THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS FROM WHICH WE MIGHT MAKE A COMMISSION.
Sometimes readers send us their travel questions and I do my best to answer! Robin wanted to know how to travel as a broke college student. I hear you! How to travel on a college budget that barely covers books and ramen is a question many of us have! Since this reader question seemed like it might be relevant to many of our audience, I decided to answer publicly via a blog post! Here’s Robin’s question:
Hi Zach!
I’m a sophomore in college and I am so over school. My parents expect me to get a degree but I just want to travel instead. I plan to take a year off after graduation, but that’s at least two and a half years away. I need to do something to scratch this itch. Do you have any college travel trips for how to travel in college even if I’m a broke student?
Thanks for everything,
– Robin
Robin, I get it, you’re a college student who wants to travel the world instead of hitting the books. Trust me, I know, I’m right there with you. But, also, much like you, I have to face the dismal reality: I’m broke. College costs a lot. Between the tuition, housing, text books, beer, and pizzas it’s a wonder I still have money left for more beer, let alone to even think of traveling on Spring Break, or winter break, or next Tuesday. But, just because you’re broke, doesn’t mean you can’t travel. Here are some options for cheap ways to travel for college students and how to incorporate travel in your life as a broke college student.
How to travel as a broke college student:
Get a Part-Time Job
I know you’re already busy with schoolwork and extra-curricular activities and sorority formals, but if you really want something, you need to work for it. And sometimes work means getting a job. So if you’re really trying to figure out how to travel as a college student and are serious about affording to travel, get a part time job. The good news is there will never be as many options for work again as there are for a college student on a college campus. So fry some fries, shelve some books, or take wanted ads for your school paper. Pretty soon you’ll be able to afford a weekend trip to Des Moines. It’s a start, right?
Study Abroad
The best way to travel during college is through a study abroad program. Sure, there’s still classes and homework involved, but the truth is that most study abroad programs are jokes. You can take the easiest classes while abroad: Japanese bird watching, Mongolian cinema, English as a foreign language. Classes you’re guaranteed to ace without ever cracking a book or even showing up. And your parents will applaud your initiative for wanting the independence and culture that a study abroad program offers so they’ll probably foot the bill. You please your parents, you get to travel for free, and there’s no strings attached.
Find a Sugar Daddy
Robin, you sound hot. So why not put those young looks to good use? You’re at a prime time in your life to find a guy willing to pay for you to travel. Websites like Craigslist or Miss Travel offer great opportunities to find someone who would be willing to fly you all around the world and buy you stuff for your travels. Free travel? I wish I could be so lucky. Now, I’m sure the man will expect you to repay him, just not with money. But since you’re in college you’re probably giving that away for free anyways. So why not get a free vacation out of it?
Crowdfund
One of the best and easiest ways to make money to travel nowadays is to crowdfund. Set up something on Go Fund Me and ask everyone you know to kick in. Your grandma. Your parents. Your sorority sisters. Your high school gym teacher. Your dentist. I’m sure everyone is dying to see your dreams come true, so they should put some cash behind those wishes. Alternatively, you can even set up a Kickstarter for some amazing invention. You’re in college, you’re smart, figure something out. You just need a good idea, you don’t actually have to follow through, just take the money and run.
Hope this helped you find ways for how to travel for free or cheap in college, Robin! Good luck with everything and I KNOW we’ll see you on the road somewhere!
Are you still in school? How do you travel as a broke college student?
Pin this post:
