When people think spring break, images of wild parties come to mind, usually set in some exotic destination like Panama Beach or Cancun or that old standby from "Where the Boys Are," Fort Lauderdale.

Marketers hoping to catch the attention of the college crowd often think they have to make a splash at the hotels, bars and beaches of these sunny locales.

Don't bet on it. A new survey from Y2M: Youth Media and Marketing Network, a Boston marketing agency specializing in the college market, says that spring-breakers aren’t necessarily where you think they are.

Polling more than 400 college sophomores and juniors nationwide, the survey found that 54 percent of respondents were going home for spring break.

Asked what their main goals are for spring break, the top answers were to relax, to catch up with friends and family, and surprisingly, to catch up with their studies. Twelve percent said they’re getting a job while 10 percent plan to perform some form of community service. 

“Spring break the way we traditionally think about it may not exist,” says Y2M general manager Dina Pradel.

One major concern among college students that determines their spring break activity is cost. Seventy-nine percent said they plan to spend less than $500 for spring break.

“There’s a fair number of people staying at home and have price concerns,” says Pradel. “If you address them, that’s half of the college audience out there.”

For marketers, there's an important lesson in all this. If you hope to catch students at their spring break resort destinations, you're going to miss half of them.

Rather, Pradel suggests marketers looking to reach this demographic should focus on promotions and couponing well before spring break, starting in early February. And it works best for products like light-weight summer clothing and others associated with the warmer vacation months. Spring break is not a destination, it's a state of mind.