Student's Struggles
It is not a novelty that the United States is well known as one of the world's top destinations for students seeking quality education and the credibility behind an international diploma. To employers worldwide – as well as in U.S. – a certificate issued by an American college or university is a guarantee the candidate was instructed according to the highest academic standards. American native students, are prepared for this experience the childhood. In high school, this preparation becomes even more intense. Either because of the pressure/advisement of parents, teachers, and advisors, or because of the high school environment itself, the pathway to college is treated as a natural (and desirable) flow. College life to domestic students includes struggles such as moving to a new city or state, the adaptation to the campus life, which often includes adaptation to dorms and new roommates, and the difference in the volume and difficulty of assignments and tests. However, although a new environment, college is not a completely unknown universe to domestic students.
Table 1. Ten States with the Largest International Student Populations, SY 2014-15Source: Institute of International Education (IIE), “2015 Fast Facts,” Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange (Washington, DC: IIE, 2015), available online.
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In contrast, international students, usually come from countries with educational systems completely different than the American model. The skills developed by American high schools helps domestic students to have a better, faster, and less traumatic adaptation to college. Internationals’ adaptation includes all the same issues that domestic students face, however, it also includes a wide range of situations that make the international learning experience a harder challenge. Danielle Geary, wrote an article for the Journal of International Students titled "How Do We Get People to Interact? International Students and the American Experience." In her article, Geary uses her knowledge as a former international student to describe some of these struggles internationals face in their daily life. According to her, the difference in the food, housing, and climate are the first challenges. Also, learning how to make purchases and payments (such as tuition and fees), filling out checks, and decodifying business terminology and acronyms. Finally, Geary adds the struggle of simply find out locations inside and outside campus (Geary 531).
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In addition to the points previously mentioned, acculturation, is also one of the biggest challenges faced by international students. Although studies show that younger students suffer less with cross-cultural issues making friends and adjusting to American customs seem to be a common struggle among international (Geary 530). Language proficiency (or its lack) potentiates these challenges, increasing the gap between internationals and domestic students, weakening their potential cultural experience of studying abroad. Indeed, it is estimated that nearly 80% of the 900,000 international students that studied in U.S. in 2012 never entered an American home (Geary 527).
Finally, because of the American policies, despite of few specific programs internationals are not allowed to legally work while studying in US. Differently than other developed countries, such as Australia, Canada, England, and other European countries, where the international students’ work is welcome by the government, in the U.S. they must stay as merely students in most cases. A few exceptions include work study, where internationals must compete with domestic students for relatively few job spots on campus, and the Optional Practical Training (OPT), which is a temporary employment that is directly related to an international student’s major area of study. In this last case, F-1 (international) students can receive an authorization for up to 12 months of employment, and opt for using this time during or after the end of their studies. So, many students, principally those who already had a professional experience in their country of origin face a feeling of alienation, and very often look for informal “under the table” jobs. Which impacts negatively their studies and learning experience, because along with all the adaptation issues, they must deal with financial and visa/immigration concerns. |
A look at the history of international students in America.
Barta, Patrick, et al. “How International Students Are Changing U.S. Colleges.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 2016, graphics.wsj.com/international-students/
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Out-of-Campus Socialization
It is estimated that nearly 80% of the 900,000 international students that studied in U.S. in 2012 never entered an American home.