My latest Yahoo ! News column focuses on the issue of whether or not one should head off on an extended trip right after high school (as opposed to starting college immediately). I’ve covered this kind of ground in World Hum before, and my full advice is here — though reader Kyla Cathey chimed in with this very apt observation:

I’ve recently started reading your Indie Travel Notebook column, and I really enjoy it. However, I noticed that your recent response to Andy S., who debated whether to travel right out of high school or wait until he had completed college, left one thing out: study abroad. Many universities and four-year colleges offer study abroad programs, and there are organizations that also work with schools to give students an opportunity to spend a semester or year abroad. Other schools and departments offer short-term travel, such as field schools (archaeology and anthropology programs often offer or even require these) or “learning vacations” for credit. I have a friend who spent several weeks in Italy and received credit, one who spent a semester in London, and a third who saw both Belize and Greece in one summer on field school trips.

There’s no reason why students can’t combine study and travel, aside from cost, and many schools offer financial aid for such trips. There are also student loans available, as long as trips are earning school credits.

Kyla makes a good point. For more information about study abroad programs, check out online resources such as CIEE, StudyAbroad.com, the Study Abroad Directory, GoAbroad.com, or the study abroad rosource page at TransitionsAbroad.com.