal spending) during a semester on the bus is generally lower than it would be at home or at college.
We are making every effort to make the tuition and fees affordable for as many students as possible. Please contact us if you are interested in participating in an expedition education institute program and you know or suspect it will not be possible due to finances. Limited scholarships are available and we can also suggest sources for finding scholarships and raising funds.
A semester on an Expedition Education Institute traveling bus-based program costs less than the total for tuition and fees plus room and board for most four-year colleges and universities. Compared to other gap year programs, our cost is in the lower-middle range. Our costs reflect our highly trained and experienced faculty.
In addition to being concerned about the cash costs, you are likely concerned about the carbon costs of a traveling semester. The cost in terms of your carbon footprint is actually significantly lower than it would be for most students attending a traditional institution of higher learning. If you are interested in learning more about how this can be true, contact us for a conversation!
Please contact us if you have any concerns or questions about the cost of an expedition semester.