Santa Clara University

For Accepted Students

Congratulation on your acceptance to Santa Clara University's Casa de la Solidaridad in El Salvador. You are about to join a small but expanding community of students from around the United States who have participated in this unique and life-changing study abroad experience. In preparation for your arrival, please take time to review all information on this page and complete all required documents on time. In the coming weeks, Kevin and Trena Yonkers-Talz, co-directors of the Casa program will be in touch with via email to introduce the rest of the participants and provide additional instructions. We look forward to welcoming you to the Casa.

• Required Forms
• Important Notices
• Preparation Materials
• Arrival / Departure Dates
• Grades & Transcripts

Required Forms

Now that you have received your acceptance e-mail from Santa Clara University, we need you to download and complete the following 3 required forms and send them to the address below by the deadline indicated in your acceptance email.

• CONFIRMATION / DEPOSIT FORM:
  To confirm and secure your spot on the roster, we need you to complete this form and send to Santa Clara University with a deposit of $500 by the deadline given on your acceptance email. Make your check payable to Santa Clara University and this amount will be credited to your tuition & fees on your eCampus account. Check with your home university's study abroad office if the $500 deposit is covered in their contract with Santa Clara. (Santa Clara students do NOT need to submit a deposit).
  
  
  
• SAFETY COVENANT FORM:
  This Safety Covenant covers behavioral and safety standards of the Casa de la Solidaridad. Please read and understand this document carefully before signing it and returning to me by the deadline on your acceptance email.
  
  
• MEDICAL FORMS:
  This two-part Medical Form needs to be completed by you and your doctor. Please submit to me by the deadline given on your acceptance email.

Please contact Vidalino Raatior (vraatior@scu.edu) if you are unable to meet any of the deadlines.

Send all completed documents to:

International Programs Office
Attn: Casa Program Assistant
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053

Important Notices

eCampus Account: Please be aware that Santa Clara University no longer issues paper invoices to students. All students including participants in the Casa de la Solidaridad program are billed online via their ECampus account. Soon you will receive an email from the eCampus administrator at Santa Clara University which will contain your security access information including your SCU ID and password to your eCampus account. Please save that email for future access to your ECampus account. 

If you still have not received an eCampus email instruction, you can contact Vid Raatior (vraatior@scu.edu) at the International Programs Office at Santa Clara for your ecampus account number before you follow the instructions to reset your ecampus account.

• Instructions for Accessing or Resetting ecampus account
• Ecampus Login
• Instructions on requesting a Casa transcript
  

 

Billing / Payment Methods: All students will be billed via eCampus except for students from institutions that have set up a consortium / direct billing contracts with Santa Clara University. Check with the study abroad office at your home institution if they have a direct billing contract with Santa Clara. Students from schools with direct billing contract with Santa Clara University will be billed via their study abroad office or the appropriate office on their home university. Please be aware that your home university may charge you a different amount based on their stated policy/cost schedule. Regardless of billing method all students will be billed on the following dates: Fall: August 1st; Spring: December 1st; Summer - June 1st and all payments due on the 21st of each months before a $75 late payment fee is automatically assessed every month thereafter. Students will have the capability of downloading a hard copy of their statement or forwarding it electronically to any third party of choice for remittance.  All others will be fully responsible for all payments via eCampus. For more information, please visit the Bursar’s website: www.scu.edu/bursar

Travel Arrangements: Students are responsible for their own travel arrangements. Please plan on arriving at and departing from the El Salvador International Airport on the program dates listed below. When you have finalized your travel plans, be sure to e-mail your arrival information (airline, flight number, arrival time) to Trena Yonkers-Talz (tyonkerstalz@scu.edu) and Casa staff members will meet you outside baggage claim in El Salvador. Trena will be in touch with you in the coming weeks/months for other important information. You do NOT need a student or travel visa prior to arriving in El Salvador.

Pre-Departure Handbook: We look forward to working with you in the following months to prepare you for your time in El Salvador. You can download the Pre-Departure Handbook below. The pre-departure handbook covers information about El Salvador as a country, health and safety considerations, community guidelines, suggested reading preparation list, etc. Please plan to spend some time preparing for your semester with the Casa by going through these materials.

Refund Policy: Students will receive a full refund of their deposit, tuition, room & board, and other fees if they provide written notification to Santa Clara University sixty (60) days prior to the commencement of the Casa de la Solidaridad program. Students withdrawing forty days before the published start date will be charged the $500 deposit. Since virtually all funds are committed once the program begins, no tuition, housing, or other fees are returned if the withdrawal occurs on or after the program start date. To officially withdraw, please email either Trena or Kevin Yonkers-Talz and copy Vidalino Raatior (vraatior@scu.edu).

Preparation Materials

We look forward to working with you in the following months to prepare you for your time in El Salvador. Please plan to spend some time preparing for your semester with the Casa by going through the following materials.

• FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: For other frequently asked questions on the Next Steps in the process.
• PRE-DEPARTURE HANDBOOK (pdf) Summer 2009 - Spring 2010:  (Revised 11-19-2009) The pre-departure handbook covers information about El Salvador as a country, health and safety considerations, community guidelines, suggested reading preparation list, packing list, etc.
• REFLECTIONS BY A FORMER CASA STUDENT (JEN RE): You may be interested in this reflection piece from Jen Re from Santa Clara University.

Arrival / Departure Dates

You may now make flight arrangements to arrive and depart on the following dates. You will not need to apply for a visa prior to arriving in El Salvador. Please check back later for other important dates to note.

 

 

• Arrival: June 16, 2009
• Departure: July 18, 2009

• Arrival: August 19, 2009
• Departure: December 16, 2009
  

Requesting Your Casa Transcript

Approximately 2-3 weeks after your final examination, your professors will forward all grades to the International Programs Office at Santa Clara University to be posted to your ecampus account for your viewing pleasure on your ecampus account. Once all your grades are posted, you can request your official transcript to be sent to your home institution and/or yourself free of charge.

• Instructions on requesting a transcript...
  

For more information:

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Vidalino Raatior (vraatior@scu.edu) or Trena Yonkers-Talz(tyonkerstalz@scu.edu) and Kevin Yonkers-Talz (kyonkerstalz@scu.edu). Again, congratulations and welcome to the Casa de la Solidaridad!