4 Ways to Travel as a (Broke) College Student
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Your college experience can extend far past the traditional classroom setting--and there are plenty of resources to help you get there!
When I tell people about my travels during undergrad, they initially assume that I was able to do this riding solely on the coattails of my parents’ checking account. But once I clarify that most of my travels had nothing to do with my parents’ finances (because if it were up to them, I’d be sitting my butt at home lol), the obvious response immediately emerges: HOW?
The truth is: it all came to pass through some well-kept secrets when it comes to securing funding. I found that there’s actually a pretty sizable number of resources available to help university students get opportunities and funding to travel. So I’m sharing with you the 4 ways that I have found can help students get funding to have travel experiences. Most of these have been tried and tested, either by myself or others I have spoken to--so rest assured that they are all legit! Read on to see where your next travel experience can stem from~
1. Study Abroad/Exchange Program
I think that this is the most well-known way for university students to get international experience while in school. I studied abroad and had an amazing time, so I’m a big believer that every college student at least consider studying abroad.
Of course, one’s ability to study abroad depends on A LOT of factors, from your university and it’s available resources, to your major and course requirements.
So my biggest advice?: It’s never too early to start planning. Find out what your campus resources are, and start meeting with people to see what’s possible at least 1.5 semesters in advance. Because I researched relentlessly, I was actually able to participate in a program that took me to 3 campuses in 3 different countries! Besides airfare, it worked out that the costs I had to pay that semester didn’t differ much from what it would have been had I stayed in the States; so I think I got a great bang-for-my-buck.
By picking a multi-destination study abroad program, I was able to maximize my travel experiences without draining the bank in the process!
I will also mention a slightly different method of doing the same thing, and that is via direct enrollment. This option is most suitable for students originating from US institutions; it basically works by applying directly to your school of interest, and taking a leave of absence from your home institution to attend school there. I never personally went this route, but I have met some people who did, and their experiences didn’t seem too much different from the one I had. This option is appealing because colleges and universities outside of the US tend to be MUCH cheaper, so you’d be able to have your abroad experience while saving thousands of dollars--who doesn’t want that? Fair warning, though: this road will be more logistically tasking on you, since you won’t have your college to help mediate things for you.
Most importantly, whether you consider an exchange program or direct enrollment, CHECK YOUR CREDITS!!, Check them backwards and forwards, count them up and down...I cannot stress this point enough. You don’t want to end up in a prickly situation with credits that could affect your graduation. And if you need to obtain some credits while studying abroad, QUADRUPLE CHECK that they will transfer over, and can be applied to your college/major credit requirements. You’ll want to do this all before leaving your home country; trust me, it’ll save you a whole lot of headache later on!
2. Grants and Scholarships
This is the point where I proceed to get on a soapbox and scream into my megaphone:
PEOPLE WILL GIVE YOU MONEY TO GO ABROAD!
Seriously. This is a thing. I’ve even been told before that sometimes such funds go year after year untouched, because people just don’t know about them and aren’t taking advantage of it. These types of funds exist in a variety of forms and amounts; and while some of them may not necessarily be enough to foot your whole itinerary, every little bit is worth it when it comes to funding your international travel.
For these kinds of things, start by digging around your school to see if anything exists. For example, when I studied abroad, I was awarded an in-house scholarship set up by an alum for students doing programs in East Asia--and I hadn’t even known it existed. My school also had a grant that funded students to attend the UN Climate Change Conference; this one was a real dream for me, because through that, I was able to spend a week in Germany and get insight into exactly the kind of work I strive to do in the future! (There’s also an underlying message with this one: KEEP TRYING! The first time I applied for this I was rejected; don’t let a ‘No’ defeat you!)
When you start searching more broadly, you can make your search easier by looking for ones that cater to specific demographics, majors/career paths, or global regions that align with you and your interests. You’ll have to apply for these kinds of things, just like anyone would have to for any kind of scholarship. But don’t let a simple application be what gets in the way of you and potential funding for invaluable travel experiences!
3. Fellowships/Internships/Work Opportunities
This category can be related to the previous category in some ways, but is still a bit different. While some grants or scholarships may not have any strict requirements after it is awarded, the funding in this category is often associated with some form of work. For fellowships this may be work of an academic nature, whereas internships and other roles may put you in any number of work positions that contribute to the company/organization’s mission and goals.
In the Dominican Republic, I spent my days in a lab, but had the evenings and weekends to myself!
These tend to be EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE, especially fellowships, which, on top of financial assistance, can sometimes have a bit of merit associated with them as well.
The extent of financial assistance may vary, however; for example, I’ve held an unpaid internship abroad where the only remuneration was my daily metro fare (about $3 USD). But I’ve also had an internship abroad that was a kind of “all expenses paid” situation, which covered lodging, food, transportation, and provided a monthly stipend to top it all off.
So do your research and submit your applications! One final thought on this though: don’t just go for random jobs or fellowships just because they get you out of your country. While it could get you overseas, you still very well may have the responsibilities of a full-time job; meaning that you’re gonna want to actually like what you’ll be doing, as you could be spending a lot of time doing it. Luckily these kinds of work opportunities are spread out across various fields and specialties, so be sure to tailor your search to your own work interests!
4. Student Organizations
Out of all the things I’ve mentioned, I found that this category is often the most underrated one. While these opportunities will vary based on your school and how much resources student organizations have access to, you may be surprised at what’s possible through this outlet.
A student org by no means has to be directly related to travel to be able to do so; they usually just need a reason for it. For example, I was part of the Speech & Debate team at my school, which did pretty extensive traveling. I personally got to go to Canada for competitions; and other members were able to travel to Europe and Asia for bigger tournaments and programs. This was all generally at no cost to the participants--even down to the lodging, transportation and airfares!
I have met others who have similarly been able to have abroad experiences through student organizations. One person I met traveled to Hong Kong and South Korea with their acapella group, while someone else went to South America with his birdwatching club! So as you can see, there really aren’t strict boundaries for the kinds of clubs that have travel components to them. I don’t recommend joining a club just for the travel perks, though; you’ll find yourself quickly exhausted by the activities if they aren’t in line with your personal interests, and taking on that added stress on top of a full semester absolutely is not worth it. Instead, simply looking into student orgs based on your genuine interests, and then see if you can find any overlap between that and travel opportunities!
That wraps up this list of four ways that students can have travel experiences, without having to fund it all by yourself! So don’t think that you have to put an international experience on hold just because of money, because with a little research you may be pleasantly surprised by what you can find!
As always, feel free to drop any questions or comments down below, and I’ll see you in the next post!
