Fitting Travel into Your Semester

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Katie Priest
Marina Bay in Singapore with blue sky in the background and a boat traveling across the water.

Exciting travel opportunities can be available to college students through conferences, competitions, class trips, or leisure travel. Traveling during the semester can seem impossible without getting behind in assignments, class meetings, and projects. As a college student who averages one trip a semester here are some of my best tips to plan a trip and stay on top of your classwork.

Plan Out All of Your Assignments

Go through all of your assigned work for your course at least two weeks before your trip. This should include any work due before, during, and after your trip. Once you have a list of assignments due you can now complete any assignments that are due ahead of time and start on any large projects.

Meet With Your Professors

I have always found that communicating with your professors about a trip beforehand (at least two weeks) helps balance out coursework. In my experience, an office hour meeting about your upcoming trip can lead to due dates being moved back and some in-class assignments waived. Professors are also more willing to work with you before due dates and your trip rather than after. Additionally, in these meetings, you want to alert your professors to any absences that may occur over the course of your trip. I also recommend giving yourself a buffer of the day before and after your trip to prepare and recuperate.

Build Relationships with Classmates

As all college students know at the beginning of the semester the professor will recommend that you gather your classmates' contact information. Foster a relationship with these classmates and they will often share any lecture notes from the days that you miss. I recommend telling your classmates in advance and having two contacts per class in case someone has to miss class. This is a lifesaver.

These are my three best tips for traveling as a college student. I’ve followed all of these steps throughout my college career, and I have never hit any snags. I hope these tips help you out too! Enjoy your trip!

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