Each off-campus program has its own costs and expenses. However, these figures cannot be fully determined until the participants for each program are finalized. Additionally, costs and expenses are subject to variables, such as travel costs, program fees etc.
Depending on the location of each program, students may have access to cellular phone service and internet. We would, however, remind parents that a major component of the student’s off-campus experience is immersion into a culture different than his or her own and too frequent communication with family members or friends could impede this experience.
Depending upon the location of the program, students will most likely travel by commercial airline to a nearby airport and will then use ground transportation arranged through the School or the Third Party Provider with whom the School is coordinating the program.
Financial aid is available for specific off-campus programs to students who currently receive financial aid from the School for tuition and related expenses. For the Service-Learning Programs, two-week Language and Cultural Exchanges, and Term Language Exchanges, we normally offer a percentage of financial aid for the cost of the program that is equivalent to the percentage of financial aid the student receives from the School for tuition. Financial aid is also available for SYA through St. Paul's and School Year Abroad.
Students who choose to spend a full academic term with an exchange partner school in France, Germany, or Japan will not receive academic credit for that term from St. Paul's School. How this impacts the student's academic record and fulfillment of graduation requirements must be carefully considered before applying for a Term Language Exchange. For more information, contact the Dean of Studies.
For each of our off-campus programs, we work with local organizations, partner schools, or tour operators with experience working with the local communities our students visit as part of an off-campus program. Our program leaders are active in the supervision of our students. We also research the safety of each destination as well as the qualifications and record of each local organization and tour operator we partner with before the program. However, while we try to mitigate the safety concerns associated with each program, the family of each student must decide whether or not the program is appropriate for their student.
The conditions and requirements for insurance vary depending on the destination and nature of each off-campus program. On selected programs, purchase of insurance is included in the costs of the program.