The summer months means it's time to travel for many students and there are ways for them to cut costs.
Ball State University students often look for the cheapest ways to travel whether they're going home, traveling for an internship or going to their favorite vacation spot.
Michael Hicks, Ball State's director of center for business and economic research, said the cost of traveling will be low this summer.
"It's more difficult to get summer employment so while it's less expensive to travel, it's not necessarily [a good time] to travel because of resources students have," he said. "[For] a student who has a job or who has saved money, it would be a good summer to travel but there will be other opportunities."
Senior magazine and public relations major Ambria Martin said she spent a long time looking for a roundtrip ticket to and from her internship in Denver.
"It was a pretty good price because I flew with Frontier Airlines and their home base is in Denver," she said. "We heard tickets were going to go up like crazy so I bought them."
Martin said she paid $250 for her roundtrip flight out of Indianapolis earlier in the month and she'll return in August.
"Some friends are coming up to visit me and the prices have already gone up," she said. "They're trying to come in like June or July and the prices are skyrocketing to like $350."
Martin said other tickets from other airlines like Southwest cost as much as $600.
"It's just not something I could afford," she said.
Christopher White, director of public relations for AirTran Airways, said college age students are an important market that most airlines and traveling agencies don't tap into.
The airline's AirTran U program offers one-way standby tickets to people who are 19 to 22 years old, White said. Each ticket costs $49, $69 or $99 and earns half a credit of frequent flyer points. The program also has a Facebook page where students can participate in a "Creeper" game, a game designed by AirTran for the chance to win a free roundtrip flight.
The program is an effective tool students should take advantage of, White said.
"[AirTran U] is totally unique in the [airline] industry," he said. "The primary benefit is that it offers cheap flights to college students who probably don't have a lot of money."
White said AirTran started the program because it could relate to college students.
"From our own experiences as college students we always had plenty of time but not enough money," he said. "You can travel pretty cheaply as long as you're patient and you're willing to try your luck."
Hicks said flying on standby is a better option for students than businessmen because they have more time to spare. The best way to save money, though, is by traveling in groups, looking for group rates, to travel out of season and to negotiate hotel and motel prices.
"The last thing [hotels] want is to see a room sitting idle for the evening," he said. "Calling and negotiating for a price if you have the time is the best way to save money."
Students should also look for airline tickets during off-peak business hours, Hicks said. Finding flights during odd hours help bring the price down.
Using websites like Expedia.com and Orbitz.com negotiate the hotels prices and find flights during off-peak business hours for you, Hicks said.
That's how Martin found her airline tickets on Expedia, she said.
"[College students] are more on a budget and it's harder to find something that's affordable," she said. "Traveling is such a huge thing to do for yourself and it helps to see what the world has to offer. I see the importance of traveling and the importance of traveling on a budget."
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