Travel
Students generally are responsible for booking their own travel (though some programs facilitate group travel.) Make sure to look at the program’s start and end dates; don’t plan on arriving late or leaving early!!
If a student doesn't have the cash to pay for this upfront, work with the SAO to get a Davenport Loan, which is basically a 0% interest advance on your aid package. For more information, speak with SAO.
When booking travel, be considerate of when a flight connects through another country before arriving at the final country destination, as the country you transit through may matter when it comes to your host country immigration process. For example, students studying in the UK seeking a short-term visitor visa at Customs upon entry to the UK will be unable to get this if they transit through Ireland, because of a long-standing free border relationship between Ireland and the UK. Likewise, there can be difficulties arriving in a Schengen Zone country (e.g. Germany) as a pass-through en route to another Schengen Zone country (e.g. Denmark.) Please pay CLOSE attention to the travel/transit/visa advice in your program/university's webpage on immigration guidance and, when necessary, call/email your program/university to clarify travel intentions prior to the purchase of travel.
Our Departing Resources page has links to several popular travel websites, including one specializing in student travel. We strongly recommend enrolling in STEP,
Read up on your host country here.
Thinking about what to pack? Ask someone who went there recently! Check out our Where do our Students go? page for names of students who are in your host country now or were there last semester!
Helpful Travel Links:
-
Online travel agencies: STA Travel, Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity