Questions to Ask when Researching Your Gap Year and Summer Abroad Programs…

(The following is part of Dragons Travel Guide Series: Essays and Tips from our Community on Why and How to Travel)

The search for a perfect summer or semester program provider can be overwhelming. Every good project starts with great questions.

Here are some for you to consider or ask of different providers as you do your research…

• How many years have you been running international programming for students?

• What is the maximum number of students in each of your groups?

• What is your ratio of instructors to students?

• What are the typical professional qualifications of your staff?

• Do your instructors speak the local language?

• What tools do you use to facilitate reflection and dialogue on course?  

• What’s the average age of your instructors?

• How many of your staff return year after year?

• How do your proactively manage risk on course?

• How do you manage an emergency?​

• What type of emergency response team is on-call at your offices?

• Are itineraries fixed before the program?  Are they the same from season to season?

• How do you foster a safe student dynamic?

• How do you define ethical travel?

• How do you approach the theme of “service” and manage the dangers of “voluntourism”?

• How do you manage the sustainability of your programming on local communities?

• How do you help students apply what they’ve learned abroad at home?

• What does your financial aid program look like?

• Can you put me in touch with an alumni student?  

Ps. And here are Dragons answers to these questions!

• How many years have you been running international programming for students? Over 25-years. 
• What is the maximum number of students in each of your groups? 12 students. 
• What is your ratio of instructors to students? 1:4 or one instructor for every four students. 
• What are the typical professional qualifications of your staff? Do your instructors speak the local language? They are experienced, career, professionals! Typically, when a Dragons instructor team heads into the field they collectively represent multiple languages, ten or more years of in-country experience, and years managing student groups abroad. 
• What’s the average age of your instructors? 30+
• How many of your staff return year after year? We have a large number of return and veteran staff, with an annual return staff rate that typically hovers between 60%-90%.
• How do your proactively manage risk on course? See our Risk Management page.
• How do you manage an emergency?​ See our FAQ page. 
• What type of emergency response team is on-call at your offices? With Administrators based domestically and internationally, our support team—with acute attention to the safety and security of our participants—is on-call 24/7 while students are in the field.
• Are itineraries fixed before the program?  Are they the same from season to season? Every program is custom-crafted and unique! Dragons itineraries are flexible to create space for unscripted, serendipitous, and candid moments of surprise and discovery. Learn more about what makes us different. 
• What tools do you use to facilitate reflection and dialogue on course? How do you foster a safe student dynamic? This is a great question to ask of one of our traveling instructors. You can request a home presentation and meet one! 
• How do you define ethical travel? See our About Dragons page. 
• How do you approach the theme of “service” and manage the dangers of “voluntourism”? See our Position Paper on Service Learning. 
• How do you manage the sustainability of your programming on local communities? See our Position Paper on Responsible Travel. 
• How do you help students apply what they’ve learned abroad at home? See the Transference section of our Blog for examples!
• What does your financial aid program look like? Here’s all the details on our financial aid program.
• Can you put me in touch with an alumni student? Absolutely! Just send us a note requesting references to past students!