New Study Shows College Kids Are Using Student Loans To Travel

This month, LendEDU conducted a study of over 500 college students saddled with student loan debt to figure just how these cash-strapped kids are affording one-week jaunts in Mexico and the Caribbean.

According to LendEDU’s findings, over 30 percent of respondents answered they plan to use student loan money to finance their upcoming trips. Many student loan lenders provide a living expense in addition to the cost of tuition, meant to absorb the price of room and board, school supplies, and books.

What LendEDU has found suggests college students are prioritizing the need to travel above their quality of life and sacrificing everyday expenses to finance a trip to Cancun. This choice not only takes away from their own living costs, but greatly impacts their family.

“The National Center for Education Statistics calculated that 20.5 million students will be attending college this year in the United States. Orbitz reported that 55% of students will be going on spring break,” writes LendEDU in a report.” Using this data, we can roughly calculate that 11,275,000 students will be going on spring break this year. And, it is estimated that 69% of all current college students use student loan debt by the time of graduation.

LendEDU says the report’s findings are alarming, particularly when one looks at the larger student debt crisis plaguing America. In fact, almost 50 percent of students are said to falsely believe their loans would be forgiven by the government, according to a previous LendEDU report. What’s even more shocking is that 51 percent of parents who co-signed their child’s loan are claiming their own retirement is at stake due to their children’s impending debt.

Despite this, college students are reaching into their student loans and pulling out funds for getaways as well as other entertainment expenses including: restaurants, shopping, drinking, sports betting and even drugs. While the desire to travel while young is understandable, LendEDU reveals the consequences of using student loans to foot the bill of a trip: “Many students are hamstringing their parent’s ability to retire because they are using their student loan money to pay for an island adventure.”

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.