While the University of Maryland is great, with its picturesque campus, academic reputation and kickin’ bar scene (well, two out of three ain’t bad), many students want to experience something unique, something wholly life-altering that requires an open mind, a special set of survival skills and deep pockets. Something like, say, living in a foreign country for a few months, which is where studying abroad comes in.

Study Abroad is a program growing more popular every year across campuses nationwide. In fact, this university’s Study Abroad program was ranked 62 in the 2007 U.S. News & World Report under “Programs to Look For,” based on the variety of countries it offers as well as the structure and requirements of the educational programs while in these countries.

In fact, a quote by university President Dan Mote is loudly emblazoned in the center of the Study Abroad website: “Every undergraduate student should go abroad before she graduates.” I couldn’t agree more; I have countless friends who have studied in places like Australia, Italy, Spain and Costa Rica and couldn’t stop raving about the positive experiences they had. However, while Mote thinks every student should go abroad, he has forgotten one key limitation that makes this almost impossible for about a quarter of this school.

In trying to apply for a scholarship to study abroad, I was told I could not because I was not an in-state student. Despite the fact I pay double what in-staters pay, got into this prestigious university as an out-of-state student having to meet higher standards and I excel academically, I’m not eligible for a scholarship because my license says “New Jersey” on the top.

Getting in-state status is another issue, and one I’m not going to touch on here because this policy is already grossly unfair. I spoke with Study Abroad director Michael Ulrich and asked him why this policy was in place.

“We are very supportive of all Maryland students studying abroad,” he said. “The university provides some direct assistance to students, but the Maryland State Legislature uses some of its budget money to fund scholarships and wants to support in-state students.”

Well, if the university is providing some direct assistance to students, shouldn’t that assistance be available to all of them? By limiting who can apply for a scholarship, you are limiting some of the campus’ brightest and most deserving from studying abroad.

The state legislature wants to support in-state students, which at first thought makes sense, until you think about all the ways out-of-staters support the state of Maryland financially. Aside from paying tuition, what about housing costs? Gas money? Patronizing restaurants, retail businesses, hospitals and bars? Paying sales tax? Income tax? Speeding and parking tickets? The list is endless.

Also, this is in opposition to the message that we are all Terps, that we should put aside our differences and respective backgrounds to come together as one campus community.

I did a random survey and called study abroad program offices from Boston to California. Almost every school has scholarships open to everyone. Tiny Bloomsburg (Pa.) University sets no limits on who applies for scholarships. Neither does UC Berkeley, Penn State or Boston College.

Ulrich said the Study Abroad office is looking for more ways to promote the program to all students, but they have made no changes to this policy and no specific proposal is in the works. “We’re looking to have more scholarships available to all,” he said. If he really means this, and it wasn’t just a brush-off to mean out-of-staters will be forever screwed, I applaud his and the Study Abroad office’s efforts.

I’m not saying out-of-state students should be automatically awarded scholarships, or even be given special consideration because of their out-of-state status. I’m proposing they be given equal consideration despite their status. We applied to and were accepted to this school like everyone else; we pay double to attend this school (by choice, I know, but still true); we perform at just as high an academic level and we feed the Maryland economy. Out-of-state students deserve the same consideration as the rest of the campus in being allowed to apply for university-sponsored Study Abroad scholarships.

Nikkee Porcaro is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at cole120@umd.edu.