Seguinland Institute: The Good Life Gap Year Reviews

Seguinland is truly a unique, once in a lifetime experience. The people here are so generous and they truly make you feel like family. I feel that I have made friends to last a very long time. Seguinland is set on a large and beautiful plot of coastal Maine. There is no better time for reflection while being supported by the team and getting college credits. You live in the cutest cottages and go to discussions in the treehouse most days (starting with yoga 3 times per week) with a lot of free time in the afternoon. You might even get to use the sauna(my personal favorite)! Otherwise this down time is used for class readings, journaling, or hanging out with people in cottages. The two hiking trips are so beautiful and the camping trip quite exhausting as it is rewarding as you sing and row up the river.
This program was a good experience for my first gap semester. However, it was slightly different from what I was personally looking for in my year. It did feel a little too inactive at times, left with too much down time. I would recommend bringing your favorite game. It is also has a significant academic focus, so know that the credits offered are worth taking.
What really makes this program so special is the people. Philip and the crew are so welcoming and nice and the students that come here are just as friendly and fun.

Throughout my gap year, I took part in multiple programs and can safely say this one is incredible. The staff is some of the kindest, most supportive people I have ever met. They are what make a program like this one flourish. I truly learned so much about myself and what it means to live the good life in the short three weeks I spent in Maine. The community that is created is like no other because everyone on the trip is open-minded and eager to ask questions, learn, and grow. I could not recommend this trip more to anyone.

Seguinland is a place and a way of being I will carry forever. This place and its people and staff allowed me to be seen and supported. I felt a deep sense of gratitude to be connected with this land and to enjoy the conversations I had with like-minded individuals. Those seeking meaning and balance from a hustle culture and technology world. It was a life-changing experience. The program's community and genuine friendship aspect was incredibly beneficial and healing. This program set the groundwork for a new way of experiencing life, learning, and contemplation. I am so grateful that a place like this exists and recommend anyone who needs a reset who needs real community and/or some time to heal in nature to go to Seguinland!!! Be ready to cook together, clean together, walk together, learn together, create together, and experience new things together. One of my favorite experiences throughout the program was cooking together in the cookhouse and trying everyone's different dishes; this place set the groundwork for community. There was nothing like starting the morning with a daily yoga/mindfulness practice, it was a grounding experience that helped everyday start on a great note. The staff are so caring and incredibly great listeners. Our one-on-one check-ins were helpful and a great way to ensure you got everything out of the program. The program's location also makes the program so much stronger, you really get to connect with nature and feel immersed.

This was an amazing experience I was given the ability to meet new people and grow as an individual. The way the classes and living is set allows for you to connect with everyone there on a deeply personal level. The staff is incredibly supportive and were always going above and beyond to provide each student with the best experience they could. I highly recommend this program to anyone who has a love for the out doors or has a desire to learn in a way that differs from traditional forms of schooling.

I attended the good life gap semester in fall of 2022 and it was an incredible experience. I made amazing friends and our little community was so loving and connected. We had very interested and engaging classes that allowed for creativity and exploitation beyond a typical classroom setting, and we went on endless adventures that I will never forget. All of the staff were so caring and it really felt like a family together in beautiful maine. I carried many passions away from my semester, including a love of mushrooms, indigenous studies and activism, and poetry. I would be 100% recommend the good life semester for any type of gap student, we had a very diverse group and everyone benefited and loved it.

Seguinland Institute is an unmatched transcendent experience, and the Good Life Writer's Retreat proves furthermore. In addition to the many literary and writing skills I obtained, this program quickly became a family, supporting one another day after day. Being able to utilize the great room, the gathering space and other locations throughout the campus, provided me with the headroom and drive to produce some of the best writing I've done. Truly an exceptionally special and grounding dwelling.

My time at Seguinland was incredible. The staff is amazing and so supportive in every aspect of the experience. They created a very accepting and nonjudgmental environment that made me feel excited to participate, share my ideas, and step outside of my comfort zone. I made great friends, and living, traveling, cooking, eating, and creating together every day created a deep sense of community. Being constantly surrounded by nature was one of my favorite parts of the experience. I loved exploring outside every day, but being immersed in the natural environment while reading, writing, and making art also helped me rediscover my love for learning. Mindfulness practice and the way the staff ran the courses helped me be more intentional and focus on process rather than product. I am going back to Seguinland for the winter term, and I can't wait! It has been a truly life-changing experience.

Seguinland Institute is a magical place. A strong, tight-knit community comes to life and thrives. There is a level of vulnerability, unlike any I have witnessed, and there is no shying away from deep conversations. The faculty is engaged and truly shows that they care about every student. The days look drastically different, but there is a strong underlying stability. These are people you can rely on. A vibrant landscape is the backdrop for powerful conversations and the starts invite many warm laughs. Everyone is accepting and inclusive, if you are willing to bring your full self, everyone is welcome, especially as we share a warm and delicious meal. A group motivated by shared values, rather than interests is rare, yet that is exactly what this is. An escape from the distractions of life, where you can learn from others and reveal to yourself what you need to live a good life.

This was an incredible experience for me. The people were so kind, genuine, and fun! The food provided has healthy and SO GOOD! The trips we took were incredibly fun, and everything we did bonded us closer to our cohorts. Nobody was pressured into doing anything that made them uncomfortable, but there was plenty of room for growth and risk taking for those interested. Couldn't recommend this experience more. The Seguinland Family and all the students I met have had such a positive impact on my life. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything, and I am even going back for the Wintering term! If you're like me and want to get out of your comfort zone and meet people, enjoy Maine, and learn from some incredible people, I highly recommend the May Term.

I feel so deeply connected to this place and everyone here. Philip and the staff welcome you into this little island in rural Maine and turn it into a home with their energy, passion for teaching, and genuine love for the program. Through plunges into freezing cold water, discussions about the meaning of life, campfire songs, and cooking together, the faculty are always pushing people closer and showing how much they care. Seguinland cultivates such a level of comfort and togetherness that I hope I can bring even a fraction of to my life outside. There's no way I could have predicted how fast and deeply I'd fall in love with this place.