The holidays are almost upon us, and for many students the semester break can mean a number of different things: Family, work, and for some lucky people, travel. Taking time to travel, either during a winter or summer break, can be far more than just a vacation – it has the potential to benefit students’ career paths and grad school competitiveness.
Firstly, taking time to travel can help students confirm decide what they want to do long-term. I worked with one student who thought that she wanted to pursue a master’s in international development with a focus on east Asia, but wasn’t sure that focusing on that particular region was the right choice for her until she actually had the opportunity to visit. Conversely, I’ve worked with other students who ended up changing their post-grad plans after they had the opportunity to travel and get experience in the field in which they had been interested.
Secondly, there is no denying that international work or volunteer experiences can raise the competitiveness of a grad school applicant – admissions committees seek to build diverse classes of students, and working abroad can round out a candidate’s profile in a way that is attractive to admissions committees, virtually regardless of field or program.
Of course, not everyone has the funds to just pick up and go backpacking across South America for the summer. However, if students are creative, there are lots of low-cost ways to travel internationally. The New York Times’ travel section recently interviewed Mark Warren, Harvard senior and managing editor of Let’s Go, a series of student travel guides. The transcript can be found here. It contains lots of tips for traveling on a budget, as well as a number of resources that students can use to begin looking into volunteer and short-term work opportunities abroad – with some research and planning, they can be well on their way to having an exciting summer break!
