Upon the initial observation of the overall cost of the program, I thought that a two-week trip was rather expensive. However, with the assistance of our program and scholarships, that cost was dramatically reduced making the program much more affordable. I received nearly $1,500 in scholarships and brought my overall cost down to a total that could be paid in manageable installments. We paid the cost over the course of four payments. These four payments were separated far enough apart that collecting the money for each was reasonable and feasible. I liked being able to pay in chunks rather than the full cost up front. This ensured that the money that I paid would be more manageable and safer kept in the event that I could not go on the trip rather than trying to recuperate thousands of dollars in one lump sum.
It still seemed like a lot of money at one time for one specific trip, however this price included airfare, food, and lodging which seems to be more costly than the grand total that I paid for the entire trip if I was to try to afford these things as an individual. These amenities are separate from all of the events that we got to participate in which were nearly two per day with our guide and private bus driver that provided transportation everywhere that we needed to go. I brought my own money to spend on souvenirs, extra food, or anything else that I wanted to do with some downtime that we were provided. However, we had very little downtime as the program kept us very busy and gave us more than our money's worth by the end of the trip. My feelings regarding the Travel Study program being expensive flipped, and I found myself thinking that this overall experience was very cheap in comparison to the type of experience that I could have afforded myself without the implementation and assistance from Maryville College’s affiliated Travel Study programs.
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Regardless of the upfront price, I would strongly suggest that new and existing students consider participating in a Travel Study program as assistance from scholarships are available, and I believe that students will be provided with a quality experience that is well worth the investment. These programs seem to be more affordable than I realized, and resources to alleviate financial cost are more widely available than I thought.