Signing up early for spring break

Temperatures have dropped, Christmas decorations have arrived and finals are looming. Spring break has never seemed so far away.

With four months until students can play in the sunny beaches of Acapulco or help rebuild homes in New Orleans, next semester's vacation plans should be in the back of everyone's minds.

Yet planning for March 6 - the day Penn's campus will empty out for spring break 2009 - has been underway as early as last February.

"We start pretty much over the summer" said College sophomore Kavita Vinekar, co-director of Alternative Spring Break at the University of Pennsylvania, which will send groups of about 14 students to do community service in eight locations around the U.S.

Alternative spring breaks often require more planning earlier in the year planning - ASB had to do some early jockeying last February to be included in the groups that will volunteer at La Union del Pueblo Entero, an organization located along the Texas-Mexico boarder that helps low-income communities.

Those looking for a more traditional spring break experience are not exempt from the rush to make plans either.

"If you're looking to go international and flying somewhere, you want to get that stuff done before Thanksgiving," said Matt Scriven of Studentcity.com, a spring break travel agency that sends roughly 30,000 students to both international and domestic locals.

"We do sell a lot second semester, but you're still getting a better deal signing up earlier," Scriven said. The company's packages are already 70 percent sold out.

Travel agencies offering spring break packages start promoting early, but they are not the only option, as Wharton senior Angela Hu found out.

Hu already is planning to take a cruise around the Caribbean with a handful of her friends, a trip they planned using travelocity.com.

"We're making plans right now," Hu said. "We haven't booked anything, but we've done all the research."

Other logistical issues, from plane reservations to paperwork, get taken care of during the fall semester.

Hillel, which will travel to work with indigenous Mayan peasants in the Yucatan state of Mexico through a partnership with American Jewish World Service, began advertising their trip in October, according to Rabbi Janice Elster, Jewish student life coordinator.

Elster hopes to finalize a group of 14 students before winter break, after which the group will begin fundraising for its trip.

Coordinating plans to go abroad can be problematic, especially for athletes and students studying abroad, but it's a commitment many are willing to make.

"All my friends are abroad, so it's a big commitment to decide now," said Nursing junior Rachel Glincher, who will travel to New Orleans in March with Fox Leadership.

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