trip to costa rica

[jstar71115]

Alright so I'm considering going on a trip to Costa Rica this summer with a program called ISV (www.isvonline.com) and I'd be doing their standard program with a wildlife conservation project and hopefully an excursion to the Galapagos Islands. I was just wondering if anyone has done this or has opinions on whether or not it would be worth it to go. Thanks!

 

[EqSci]

I went to Costa Rica as a school trip the summer before my junior year of high school. I will be going back at some point in my life. I absolutely LOVED it, the wildlife is more than amazing and it's such a great experience. I'd tell anyone who got the chance to go to absolutely take it!

 

[Angelo84]

Alright so I'm considering going on a trip to Costa Rica this summer with a program called ISV (www.isvonline.com) and I'd be doing their standard program with a wildlife conservation project and hopefully an excursion to the Galapagos Islands. I was just wondering if anyone has done this or has opinions on whether or not it would be worth it to go. Thanks!

I did this in 2004 and it was a lot of fun! I requested conservation and worked at Gandoca beach with leatherbacks. It is a well run and organized trip. We didn't go to the galapagos that would have been really fun! If you want more info PM me.

 

[168135]

Roughly, how much does it cost to do something like this? It sounds like something I'd be interrested in.

Eh, nevermind... I found it.

 

[critterfixer]

Wow, that looks like SUCH a cool program! If you have the opportunity to do it, then go!

 

[thereservoirdog]

I'm not really a big fan of paying that much money just to volunteer, they actually seem more like vacations. There are tons of field projects that you could at least get a stipend for. They're not as exotic as ISV I guess but there's still a lot of cool research to get involved with in the US. Check out the Texas A&M job board.

 

[Pandacinny]

Reservoir dog, I agree with you. I actually lost an internship earlier this year because the girl I was up against had a couple of "exotic" experience that she'd paid for. The PI told me I should go volunteer in Australia and the Carribean and try volunteering full time at the zoo. I wish I could do all of that stuff, but I just can't afford it. :/

(I don't mean to sound bitter! She was a really nice, talented girl and the PI said it was really hard to pick just one of us, but he couldn't get funding approved for two. He and the intern he chose are a great fit.)

 

[tastrophe]

I'm not really a big fan of paying that much money just to volunteer, they actually seem more like vacations. There are tons of field projects that you could at least get a stipend for. They're not as exotic as ISV I guess but there's still a lot of cool research to get involved with in the US. Check out the Texas A&M job board.

Could you post a link to that board? I've been hard pressed to find field projects that offer stipends and/or pay 100% of expenses.

But I agree with you - while I have heard good things about ISV , the trips are pretty overpriced. There are plenty of organizations that host similar volunteer trips for less than half the cost. A quick yahoo search on overseas volunteering will bring up a ton of choices. Again, nothing at all against ISV, just don't put the blinders on too quickly.

To the OP, if you have the opportunity, go for it! I never did, and looking back, I often wish I had.

 

[thereservoirdog]

Texas A&M: http://wfsc.tamu.edu/jobboard/index.htm

I found the project I worked on last summer at http://www.volunteer.gov . It covered housing and the stipend was a bit more than enough to cover food. There's a couple other good websites for field work but I can't remember them right now.

Anyways, if you have the money and want to do overseas work, then ISV might work better for you. I wasn't able to find many out of the country projects that you don't have to pay for. But I did find one on Texas A&M for raptor monitoring in Belize and Panama that covered room and board.

 

[stinyexoticvet]

Hi guys I went to Costa Rica for an entire semester in 2004 to study tropical field ecology. The only way I was able to do it was to find a program that had biology courses that would be accepted towards my biology degree. Once I found the courses, I had to have them approved by administration. Once they were approved by administration then my Stafford loan applied directly to the program just like it was a program at my state school. Yes, it was alot of money $8,500 but I figured it was a once in a life time opportunity and I will just add it to my GIANORMOUS vet school loans anyway. That program is what gave me the courage to apply to places like Murdoch, Massey, RVC, and Ross. You can read about Costa Rica HERE

My advice...if you can, find a program that is sponsored by your school and will give you credit towards your degree...then get that Stafford and go for it