Your college years are the time that you’re the most free – no family obligations, no serious career, no burdensome college loans. So this is the time you should travel. Here are some tips on how to travel while in college and take advantage of new opportunities to see the world.
If you’re expecting your college years to be filled with adventures and new experiences, you’ve got to make that happen.
You can easily travel while you’re in college. I’m a full-time college student, and even though studies take up a lot of time, I still get to travel pretty frequently.
How do I find time to travel while in college?
Getting a degree will eat up nearly all of your time. When you’re not actually in class, you’re probably writing papers or studying, and going to games or parties. If you let it, the years you spend in college will become a blur of late nights and lectures.
If you’re serious about traveling while you’re in college, you’ve got to make yourself find the time.
You can do this by skipping out on some activities. Some might say you have to be in clubs and sororities and go to all the games in order to get the ‘most’ out of college.
But the fact is college is a tool that prepares you for life – not a social Costco where you stock up on every activity to get your money’s worth. Take your first year or two to soak up college life and save money, and then use your third and fourth years to take advantage of travel opportunities.
You can also choose a university setting that lets you have more freedom.
I chose a college that offers online classes. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. Instead of sitting in lecture halls everyday, I take my laptop with me anywhere in the world and attend class via WiFi.
Now this is the really important part: you need to choose an online college very carefully. You don’t want to spend thousands of dollars enrolled in a ‘diploma mill’ school. University of Phoenix, Devry, and Strayer are notorious diploma mills; they’re corporations that pose as universities. Stay away from those.
If you’re going to choose an online university, make sure it’s an actual university. Do your research and find out if it existed as an accredited university before the invention of the internet.
When I was doing research it came down University of Oregon and Southern New Hampshire University. Both are real universities that make their curriculum available online too, and that’s what you want if you’re going to enroll in an online college and travel.
Other ways you can travel while in college:
Even if you chose to go to a traditional brick and mortar school, you can still travel while you’re in class.
Just about every college offers a study abroad or exchange option that allows you to attend class at another country’s university. Ask your advisors for information about what study abroad options your chosen school offers.
If you can’t study abroad, consider an international internship. Universities typically offer seniors a summer or semester credit internship option and many of these are in other countries.
So how do I afford to travel while in college?
I prioritize.
Traveling is extremely important to me. When it comes down to it, I’d rather eat boring food at home while binge watching Netflix instead of spend extra money going out to eat and to the movies.
I figure out all the places I want to travel to during the whole year, research how much it’ll cost, and start saving up for it. I found that once I cut back the times I went shopping or out to eat, I was saving a lot of money I could use for my next trip!
If you’re going to study abroad through your school, there are grants and scholarships you can apply for so that you may be able to go without having to save up a lot of money.
Remember this: college is the beginning of your time. You’re not in high school anymore. Now you’re free to explore the world. And just because you have term papers doesn’t mean you have to stay on campus.
Study abroad, enroll in a university’s online program, or get an international internship. Either way, just go. Use these years to see the world.