Reading the thread about vacations and financial aid got me feeling nostalgic about the cheap but fun things we did as undergrads and grad students.
DH and I had a schedule one year where we had two weekday afternoons free of teaching duties or classes. We spent many of those down at the river with a fishing line in and a book in our laps. Fresh trout (free dinner), quiet times, fresh air good friends.
It was better when it was our turn to drive and we weren’t in the backseat of a tiny car with our friend’s Golden, but still fun.
What are your favorite cheap memories?
Staying on campus for Thanksgiving break was really fun my sophomore year. Very few people on campus–a couple broke west-coasters like me, some internationals–so it was great to get to know people I otherwise wouldn’t have interacted with.
Oops, meant for this to be in the parent cafe, can you move?
My cheap fun memories with college boyfriend, now husband, are not PG 13. Didn’t cost us a dime.
There was supposed to be a “vacation” vibe, not indoor activities!
ETA. Ok, not private activities whether indoor or out…
For us, it HAD to be the BEST farmer’s market, hand’s down anywhere - Madison, WI every Saturday from mid-April to early November. Great people watching, beautiful setting, lots of great deals on fresh produce, floral, meat, eggs, etc.
Unfortunately, it set the standard for us for farmer’s markets, and we’ve yet to find one anywhere near as good all these years and others, although nice, can be disappointing.
If people were in town visiting us, this is where we took them.
"There was supposed to be a “vacation” vibe, not indoor activities!
ETA. Ok, not private activities whether indoor or out…"
Does camping count as a vacation? 'Cause a tent can provide a lot of privacy… 
and camping was all we could afford! 
I did a lot of camping and hiking in law school (was dating a grad student majoring in ecology). He knew a lot of the flora we saw. We also went to the campus observatory–he got certified and had a key so he could take us whenever the mood struck.
We heard a lot of free and inexpensive concerts on campus–some of my friends were classical singers and sang in some of them.
Sporting events were free or minimal cost for students. We were able to see Olympic hopeful gymnasts and runners at UOregon.
Farmers markets were awesome and very low-priced. Coffee shops near campus often had free live entertainment and very inexpensive prices.
Did a lot of bike riding in Eugene and Davis–motorists were careful and courteous. Had picnics that were also very low cost. We had very little money, so nearly everything we did was low cost.
During grad school, a bunch of us poor grad students took a roadtrip from the Northeast to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and we stayed at the gorgeous New Orleans mansion of one of our fellow students.
The expenses of the trip:
- shared cost of gasoline for the 20 hr drive
- a gift for the host parents
- beer & street food
I learned to drive a stick-shift during that trip.
Definitely cheapest and very memorable during undergrad and grad school: visiting my classmates’ or friends’ home-homes or vacation homes. Usually they’d drive or we’d take a train. Activities and food were free to us/me, if not very low-cost. They’d take me around to meaningful and interesting places, and we’d spend wonderful time together. These were people I really liked a lot, and that can make any outing great. Holidays, beach days, long nights in backyards.
Vacation while in school? I didn’t have any. I think it was the hardest time for my parents because they were putting 4 kids through college. I had a lot of FA, but my sister was almost full pay at Dartmouth. I also worked 20+ hrs/week while in college, so between school work and all I didn’t have a lot of time. (do you hear the violin playing)
Some of the best time I had was going snow shoeing and skiing with my friends. The school I was at had our own ski slope and snow shoeing was free. A lot of people played golf on campus during their time off. I wish I had more time for it. Our school was known to be a bit of a country club, so there was no need to go anywhere for recreational activities.
The first overseas trip I took was to London with then H. It was second year of our marriage. We barely had enough money for the airfare. We walked every where or took the bus, and ate a lot of fish and chips. Since then I’ve traveled around the globe staying at many 5 star hotels, but that trip remained memorable.
I didn’t take vacations in college either (similar situation as oldfort), but in the summers my girlfriends and I would occasionally buy tickets to concerts in Chicago and drive up. We would rent a cheap hotel room for 4, but actually 6 or 8 of us would stay and split the cost. It was a lot of fun!
I remember driving down the east coast, and stopping several places in Florida. We had little money, and stayed with a friend in at least one area. We did Disney for a day, Cocoa Beach, Ft. launderdale, and Key Largo, that I remember. If I hadn’t received the ticket for going very fast in VA it would have been more fun. We must not have stayed long in any one place, because we only had a week, and that’s a Long drive.
My grad school b/f and I did a lot of camping and X country skiing. He didn’t especially like camping, but it was cheap. As we got better supplies, it improved.
I met my H in undergrad. We did a lot of camping. One memorable trip was when we hadn’t been dating long and he invited me camping telling me I didn’t need to plan a thing. He brought the food. Minute rice and apples. I remember I was taking Botany at the time and brought my big key book. The problem was we were on uSForest service land and all the trees were the same.
Another winter break he planned a camping trip for us. California to Zion and Bryce in January. I think I recall a few other campers in Zion. When we got to Bryce the campgrounds were all closed due to snow.Duh! I was so happy we had to get a motel. The water pump broke on the truck. It was a Toyota and the local mechanic outside of Bryce couldn’t get a part for a foreign car. He rigged it so we could drive to a larger city. I held my breath the entire drive especially when we came to a sign that said road closed. My BF said the sign was probably old. We made it and got the truck fixed. I still married him and now I plan all of our trips!
In undergrad, we’d head back as soon as the dorms opened, usually on Thursday before Labor Day and classes started that Tuesday, We’d go to the local state park ocean beach every day that long weekend.
My boyfriend (now H) and I would walk along the lakefront from Northwestern’s campus to the Baha’i Temple in Wilmette (google it; it’s lovely). There were playgrounds along the way and we’d stop at them and play on the swings like we were little kids. Sweet simple memories!
I only took vacations with my family though in college - not with friends.
We went on a football weekend to the arch rivals. Drove 10 hours with friends in 2-3 cars, stayed on the floor at the sorority house, went drinking, went to the game, drove home. It was lots of fun.
Went on a lot of ski weekends, again sleeping on the floor.
We didn’t go on vacations while in school…at all. Not in the budget. When others went south on spring break, I went home and worked.
BUT after I completed my bachelors degree, I went cross country with two friends for six weeks. We camped most of the way, and stayed with a couple of friends and relatives. The three of us saved ALL year for that trip…we also cooked most of our own meals.
Saw Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Corn Palace, Wall Drug, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Crater Lake. Drove down rt 1 to Long Beach. Went to SF…saw botanical gardens, and Haight Asbury. Went to Disneyland, and the beach.
Drove the southern way home. Saw Death Valley, Grand Canyon, and some smaller sights in AZ and NM.
Trip was on a shoestring budget. Lots of Mac and Cheese.
Honestly, except for taking my kids to Disney the first time…it was the best vacation I remember!
We backpacked in the Sierras several summers when dh was in grad school at Caltech. We had a friend with a fishing license who would catch us trout for breakfast. Yum.
And while not exactly a vacation I got a grant to do research for my senior thesis on low cost housing in Europe. I spent a couple of weeks each in London, Paris and Berlin. I did plenty of research, but also saw plays and art museums. And a large part of my research was going around photographing housing projects, not sitting around in libraries.