You might be in school in the states, but your mind keeps wandering to countries far away. It may seem as though your college-student budget would prevent you from hopping a plane and traveling to the other side of the world, but it turns out there are many ways to make that dream a reality and in this post, we’ll share our top tips for traveling abroad as a student.

Here are 4 tips for traveling abroad as a student and making the world your classroom

1. Study Abroad

This tip’s the obvious one in the bunch, but it’s worth mentioning. If you’re already enrolled in school, your college probably has at least a handful of programs that can take you abroad for a summer session, a semester, or even a whole year.

Find the place you want to go or an academic schedule that suits your interests. You can typically find funding through your university in the form of study abroad scholarships and loans. In most cases, you’ll have to schedule your own flights to get to and from your destination, though.

Studying abroad through school is a great way to ensure that your credits will count. Because the program is through or approved by your university, your hard work will contribute to your degree. Sometimes, that isn’t the case, so do your research and ask an advisor before signing up for anything if you want your course to provide academic credit.

2. Study the Language First

Whether you’re traveling abroad as a student through school or traveling on your own, do your best to learn the country’s native language before you go and use it while you’re there. For one thing, it will make your learning experience even greater — the more you speak, the more you’ll pick up, and the more confident you’ll be about communicating.

To that end, learning a country’s language will help endear you to the locals, who will be more willing to help you and have patience if you try. And, when it comes to crime, those speaking loudly in English tend to be targeted by pickpocketers — speaking the language is one way to stay safe abroad.

3. Take Online Classes

Perhaps you can’t find a study abroad program where you want to go, or you can’t find an academic register there that suits your career pursuits. Don’t give up yet! You could create your own study abroad or full-time program of sorts by taking online classes and completing them from a foreign location.

You can find a slew of accredited courses online, and you can take them from anywhere where there’s a Wi-Fi connection — keep that in mind if you want to study somewhere super remote. Otherwise, you can study everything from health administration to project management anywhere in the world.

4. Work, Travel, and Study

Digital nomads are taking over the world. These people have found careers not tethered to a single location — in other words, they can work remotely, so long as they complete the task with which they’ve been charged. Then, they log in, work and get paid from wherever they are in the world. Some stay in one place, while others use the opportunity to fund their treks from country to country.

If you plan to study full-time while you’re abroad, this might not help you to pay for your entire travel experience. However, you could fund some of your studies and your travels by acquiring a few freelance jobs. Those who do it have plenty of tips for making it fruitful. For instance, they suggest working when you feel most productive and finding a peaceful place to work, among other helpful tips. If you want to study and travel in the long term, then this could be your solution.

Read More:

Live On The Road: 5 Things You Can Do To Make Money As A Digital Nomad

Digital Jobs: Organizational Tricks To Help You Multitask

See the World

Traveling is one of life’s greatest learning experiences, especially when you start at a young age. Your desire to travel will introduce you to a whole new world and perspective, and that will change your life. These four tips will help you get abroad and make your time there a success. Now, it’s time to see the world.

Read Next: 3 Things You Should Avoid When Working Abroad

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