People end up hating this program

The SFS Turks and Caicos staff are for the most part great people, but unfortunately, you are treated like you are a little kid on the program. No, you cannot go in the kitchen unless you are supervised. No, you cannot go out past 10pm. Additionally, you have very little freedom to explore the local culture and do what you would like to do because you are in the classroom from 8am to 5pm most days and on top of that you have multiple group projects a week along with extensive readings each day (and no the class time, readings, and group projects don't slow down or stop at any point in the semester). Did I mention that there is a curfew so as soon as you finish with that a**load of work, it is already past the time when you are able to engage with the local culture? Yeah, this program made many people cry because of how difficult it was. If you're going abroad to learn about marine biology rather than to experience a local culture and enjoy yourself, go ahead. However, even if you are going solely to learn, this program lies to you about the field research you have to complete. If you think this program is great because of the large amount of field research you get to do--you're wrong. Throughout the program you're told that the last month is dedicated entirely to field research--LIE. You get a single weeks worth of field research and many people get field assignments that they hate. Just want to throw in this quote that an SFS staff member told several students halfway through the program--"Most people end up hating this program by Thanksgiving." Don't go. You'll regret it. I hear great things about the School for International Training if you'd like to not hate your program but still do field research.