airplane.jpgYo! How many times have you walked past the bulletin board outside the school library and pined for the day when you’d be able to take that semester abroad trip to Spain? Wondering how you’re going to get to Miami or Cabo for Spring break? Let’s see… you’re broke, right? Don’t cry, it’ll be OK.

First and foremost, any financial aid you receive from your school or from your state and/or federal government may be transferable to your study abroad program or host institution, meaning you’d have few out-of-pocket expenses if you did decide to study abroad. These out-of-pocket expenses include airfare, train tickets, lodging, and food”not to mention those cute little wooden shoes you found on your foray into Denmark. “So, Erin,” you say, “I’d still have to spend money to study abroad. What’s your point?” Well, you don’t have to spend as much money as you may have expected.

I found a few gloriously hip sites when I typed in “student travel” on Google, and my favorites so far are StudentUniverse and STA Travel. What makes these sites so mouthwateringly attractive is that they are travel sites geared exclusively toward students, and the people behind these companies know how expensive traveling is, and how little money we have. They’ve somehow negotiated with tons of airline and hotel bigwigs to get us dirt-cheap prices on everything from pole-to-pole airline tickets, European rail passes, and extended stays in hostels. (Hostels are kind of like foreign dorm rooms or small efficiency apartments that charge $18-$50 a night, usually for up to two or three weeks.) Even better, these websites also offer complete travel packages and information about studying and volunteering abroad as well as language immersion programs”again, all at prices students can afford.

If you’re serious about this studying abroad business, be sure to check out the online magazine called Student Traveler, which has tons of advice, tips, and other necessary tidbits of information about your trip. Be sure you also cruise on over to iTravelosophy, where you can find a page with more student traveling tips and links to third-party and government websites. If you prefer the hard-copy route, I highly recommend Moon Travel Books, which has over 110 guides for destinations around the globe. They have really cool covers, too, but I’m kind of biased because I’m interning at their parent company. They also stock a line of living abroad books, if you’re planning to stay anywhere for a month or more.

So. You wouldn’t have to pay (much) extra tuition to go study in the Sahara or the Swiss Alps. You could get roundtrip airfare for under $700. Housing and food would be provided by your host school. (You would, of course, have to pay for those cute little wooden shoes you found on your foray into Denmark.)

Come on, I’ll race you to Paris.