College is the perfect time to travel. At least, it seems that way from the huge amounts of students who do it every year. Some of them just take road trips and explore the country on their summer breaks. Others enroll in study-abroad programs and spend entire semesters in other countries. Why are students traveling as part of the modern college experience?
Learning from the World
As The Huffington Post indicates, there are many things that traveling can teach you that you will never learn in college. For instance, it can push you out of your comfort zone, showing you just how big the world is and how many options and opportunities you really have. You can never truly grasp that if you just stay in your college town and never get out.
The Internet Makes It Easy
Another reason why college students are now traveling so much is because the Internet has made it easier to travel in the last decade than it was in the past. There is so much day-to-day information that can help on a trip. Many college students will use online sites to track store hours and locations so that they can know where to go even when they are in a new town or a new country. For example, they may check out the listings that are found on HoursMap, which can be searched based on addresses, zip codes or type of store.
It Provides Opportunities to Create
Many college students are very creative and energetic, and they want to use these abilities and this energy in any way that they can. Travel often gives them the chance that they may not find in the working world after they graduate because of job constraints. This is their chance to get out and do something that they love, creating something interesting and engaging along the way. For example, these girls are traveling to all 50 states in the US, and they are going to do it in just 50 days. While they do it, they are filming a documentary that they can use both to remember the trip and to show other people what they can get out of traveling.
Travel Can Be Cheap
Finally, this may be one of the only times in a person’s life when they can travel inexpensively. A lone college student has to pay far less in airfare than a woman with a husband and three children. College students can also use sites like StudentUniverse for great deals on airfare and lodging. At the same time, college students will often make use of cheap options that most people would not pick with their families, like staying in hostels with communal sleeping areas. These places can be as cheap as $20 per night. Hotels often cost at least five times as much. Often, a student will be able to pick up a temporary job in a foreign country if finances get tight.
