Although hoards of young college students flock to tropical locales where TV cameras try to catch them partaking in risque behavior, not everyone heads south for the Spring Break. No matter what your plans, it is a much-needed break for everyone.

“I have plans of putting up a map and shooting a dart. If it’s warm enough where the dart lands, I’ll go there and ride my bike. I’m spontaneous like that,” said Kimberly Topp, sophomore in graphic design.

The options for travel are unlimited. Trying to avoid the typical Spring Break destinations, some students fly across oceans to places such as London and Rome, although many stay in the U.S. or surrounding countries. Popular choices include Colorado to hit the slopes, or somewhere south of the boarder to get a tan – yet there are always those who try to entertain themselves at home.

“We are going to go to New York City to go to ‘TRL’ (‘Total Request Live’). There is a group of four of us who are in the same major” said Amanda Cox, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production, who said her friends have internships set up in New York, making the ‘TRL’ visit convenient.

Although there are endless possibilities for travel, the options are limited only by one factor. For most, deciding what to do for Spring Break revolves around that one very important detail: money.

Benjamin Twitchell, freshman in pre-business, and his friends are driving to a house they rented in Orlando instead of flying, which saved them lots of cash this Spring Break.

“The trip cost $110 for each person to rent the house and whatever it will cost in gas – so somewhere around $200 – not including food or beverages. But I am not excited for the 22-hour drive,” he said.

Although some plan their trip around what they can spend, others are just looking for a good time, and would rather pay for it later.

“I’m headed down to Acapulco, Mexico. I’m not excited about paying back the loans that my trip got partially financed from. My ideal trip would be this one for free.” said Jameson Bamrick, sophomore in pre-business.

Looking forward to a gamut of different activities in the following week, students can vouch that the week before Spring Break has moved slowly. Many classrooms will empty quickly when Friday afternoon comes around.

“I had to move some tests around, but yes, I’m going to class on Friday, although they’re earlier in the day,” Bamrick said.

Tyler Valladolid, sophomore in pre-business, agreed about the much-needed break.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a road trip or an all expense paid trip to Cancun, most just get out of Ames,” Valladolid said. “We just decided to go somewhere that had better weather than Iowa, so we chose California. I probably wont miss much but it would be nice to have a Gyro stand on the beach.”