In order to reduce the cost of this amazing program, I applied early. 12 months early and the payment of your $500 deposit earns you a nice hunk of credit: $500 towards field experiences! Nice!
I believe this has something to do with the access initiative that SAS started a year or so ago and its much appreciated.
Ohh SAS. How I can't wait to set foot on the MV Explorer and see the place that will be my new room for the next 125 days. A very...small...space at that. When I payed my deposit you had to choose your top three room assignments ranging from Deck 4 to Economy. Believe me I was NOT prepared to make this decision. So with a little polling on the SAS facebook group and some depressing thoughts about how much debt I will be in after this amazing opportunity, Economy it is! With Deck 2 inside and Deck 2 outside in second and third choice respectively. All I can think about at the moment is the Titanic...and when they flash to the part where the mother is reading to her children and they are in the economy rooms and the water is pouring in.
=( Hopefully that won't occur though! Lol.
After the exciting yet depressing action of paying my $500 to SAS, I realized that scholarships are my next best option. After some searching around on the SAS website, I found the scholarships they have listed. This will be fun! Only 8 different kinds of scholarships to apply for. YAY!
Then I thought I found a goldmine, Diversity Abroad. The scholarship winner, granted there's only one, gets half of the cost of their tuition payed for! AWESOME I thought. The essay is about why it's important to travel with people from diverse backgrounds. An interesting question for sure. However, I was greatly disappointed when I found out that you have to be from a diverse and economically disadvantaged background.
I'm not going to lie, I was furious. Seriously. I know that this trip is about diversity and seeing new places and traveling with college kids from across America and even the world. I totally think this program will be an amazing experience and I am excited to be immersed into all these new cultures. But why, WHY do people from diverse backgrounds always get the chance to win these scholarships? I dont see any scholarships out there that say applicants must be from WASP backgrounds. I feel like the scholarships for people of diverse backgrounds do not support the idea of desegregation. In a way, I feel like it's a modern version of segregation and stereotyping. The organizations that give these scholarships seem to assume that if you are of a diverse background, you need money. Well guess what? People of ALL backgrounds need money. Not just "diverse" people.
I still want to apply. I feel like the definition of "diverse" could be taken in all sorts of ways. And seriously, I'm diverse. How many people in America are aware their ancestors came to America on the Mayflower? Not many probably. So there, I'm diverse. I'm not from a family of immigrants (though when I went to Ellis Island in 5th grade I was sad to find out my family's name wasn't on the wall), I'm all American. And I guarantee the pilgrims were economically disadvantaged in 1620. They had no idea which berries had what denominations....haha just kidding.
Sorry about the rant. Anyways...if you want to help me Sea the World considering the only place outside America I've been is Niagra Falls, and I feel this experience will allow me to see the world for what it is rather than the skewed image I currently have... then click away on the Paypal button on the right :) Thank you!
