“The Greece Study Tour has a really great balance between class activities and independent exploration. Students have the chance to explore history, literature, and philosophy in the place where it was written, and also to explore a beautiful place and a fascinating culture.” — Michelle D., 2014

“One thing I will miss about Greece is time. We got a lot done for the course, but everything was not as rushed or stressful as school normally is. We had a lot of free time together outside of class, and many different ways to spend it. Walking around and getting to see more of each place than we did with the whole group, watching a World Cup match, eating breakfast/lunch/dinner, working on homework, headbanging to R.E.M., etc. …  I got to spend some time with everyone outside of ‘class’ and talk to them and get to know them a little, which normally does not happen because I am a commuter and am usually on campus only during my classes. I will also miss being somewhere with so many ancient historical sites and museums, and where everything is in another language and you are forced to learn at least some of that language.” —  Carrie L. 2014

[Note: the cost for the 2018 study tour ended up being $350 cheaper than expected, so we reduced the third payment by that amount. The lower price was due to a combination of (a) there being 23 students, (b) favorable airfare, and (c) favorable dollar-to-euro conversion rate. But as they say, past performance is not a predictor of future results.]

Costs
The price for the 22-day (21-night) study tour (including most of a day of travel on each end) is set at $5700. The actual cost won’t be more, and might be a bit less, depending on three factors: the number of students (some costs, like our private bus, are fixed, and hence divided among the number of travelers), the airfare we are able to get, and the exchange rate between the US dollar and the euro. The first payment is a deposit of $600, due January 10. The remaining three payments will be $1700 each (totaling the $5700 price), and after we see what the number is who make the first payment, what the airfare will be, and what the currency exchange rates look to be, we may be able to adjust the final payment downwards. But applicants should go into this assuming a cost of $5700.

This is a non-profit educational experience, so 100% of these funds is used for the itinerary; any money that looks like it will be left over is used for the students (to buy an unscheduled group meal, to make an ice cream stop, or the like).

I have never found a summer study tour to Greece as long as ours is with even a similar itinerary that is as cheap as ours is. I have found a couple that appeared to be priced similarly, or even cheaper–only to read the fine print and realize that it didn’t include airfare, or included far fewer meals or didn’t include tickets to sites and museums, etc.

Additionally, each participant (including alumni and those not enrolled in any college) must pay St. Mary’s College of Maryland for four credit-hours of tuition just as if the student were taking a summer course of four credit-hours here on campus. The price for tuition & fees for four credit-hours for this summer will be $1394 for in-state tuition and $1994 for those paying out-of-state tuition.  The tuition is billed to the student’s account according to the Business Office’s summer course billing schedule.

And we estimate about $500 to cover the cost of meals that are not included in the itinerary. Meals covered are all breakfasts (except for our last one, in our connecting airport on the way home), 4 lunches, and 7 dinners.

Aid available
SMCM has two sources of financial aid available to students:
1. Starting in 2023-24, the College budgeted $100K annually for the next few years for need-based grants for SMCM students studying abroad. (This includes the summer 2025.) There is no application process for this, for each applicant is automatically considered. Awards are based on (a) the cost of the program (the Office of International Education has this info) and (b) the FAFSA (the Office of Financial Aid has this), and (c) the number of applicants qualifying for aid that year. These grants can be substantial – more than $1000 per person.
2. The OIE has a much smaller fund of merit-based scholarships for which all SMCM students are automatically considered by the OIE, most in the $200-250 range.

Request an appointment with the OIE to discuss details.

Students are notified of their aid at the time of their acceptance into the program. Therefore, in advance of when the first payment is due. Students who are accepted but do not receive enough aid to make their trip financially feasible for them may therefore cancel their participation without any financial penalty.

What are the odds that you’ll qualify? Well, we have only one datum point so far, since the 2024 study tour was the first year for the needs-based grants. For the summer 2024 Greece study tour, 10 of the 15 students were awarded a needs-based grant; most ranged from $1350 to $3150, for an average grant of $2200. Plus, 12 of the 15 students were awarded a merit-based scholarship, $200-250 apiece.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that future study tours will have a similar award profile; that depends on the cost of the program, the FAFSA, the number of students, and their academic merit of those applying to study abroad that year.

For more information on financial aid for any study abroad experience, see the OIE’s financial aid page; from there, scroll down to the heading “SMCM Study Abroad Grants and Scholarships.” Or contact the Director of the Office of International Education, Aurora Margarita-Goldkamp at amargaritagoldkamp@smcm.edu

When and how to pay
The fee is payable to the Business Office of St. Mary’s College of Maryland (specify that it’s for the Greece Study Tour) in three installments:

• $600 deposit due on January 15 (revised from January 10)
• $1700 due on February 10
• $1700 due on March 10
• $1700 due on April 10 (possibly reduced, if we can).

Student payments are handled in the Business Office (240-895-4315).  The College does not accept credit cards for payment of tuition or study tour charges in-house. Payments with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express can be done online via CASHNet.  Checks should be made payable to: SMCM and must include student’s ID# and name of study tour in memo section.  Address for payments: St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Attn:  Business Office Cashier, 18952 E. Fisher Rd., St. Mary’s City, MD  20686-3001. Students may use any existing credit on their student account to pay the Study Tour by submitting the request in writing to the Business Office at studentaccts@smcm.edu.

For those paying by check, please note on the check that it’s for “Greece Study Tour,” so that, for current SMCM students, it’s not just dumped into your general account. (“Oh, how thoughtful of this student to prepay a portion of next year’s tuition!”)

The price includes:

• 4 Modern Greek lessons and country orientation prior to departure, starting after spring break
• Round-trip airfare between a D.C.-area airport and Athens
• Ground transfer from Athens airport to Corinth via private coach
• 20 overnights (including one spent on flight to Greece): seven in Ancient Corinth, three in Nauplio, one in Sparta, two in Monemvasia, three on the island of Kythera, and four in Athens, all in double/triple rooms with all private facilities in superior tourist class hotels
• Daily breakfast (except for our last one, in the connecting airport on our way home)
• 4 lunches (including 2 on flights; so 16 lunches are not included)
• 5 dinners (including 2 on flights; so 15 dinners are not included)
• Olive oil factory visit near Ancient Corinth, including tastings
• Winery visit in Nemea, including tastings and lunch
• Local guide one day on Kythera
• Coach transportation with professional driver on land tour and on island as per itinerary, incl. bus tolls and all bus driver’s expenses
• Group bus transfers to/from the airport & the ports by private bus
• Ferry tickets to and from the islands
• Folk dancing lessons and demonstration
• Cooking class, including dinner
• Tour of organic citrus farm
• 24-hour assistance from our Athens travel agent throughout the tour
• Admission fees to all sites and museums
• Gratuities for bus drivers and guides
• Travel health insurance

Students in Greece without a valid college/university ID will be charged $100, to cover the price of full admission to our museums and archaeological sites. (With a valid college/university ID, the trip pays half-price for these items, and that price is built into the trip costs; having to pay full price would be about $100 extra.)

Cancellation policy
Those canceling anytime prior to departure will be refunded a travel voucher in the amount of the airline ticket from the issuing airline, consistent with the policy of that airline (often minus an approximately $200 re-ticketing fee); this is not up to us, but is up to the policies of the airline. As for the remaining program fees, refunds are given as follows:

Cancellation prior to March 01: return of all money paid (that didn’t go toward the airline tickets–see preceding paragraph), minus $600. (The $600 will have been used as non-refundable deposits.)

Cancellation from March 01 through April 30: return of money paid (that didn’t go toward the airline tickets), minus $2300.

Cancellation on or after May 01: no refund of money (just the airline’s travel voucher–see preceding paragraph).