What to Expect

After completing the online application, you will receive an email confirmation from our Leadership Team with next steps to complete the enrollment process. This process includes a reference check (for students new to WA) and several forms to be completed by a parent or guardian. Once all paperwork has been submitted and reviewed, you will be notified of official enrollment at WA!

Once this paperwork is out of the way, things get a bit more fun! You will receive a day-by-day itinerary for the program, a pack list for your trip, and more information about travel. The Regional Coordinator of your student’s program will reach out to help you with all your summer preparations! Read more about our Leadership Team here.

WA groups are small and mighty! Typically made up of 6-13 students with 2 Trip Leaders, we believe that traveling in tight-knit communities like this make for extremely valuable, memorable, and hands-on experiences. You will be traveling with this small cohort of peers and will be amazed at how quickly bonds are formed!

WA is electronics-free, so once your student joins the group, they will no longer have access to their phone. Read more on disconnecting here! Trip Leaders hold all electronics throughout the program for safekeeping. You will receive a phone call from the airport when your student has joined the group.

Throughout your student’s program, photo updates will be provided to families! More details about these updates will be provided before your trip begins, but generally our Trip Leaders post photos to share with families once a week. These photos are a glimpse into life on the program but are kept to a minimum in order to provide the students and Trip Leaders the opportunity to enjoy the experience without the distraction of posting online.

After a grand adventure, it will be time for your student to head home! After tear-filled goodbyes, high fives, and final photos the group will head to the airport. Trip Leaders will help students proceed through security and ensure that they have plenty of time to navigate to their gate before their flight boards. Phones will also be redistributed so students have plenty of time to charge them before flying.

Our Trip Leaders will wait at the airport until all students’ flights have taken off (wheels up) to ensure that no one gets stuck with a delayed or canceled flight.