The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that the barriers are real, the hesitation makes complete sense, and this post exists to walk through both — practically, not with platitudes.
If you’re a first-generation college student, you already know the feeling of navigating systems your family hasn’t navigated before. You figured out FAFSA. You figured out how to register for classes, find advisors, handle financial aid holds. You’ve been doing this alone in ways your classmates with college-educated parents haven’t.
Study abroad feels like one more version of that. New process, unfamiliar territory, no one in your immediate circle who’s done it to tell you what it’s actually like.
But here’s what’s also true: first-generation students who study abroad do it every single year. The experience is not reserved for students whose parents have passport stamps. It is not a reward for having a certain background. It is a program you apply to, pay for with the money you can pull together, and go on.
This post tells you how.
Why first-gen students hesitate — and why those reasons deserve a real response
Before getting to the practical stuff, it’s worth naming the specific things that hold first-gen students back. Not as a list of things to push past, but because each one has a real answer.
“I can’t afford it.” This is the most common barrier, and it’s legitimate. Study abroad costs money. But short-term, faculty-led programs — two weeks rather than a full semester — cost significantly less than most students assume, and there are scholarships specifically structured for students with financial need. More on both in a minute.
“My family doesn’t understand why I’d do this.” If your parents didn’t go to college, “I’m going to Japan for two weeks with my university” can sound like an indulgence. A luxury. Something other people’s kids do. This is a real conversation to have, not a concern to dismiss. There’s a section below specifically about how to talk to your family about it.
“I don’t know how any of this works.” Study abroad can sound complicated — visas, credits, universities abroad, faculty supervisors, program providers. The process is actually simpler than it looks, especially on structured, faculty-led programs where everything is organized for you. But not knowing that makes it feel like one more thing you’d have to figure out from scratch.
“I’ve never traveled internationally.” Most GLO students haven’t either. “I hadn’t ever been out of the US before my trip” is one of the most common things GLO alumni say. Being new to international travel is not a disqualifier. It’s the most common starting point.
The cost conversation, honestly
A semester abroad typically runs $15,000–$25,000 or more when you factor in tuition, housing, food, and travel. That number is a real barrier for many students and there’s no point pretending otherwise.
Short-term programs are a different category. A two-week faculty-led program with GLO runs $3,500–$6,000 depending on destination — that’s the full program cost including housing in 4-star hotels, group meals, cultural excursions, and company visits. Flights are the primary additional cost.
That number is still meaningful. But it’s in a range where scholarships, payment plans, and financial aid can realistically close the gap.
Here’s what to layer together:
GLO Founders Scholarship This is GLO’s need-based scholarship, created specifically for students who want to attend a program and have additional financial need. You must already be enrolled in a GLO seminar to apply. The application is a 1,000–2,000 word essay covering three things: your goals for the program, your financial strategy (what you’ve done to try to fund it), and whether this scholarship would determine whether you go.
That last question matters. GLO is looking for students for whom this scholarship is genuinely the difference — not students who would go regardless. If you’re a first-gen student who would not attend without financial support, you are exactly who this scholarship was built for.
Winter scholarship deadline: October 22. Summer scholarship deadline: March 5.
GLO Digital Ambassador Fellowship This is a content-based scholarship. Students who are selected document their experience abroad — social content, writing, photography — in exchange for a scholarship award. If you already create content or have any interest in doing so, this is worth looking at alongside the Founders Scholarship.
Your university’s study abroad office Many universities have dedicated funding for students who have never studied abroad, for first-generation students specifically, or for students with demonstrated financial need. These awards often go unclaimed because students don’t know they exist. Go to your study abroad office and ask directly: “Are there scholarships available for first-generation students or students with financial need who want to study abroad?” Ask your financial aid office the same question.
FAFSA and financial aid portability Depending on your university and the program, some financial aid may be applicable to a study abroad program. This varies significantly by institution. Ask your financial aid office specifically: “Can any of my current financial aid apply to a GLO program?” and get the answer in writing.
Payment plans GLO offers payment plans that allow students to spread the cost over time rather than paying the full amount upfront. If cash flow is the issue rather than total affordability, this can make a real difference.
Most first-gen students who do a GLO program use more than one of these. Scholarship plus payment plan plus university funding. The strategy is to stack what’s available, not to find a single source that covers everything.
What the program actually looks like — because not knowing is part of the barrier
A GLO program is a faculty-led, structured international experience. You travel with a group of students from universities across the US, led by faculty. The itinerary is built — you’re not figuring out where to go or what to do each day. Company visits are scheduled. Cultural excursions are organized. Accommodation is arranged.
This structure matters particularly for first-generation and first-time international travelers. You are not navigating a foreign country alone. You are not responsible for booking your own hotels or finding your own way to company visits. There is faculty leadership and GLO staff support throughout the program.
The day-to-day looks something like this: morning company visit or academic session, afternoon cultural excursion or free time to explore, evening group dinner or independent time in the city. The balance between structured and unstructured time is intentional — enough guidance that you’re never stranded, enough freedom that you’re actually experiencing the place.
Programs run 10–14 days. Current destinations include Japan, Iceland, London + Paris, Munich + Innsbruck + Verona, and Cape Town.
How to talk to your family about it
This section is for the students whose biggest barrier isn’t money or logistics — it’s the conversation at home.
If your parents or family haven’t traveled internationally, “I want to go to Japan for two weeks with my university” can land in a few ways: worry about safety, concern about cost, uncertainty about why this is necessary, or a feeling that you’re moving toward something they can’t follow.
Some things that tend to help that conversation:
Lead with the professional angle. “This program includes visits to international companies — it’s the kind of experience that goes on a resume” lands differently than “it’s educational.” First-generation families often respond to concrete career framing because that’s what the sacrifice of college was for. The idea that you’d come back with a stronger job application is a tangible outcome they can hold.
Be specific about safety. GLO programs are faculty-led, meaning a professor travels with the group throughout. There is 24/7 support. Students don’t navigate anything alone. Explaining the structure reduces a lot of the generalized worry that comes from not knowing what study abroad actually looks like.
Show them the cost plan. Don’t bring up the trip without also bringing up how you’re going to pay for it — or at least how you’re trying to. “I’m applying for a scholarship and the program has a payment plan” is a different conversation than “it costs $5,000.” Families who have managed tight budgets their whole lives respond to students who have a plan.
Give it time. You probably didn’t get to study abroad the first time you heard about it either. Give your family time to sit with it. Come back to the conversation. Bring a printed information sheet from the GLO website if that helps. Sometimes a second conversation is a completely different conversation.
What first-gen students actually say about it
GLO has been running programs since 1977. In that time, students who are the first in their family to travel internationally — let alone study abroad — have been a consistent part of every cohort.
What they say afterward tends to cluster around a few things:
The program gave them something concrete to point to. Not a vague sense of having “grown.” A company visit they attended. An executive they spoke with. A country they navigated. Something real they could describe in an interview.
The structure made it possible. “I had never left the country before my trip, and it was definitely helpful to be guided for that experience” — that’s a GLO alumnus, not a recruited quote. For first-time international travelers, knowing exactly where you’re going and who’s with you makes the difference between an experience that opens you up and one that shuts you down.
It changed what they believed was available to them. This one is harder to put into a bullet point. But the students who go abroad when no one in their family ever has tend to come back with a different sense of what’s possible for them — professionally and personally. That’s not a marketing claim. It’s a pattern.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. There are no eligibility restrictions based on family background. First-generation students participate in study abroad programs every year, including through GLO. The barriers are more often financial and informational than structural — and both can be addressed with the right combination of scholarships, payment plans, and university funding.
The most common strategy is stacking multiple funding sources: a need-based scholarship from the program provider (like the GLO Founders Scholarship), funding from your university’s study abroad or financial aid office, and a payment plan that spreads the cost over time. Short-term programs (two weeks) are significantly more affordable than semester programs and are the most realistic option for students managing tight budgets.
Structured, faculty-led programs are generally the best fit for first-generation and first-time international travelers. They remove the logistical complexity of independent travel — accommodation, transportation, itinerary planning — and provide built-in support from faculty and program staff throughout. GLO’s programs are faculty-led, 10–14 days, and include company visits, cultural excursions, and group housing.
Short-term programs are within reach for many students when financial aid, scholarships, and payment plans are combined. A two-week GLO program costs $3,500–$6,000 — significantly less than a semester abroad. The GLO Founders Scholarship is specifically designed for students with financial need. Many universities also have dedicated study abroad funding that first-generation students can apply for.
That the process is more manageable than it looks on structured programs. That scholarships exist specifically for students with financial need. That being new to international travel is the most common starting point for GLO participants. And that the experience — particularly one that includes real company visits and professional exposure — is worth finding a way to make happen.
Lead with the professional outcome — company visits, resume impact, career exposure. Be specific about the safety structure (faculty-led, 24/7 support, group travel). Come with a financial plan, not just a price tag. And give your family time. The conversation often goes better the second time than the first.
GLO’s Founders Scholarship is need-based and available to enrolled GLO students regardless of background. Many universities have dedicated funding for first-generation or financially underserved students pursuing study abroad — ask your study abroad office and financial aid office directly. Some foundations also offer scholarships specifically for first-generation students pursuing international education.
Study abroad is not only for students who grew up expecting to do it. It is for students who decide they’re going to do it and then figure out how.
If you’re ready to figure out how, start here: browse GLO’s upcoming programs and see what fits your schedule and budget. The Founders Scholarship application opens once you’re enrolled — which means the first step is applying for a program, not waiting until you have the money.
