Jan Term Travel Registration
Travel Lottery Overview
- Pre-registration: qualifying for enrollment
- Lottery Day: selecting your course
- Post-registration: preparing for your departure
Step #0: Check your passport
International travel requires a passport which must be valid through July 2025. If your passport expires before then, you must renew your passport and expedite the application.
Non-US passport holders are responsible for researching if you need a visa for the country(ies) you are going to and may be subject to additional costs.
1. Pre-registration
May 1-September 22, 2024
In order to enroll in a Travel course, there are a number of important requirements you must fulfill.
Students who fail to complete one or more of the pre-registration requirements will be ineligible to participate in the Travel Lottery and enroll in a January Term Travel course.
REQUIRED: Travel Lottery & Scholarship Form
Submit by Thursday, Sep. 19
Completing the Jan Term Travel Lottery & Scholarship Form is the first step to beginning the registration process.
You must submit this form in order to enroll in a Travel course. This form closes on Thursday, Sep. 19.
View form →
Travel Lottery Form details
This form collects your contact information and courses of interest (required) as well as your Travel Scholarship application (optional).
Submission of this form does not guarantee enrollment in any course but is required for registration. You can submit more than once to update your response.
Travel Scholarship details
Qualifying students can receive an award of 75% of the course fee for their enrolled course.
The deadline to apply is 5:00 pm, Wednesday, Sep. 11.
Scholarship details & eligibility →
Travel Scholarship Webinar
Tuesday, Sep. 3
Learn more about the Jan Term Travel Scholarship and the eligibility requirements and get all your questions answered about this amazing financial opportunity.
View webinar recording → View webinar slides →
REQUIRED: Fall Information Sessions
September 3-17
Come learn about the courses and expectations, ask questions, and get instructor approval for a chance to enroll!
Attending at least 1 Info Session and getting instructor approval are required in order to enroll in a Travel course.
JT Travel & Study Abroad Fair
Wednesday, Sep. 11
Time: 12:00-2:00 pm
Location: Dante Quad
Meet the Travel instructors and learn about all the course offerings for 2025.
Travel Scholarship recipients announced
Friday, Sep. 13
Time: 5:00 pm
If you applied for the Jan Term Travel Scholarship by the September 11 deadline, then today’s the day to learn if you won!
Scholarship details & eligibility →
REQUIRED: Deposit window
September 18-19
You will receive an email confirming all your instructor-approved courses on Monday, Sep. 16, and a reminder to submit your travel deposit between the morning of Wednesday, Sep. 18, and end of day on Thursday, Sep. 19.
View deposit instructions & policies →
Deposits & clearances
Submission of your course deposit
A zero balance or being current on your payment plan
Minimum 2.0 GPA
Good academic standing
Opt-out option
Lottery confirmation email
Friday, Sep. 20
At 5:00 pm on Friday, all students who submitted the Travel Lottery Form and are eligible to enroll in a Travel course will receive an email containing:
Their registration number
Their expected Lottery time slot on Monday (seniors only) or Tuesday
All courses for which they are eligible to enroll
Their course rankings
Instructions for Lottery participation
Eligibility
Submitted the Lottery Entry form
Submitted a travel deposit
Received institutional clearances
Course rankings
2. Lottery Day
Monday, September 23/ Tuesday, September 24
After receiving their registration number and time slot, all eligible students are invited to take part in the Lottery Drawings the following Monday (seniors) and Tuesday (juniors, sophomores, and first years), where participating students will have a chance officially to enroll in the course or waitlist of their choice.
Deadline to change course rankings
8:00 AM, Monday, Sep. 23
Deadline to opt out
8:00 AM, Monday, Sep. 23
After submitting the Travel Lottery Form, you can opt out of the Travel Lottery and Registration process at any time before the deadline. Simply fill out the Lottery Opt-out form to stop receiving Jan Term Travel reminders and notifications and to remove your name from the 2025 Lottery. Otherwise, after 8:00 am on Monday, you are committed to participating in the Travel Lottery and are responsible for paying the remaining course fee if enrolled.
Lottery Drawing
[Your time slot]
In the Lottery confirmation email on Friday, you receive a registration number and a time.
On your Lottery Day, you and other students in your class year gather in a Zoom room to wait for your registration number to be called. Each registration number will be drawn in order, and when your number is drawn, you will enter a Zoom Breakout room to make your selection.
Lottery Drawing Interface
Layout example
Participation
Once you enter the Zoom Breakout room for course selection, you can choose either to enroll in one of your approved courses with available seats, or to waitlist if the course is full.
You are also able to see the current seats taken, total seats, and waitlist size for each course to help inform your decision (see the interface example pictured above).
By default, you will be either enrolled in the first available course on your list or, if no seats are available for any of your eligible courses, placed on the waitlist of your first-choice course.
PLEASE NOTE: You can either be enrolled in a maximum of one approved course or be placed on the waitlist of no more than one approved course, but you cannot be on a waitlist and a roster at the same time.
Attendance policy
If you are absent from the Lottery Drawing when your number is called, you can either:
- Appoint a proxy who will choose your course/waitlist selection on your behalf.
- Proxies may only select from your list of eligible courses.
- The decision of the proxy stands, or will stand in for the decision of the student (you). No exceptions.
- Proxies must identify themselves at the time of registration. This will include full name, email address, and relation to the student. Students using proxies do not need to notify the Jan Term Office of this decision in advance.
- While proxies are allowed, they are not recommended.
- Preemptively accept the default results of the Lottery, which can be that you are either:
- Automatically enrolled in your top-ranked course with available seats
- Automatically waitlisted for your top-ranked course if no seats are available for any of your eligible courses
Waitlist Selections & Lottery Day Conclusion
After all registration numbers in your class year have been drawn and all students have made their selections, Travel instructors will have a chance to review their rosters. If their roster is full, an instructor can make waitlist selections as needed for gender-balancing for the purpose of rooming.
All Lottery participants will be notified of their enrollment status subsequently.
Waitlist via Class Standing
After all students in a class year have had an opportunity to register via the lottery, waitlisted students will have another chance to enroll in a different course in which there is room and for which they have approval, and before the next cohort starts their registration process.
Waitlisted students for whom this option is relevant will receive an email from the Jan Term Office shortly after live registration for their cohort has concluded with instructions on how to do so. At the end of the day, the Registrar’s Office will officially enroll students in their courses through GaelXpress.
3. Post-registration
September 25-November 11, 2024
Before your departure, all enrolled students must complete the following requirements by the appointed deadlines.
Failure to complete one or more of these requirements can result in an automatic withdrawal from the course and a forfeit of the entirety of the course fee.
Waitlist Wednesday
Wednesday, Sep. 25
If any courses still have available seats, students on waitlists for other courses will be notified on the Wednesday after the Lottery and may have a chance to release their spot on the waitlist to enroll in one of the open courses (after gaining instructor approval).
Important reminders & requirements
- Stay in close communication with your instructor about any course-specific requirements or meetings before departure.
- All health forms and travel paperwork are due by Monday, Nov. 11; book an appointment with your physician early!
- A valid passport is required for international travel; if you do not have a passport or if your passport expires before August 2025, order one immediately.
REQUIRED: Mandatory Health & Safety Orientations
October 2-3
Wednesday, Oct. 2 (Zoom)
Thursday, Oct. 3 (In person, Hagerty Lounge)
3:30-4:30 pm
Once enrolled, all Travel students are required to attend at least 1 Health & Safety Orientation, where we will go over the different protocols and expectations that come with both domestic and international travel.
REQUIRED: Final payment due
October 9-21
Upon enrollment in a Travel course, each student is responsible for paying the remainder of their course fee to the Business Office between Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Monday, Oct. 21.
View deposit instructions →
REQUIRED: Travel paperwork due
Monday, Nov. 11
On your course’s Canvas site, you must complete the Travel Registry module, submitting the signed health forms, proof of required immunizations, and the necessary identification for travel.
This step can take up to 6 weeks or more, so renew/order your passport early and book an appointment with a healthcare provider right away.
Final steps...
Once all required paperwork has been submitted and all necessary payments have been processed, all that's left is to coordinate travel plans and scheduling details with the course instructor for January!
With each course flying to a different region around the globe, it's important to be prepared for the many physical and cultural adjustments students will likely face. Luckily, our Travel faculty have extensive knowledge and experience concerning their courses' destinations, so on top of planning ahead and packing the essentials, students should always follow their instructors' recommendations and never be afraid to ask questions when traveling abroad.
Travel Courses & Info Sessions
Learn more about what travel courses are being offered for the coming Jan Term and when their info sessions are being held.
Browse coursesQuestions? Contact us
Jan Term Email: janterm@stmarys-ca.edu
Jan Term Director: Claire Williams
Email: cmw9@stmarys-ca.edu
Jan Term Travel Phone: 925-631-5032
Jan Term Office: South Arcade/Korth Tower Breezeway