Paperwork, Payment, and Policies

Regarding Payments

The $300 deposit holds a student's space and must be submitted with the Study Tour application. This deposit is non-refundable once a student has been accepted to the program. The check is deposited into a student's SJU account and then credited toward the total amount owed for the tour. If at any time a student withdraws from the study tour program, he or she must notify CIP in writing. The $300 is always non-refundable. However, depending on when a student withdraws he or she may have to pay additional fees for the tour since deposits the university submits on students' behalf is often times non-refundable. Please read the Withdrawal Refund Policy below.

Withdrawal Refund Policy

Students must sign-off on this policy when applying for the Study Tour:

“I agree to immediately notify CIP in writing should I choose to withdraw from the program. Only that portion of my tuition and fees which has not been committed on my behalf to the University and/or any third party at the time of my cancellation will be refunded to me. All refunds are subject to the University's receiving my notice of cancellation in writing. If I withdraw from the program before paying my tuition and fees, I acknowledge the University's right to bill me for any financial commitments made on my behalf to the University and/or any third party, and I agree that I am financially responsible for such costs incurred.”

Study Tours are courses for which you must pay tuition – plus the program fee. If a course is a regular spring semester course which you are taking as part of your regular load of courses, then the tuition that you pay remains the same. However, if you choose to take the study tour course as an overload, you must pay overload course fees. If you take a summer study tour course you must pay summer tuition plus the program fee.

Once the final Study Tour program fee has been set, the students will receive an email outlining the cost of the tour and when payments are due. We allow students to pay in installments over a period of a few month's time. All payments must be made in full no later than 45 days prior to departure.

Study Tour program fees are often given as estimates during the planning phase of the programs. This is because the cost of the tour often depends on the number of students attending. The more students attending, typically, the less the tour cost. This is because there are more people splitting the cost of group expenses such as buses, tour guides, etc. When fewer students attend a tour, the cost rises due to fewer people splitting these group costs. SJU makes decisions on if tours are economically feasible to run after the application deadline.

If SJU cancels a tour, then the $300 deposit is refundable. However, if SJU runs a tour, and a student decides not to go, the deposit remains non-refundable.

Paperwork

You must have a valid passport (visa if necessary) and submit several other documents to the Tour Coordinator or CIP at least 6 weeks prior to departure. Details on what is expected will be discussed at Group Meetings.

All students must turn in:

•  Copy of Passport

•  International Student Identity Card (ISIC) Application & Photo (pdf)

•  SJU Release Form (pdf document)

•  Other tour-specific documents as necessary

Passports

If you don't yet have your U.S. passport you can submit the study tour application without this information. However, once you are notified of your acceptance to the tour, you should apply for your passport immediately by going to: http://travel.state.gov/passport/index.html

It can take 8 weeks or longer for your passport to be issued.

Please also keep in mind that you are required to submit a copy of your passport (personal information pages) to the Tour Coordinator no later than 6 weeks prior to departure.

* If you are not a U.S. citizen you may need a visa to participate on a study tour. Once you have been accepted, we will contact you to set up an appointment time to discuss your status. It is your responsibility to keep this appointment with a CIP staff member to discuss your status and the visa application process. Non-U.S. passport holders may have to pay visa processing fees in addition to Study Tour program fees.

All study tour participants must submit a copy of their passports to the Tour Coordinator no later than 6 weeks prior to the departure date. This is why you must apply or renew early.