Improving Accessibility for Study Abroad

By Liliana Macias

My name is Liliana Macias, and I am a first-generation student from a low socioeconomic background. I have had to constantly battle against the U.S. school system in order to get to where I am today. Through these struggles, I have learned that there are countless barriers and gaps that prevent the growth of students that do not have the same access to resources as those of higher income. While the problem stems from systemic inequities, there are ways that many opportunities — such as study abroad — can be made more accessible to students of every background.

I cannot overstate it enough: hard work alone does not improve access to opportunities. Although I have faced challenges, I have also had personal and academic advantages that connected me with opportunities, like the scholarships that supported my education at the University of Oklahoma. Not everyone has these opportunities, and it is not due to lack of work or effort. Individuals that I know and love have worked hard for several years, and yet have not seen as much growth or success as they would like. Saying that hard work can get someone to their goals is another way to deny the impact of the system on upward mobility and to maintain the status quo.

Scholarships may seem like an easy answer to accessibility, but the scholarship application process itself can be a barrier. Each application requires students to pile on more work and time that they probably do not have; many students work two jobs while in college full time. In addition, many students are tired of having to vocalize their traumas to other individuals — often a necessity to even be considered for a scholarship or position.

Accessibility for programs like study abroad is essential to creating a more diverse and equitable experience for all. To draw attention to this issue, I have compiled a timeline of my own journey to attending OU and studying abroad. Every student's path is incredibly unique, and I acknowledge that my journey will likely not compare to many of those around me. However, as a student typically immersed in the inequities and intersectionality of my various identities, I hope that this piece can provide some knowledge or relief to others that hope to reach similar goals.

Timeline of Events

High School

The Honors/AP counselor for my school worked diligently to provide us with information and resources for scholarships. She pushed us to apply for local teen boards and leadership programs, which helped me build a resume similar to students from higher income schools. I needed to work to reach this level, because students from my school were not often considered for college — my high school was much more popular with military recruiters than college ones.

In my senior year, I earned two renewable scholarships from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation that made me feel more at ease applying to the University of Oklahoma, the University of Tulsa, and Oklahoma City University. Applying to colleges out of state was out of the question because I knew that I couldn't afford tuition. I was also incredibly privileged to receive Oklahoma's Promise, which I applied for in eighth grade through the Talent Search Program. In January of my senior year, I heard about the Global Engagement Fellowship through an email from the College of International Studies; I applied and was accepted. I also applied and was selected for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. But the beginning of my journey to OU was still not easy to navigate. The recruiter who came to our school only focused on students in concurrent classes, and did not really explain how to make OU financially accessible.

I graduated from Western Heights High School as the salutatorian. I chose to attend OU because my scholarships were applicable there, and my older brother went there as well, which provided me with an advantage when navigating college life.

University of Oklahoma

I applied to OU Project Threshold and met my incredible mentor and friend, Scott Cady, who has made a drastic impact on my experience. Scott has been a pillar for me and several hundred other students at OU. He provides guidance, supports students when they have difficulty with advising, writes recommendation letters, and is someone to lean on. To make ends meet, I was a student on the Room and Board program for my first year and a half of college, and sophomore year I also began working at the Writing Center. When CASH opened, I applied for every single scholarship I qualified for.

I knew I wanted to study abroad in spring of my sophomore year. I was ahead on credits, and I wanted to complete my semester component for the Global Engagement Fellowship. I applied for every study abroad scholarship in CASH as well as the Lobeck Taylor and Stuart scholarships, which are offered by Education Abroad for OU’s study center in Italy, OU in Arezzo. I also applied for Global Engagement Fellowship funding and Education Abroad’s Presidential International Travel Fellowship.

My diligence in pursuing these opportunities paid off, and I was honored to receive multiple study abroad scholarships providing me with almost full funding for my semester abroad. Being able to utilize my OU scholarships and grants also made a drastic difference in how accessible a semester abroad was for a student of my background.

But toward the end of the fall semester, I realized that some grants had been pulled from my financial aid tab. After several conversations with my mentor and financial aid, I realized that I had received what was deemed "too much funding," and that the state had pulled back some of its grants. While this was bad news, I was able to make things work. I applied and was hired for the community assistant position at OU in Arezzo, and I transferred my Writing Center work online so I could work two jobs while abroad.

While I was ultimately able to study abroad and graduate from OU, navigating the system as a low-income student has been difficult. I hope that the university will find more ways to make both study abroad and higher education in general accessible to students of all backgrounds.

Liliana Macias graduated from OU in May 2022. She has been awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English language in Italy for the 2022-23 academic year.