Definitions
“We”, “us”, or “our” means MedSchoolCoach, LLC (“MSC”)
“You” or “your” means the client.
Registration and Payment of Tuition and/or Fees
1. All tuition and fees are to be paid in US dollars.
2. A non-refundable $500 deposit must be made as indicated at the time of submission of the MSC program application for an application to be processed and confirmed.
3. You may pay your remaining balance at any time. However, 120 days before departure, your card will be automatically charged for the total of the remaining balance. Failure to complete payments may result in the cancellation of your enrollment without refund and MSC will not be responsible for any other penalties or costs incurred by you such as airfare cancellation, visa costs, etc. Payment extension requests may be made to MSC in writing. However, MSC maintains the right to accept or decline payment extension requests.
4. MSC will accept payment by major credit or debit card and are processed through MSC’s website. If using a debit card for payment, MSC is not responsible for any payment processed that incurs an overdraft fee on your bank account.
5. Program registration will not be confirmed until all completed forms and the correct payment is received in full and are successfully processed by MSC.
6. MSC will confirm your program enrollment and send all further information regarding your enrollment by email. MSC cannot be responsible for your spam filters or email account blocking emails from us. Please be sure your spam filters will allow mail from @medschoolcoach.com.
7. Program availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. In the event the program of your choice is full, MSC will not process any remaining payments. We will either destroy or return your method of payment per your request.
8. MSC maintains the right to increase program tuition and/or fees without notice. Tuition and/or fee increases will only apply to new enrollments and will not apply to those already accepted and enrolled in a program.
Accommodation, Expenses, and Meals
1. We provide your accommodation and meals for the duration of the MSC program, with the exception of periods of travel to and from the program’s location and any snacks in between meals you may wish to eat.
2. You will be participating in an MSC program without financial compensation and assuming all expenses outside of the expenses included with program tuition and/or fees such as, but not limited to, airfare, passport application fees, visa application fees, personal spending money, etc.
3. For security reasons you are not allowed to invite or allow any person who is not an MSC client to enter your accommodation, or any other aspect of the program, without the express consent of the MSC manager on duty.
Health Insurance
Taking part in an MSC program overseas carries with it a degree of risk and you must be protected by adequate health insurance for the duration of your trip. We are happy to offer advice on suitable policies on request, but it is your responsibility to ensure that you are appropriately covered. In particular, your normal health insurance or travel insurance policy should cover:
a. Emergency medical care and repatriation if necessary outside of your home country;
b. And claims, including for emergency medical treatment, arising from the time you are on placement in a hospital or other clinical setting outside of your home country.
Travel and Tuition Insurance
1. All trip participants are required to purchase travel insurance. Travel insurance can be obtained at a cost of about $200-250 (prices may vary).
2. Additionally, it is recommended you purchase tuition insurance for this portion of your education experience.
3. Once you have paid in full, any refunds will need to be processed through your travel and/or tuition insurance provider, and not through MedSchoolCoach.
Visas and Passports
1. We provide help and advice on obtaining the relevant visa for your participation in an MSC program, but the cost for obtaining the visa is yours. The issuing of these and their associated costs is at the discretion of the relevant authority and is beyond our control. Requirements and costs may change without notice or a visa may be refused. We cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of this.
2. As there are different types of visas, it is your responsibility to get the exact type of visa we state is required for you to obtain. Applying for the wrong type of visa will require you to apply again for the correct type of visa, with the potential of having to pay again for the application fee.
3. It is your responsibility to follow the visa application instructions exactly. Failure to provide all information required or to follow directions exactly may result in your visa application being denied or delayed.
4. You must be in possession of or obtain, a valid passport prior to applying for a visa. Generally speaking, passports must be valid no less than 180 days after your date of arrival in the country of the MSC program.
5. You are responsible for ensuring that your passport, visa, and any other travel documents are valid for the duration of the MSC program.
6. Please note that visas issued for MSC programs generally do not allow you to undertake any kind of paid work overseas. Taking on paid work without the proper permissions may be a serious offence for which you may be prosecuted.
Amendments, Cancellations, and Early Departure by the Client
1. Amendments or cancellations must be submitted to us in writing, either by mail, or email, to our office. Our staff can provide help and advice on amendments and cancellations, but a verbal agreement will not represent a change to your contract with us.
2. Our charge for an amendment is normally $50 plus any costs incurred to us. If the total cost is estimated to exceed $100, we will provide you with a quotation before proceeding.
3. A significant part of the fee paid by you will be spent or committed to budgets prior to the start date of your program, and we are therefore unable to offer a refund if you choose to cancel. Once you have paid in full, any refunds will need to be processed through your travel and/or tuition insurance provider, and not through MedSchoolCoach.
4. The above terms apply to the original program and program dates enrolled for. If you postpone, cancellation charges will apply as if the original departure date was still operative. Exceptions are entirely at our discretion and must be agreed upon in writing at the time when the postponement is made.
5. Amendments, after your program has started, are entirely at our discretion.
6. If you depart or withdraw from the program early, at your own will for any reason, the will of MSC for Code of Conduct and/or rule infractions, due to illness or injury, or for any other reason, you will be responsible for any additional costs involved. There will be no refund of any fees paid.
7. If you voluntarily remove yourself from participation in any part of a program without formally departing or withdrawing from the program for any reason, if you are suspended from participation by MSC due to Code of Conduct and/or rule infractions, or if you are determined to be too ill or injured to participate by MSC and/or professional medical personnel, there will be no refund of any fees paid.
Amendments and Cancellations by MedSchoolCoach, LLC
1. The nature of our programs is such that details of your program (such as accommodations type and schedule) may differ from those originally given to you. We will do our best to minimize such changes, and to inform you promptly if changes do arise.
2. In very rare circumstances, we may need to cancel a program due to low enrollment. In such a case, we will inform you no less than 45 days before your program start date and refund all fees you have paid to us. This will be the full extent of our liability and we will not accept responsibility for other costs you may incur, such as flight ticket penalties.
3. If cancellation occurs due to circumstances beyond our control, including, but not limited to, security threats, terrorist activity, political instability, or natural disasters, we will not be liable to refund any fees paid to us. We will, however, do our best to offer a similar program in a different destination and/or change of dates. You will be responsible for any costs incurred in changing to this destination and/or change of dates, including changes to flights.
Complaints
We are here to help you, and our staff at our office and at our program locations will do their very best to provide the highest level of service. However, a formal procedure for complaints is set out below:
a. We are providing you with an opportunity to have a unique educational and amazing experience in one of our programs, and as such you need to show a high level of independence, initiative, and maturity, especially in dealing with problems as they arise. If you have any problem that you find difficult to deal with, or which you feel should be our responsibility to resolve, you should follow this procedure: Talk to the MSC Executive Program Director responsible for your program. This is the person with the greatest ability to solve problems, and he or she will do their best to help you. If you are unhappy with the immediate response, or you feel the time taken to resolve the problem is too great, you should present your complaint to the MSC Executive Program Director in writing. If you are still unhappy with the response to your complaint, you should put it in writing to our main office either by mail, or email, as soon as possible. In the event of a claim for compensation, details of the claim must be received by us in writing no more than 30 days after the end date of your program.
b. The above procedure exists to enable us to identify and deal with problems and complaints as quickly and efficiently as possible. Failure to follow this procedure may compromise our ability to help you. We will not be responsible for problems or complaints not brought to our attention above.
Your Responsibility
1. You agree to keep confidential all sensitive information witnessed or presented to you during your program.
2. You agree to provide all information MSC requests regarding your enrollment in one of its programs within the deadlines stated by MSC.
3. You agree to submit signed copies of all required forms MSC sends to you once your enrollment is processed. These forms include, but may not be limited to, the following:
§ Liability Release
§ Code of Conduct
§ Terms and Conditions
§ Media Release Form
§ Health Form
§ Emergency Contact Form
Failure to return the above forms and any other forms electronically or via email, within the time required will result in our termination of your enrollment without refund.
4. You agree to be bound by the rules, regulations, and/or policies of, but not limited to, facilities, localities, transportation, and places of accommodation, encountered during the program.
5. We reserve the right to take appropriate action in the event of behavior that would reasonably be expected to offend other participants, MSC personnel, hosts, visitors, members of the general public, or others. This includes, but is not limited to, behavior such as serious rowdiness, failure to remain with your assigned group and group leader, or leaving the program to venture out on your own.
6. A problem that we consider serious will be brought to your attention in person. If the problem persists, we will contact parents or guardians if you are a minor, or if a legal adult, we will meet again in person with a demand for immediate resolution of the problem in order to avoid suspension from the program. If no resolution is found to our satisfaction, you will be dismissed from the program. If you are a minor, a parent or guardian, or a legal adult designated by your parent or guardian in writing to our office, will be required to pick you up from the program’s location within 24 hours. If you are a legal adult, you may stay in your program country beyond your dismissal, but we would have no further responsibility for your food, accommodation, or travel arrangements.
7. Please note that your enrollment in an MSC program is accepted on the understanding that you participate in the program at your own risk. It is not possible for us to be responsible for the actions or omissions of those involved in your program over whom we have no direct control, such as employees of airlines, local transport, and others. In addition, we are not responsible for loss or expense due to, but not limited to, war, riots, strikes, terrorist activities, natural disasters, or bankruptcies.
8. Please note that we reserve the right to decline or accept any person into an MSC program, or to require any participant to withdraw at any time when such action is determined by the appropriate MSC staff representative to be in the best interest of the health, safety, and general welfare of the program or of the individual participant. In such a case, we accept no responsibility for any airline cancellation penalty incurred by the purchase of a non-refundable ticket or any other cost that you may incur.
Governing Law
These Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts applicable to agreements made and to be entirely performed within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to its conflict of law principles.