Sources of Stress Experienced by International Students Living in the United States

In the article, “Colleges Adapt to New Kinds of Students from Abroad,” Karin Fischer (2011) explains the increase of foreign students in U.S. universities leads to make more problems in campus and how universities are trying to overcome those problems and help foreign students to adapt to campus. Fischer explains the increase of the foreign undergraduate students due to the support from foreign governments. Fischer quotes Wesley Young, the director of services for international students and scholars at the University of California at Davis, to discuss that the increase of foreign undergraduate students especially requires more care and help than graduate students. While older students know what they need to do and what to do in U.S. university,

The minority students should have a higher tendency to experience stress than their counterparts. Researchers found that stressors are common in academic settings and are mostly associated with their language, nationality and cultural backgrounds. The historical alienation and length of residency have an impact on these groups (Rienties, Beausaert, Grohnert, Niemantsverdriet, & Kommers, 2012). Male and female students experience stress differently. They frequently vary in how they experience, perceive and handle stressful life events. The possible explanation for such difference

The need for higher education has prompted many students to seek further studies in international colleges outside their countries and Australia has become an academic hub for international students who mostly come from developing nations in Asia and Africa. The students, once they secure a place in this schools, they are subjected to a new environment which comes with different challenges. International students in Australia have become an integral part of the society both social and economical. However the students face a myriad of challenges before fully adopting to the new learning culture. In

Why does international students tend to group themselves away from American students? What are some possible aspects that cause difficulties for international students to make American friends? In Karin Fischer’s article, she used the online questionnaire that professor Elisabeth Gareis conducted on international students in America to answer those questions proposed above. This survey’s result claims that cultural and regional differences affect international students to have difficulties when trying to make American friends. This research was conducted on various non-American students with different genders, cultural backgrounds and circumstances. Not even half of the participants responded that they have a good friendship with American students. Karin argues that students’ home region, university’s location and language differences took critical roles which made a barrier between international

As the widespread population of teenage international student body growth, many more promising and upstanding students came to America to develop their better selves. When the first year they come, the very different environment would be a challenge for this young generation of student who just left the protection of their parents and familiar teachers and friends. The adjustment of academic will be a fundamentally challenging for them in many different aspects.

One of the most obvious difficulties for an international student is culture shock. Culture shock is the result of moving from an environment that is familiar to one that is not. Adjusting to new food, people, environment and

The emotional struggles that international students have are homesickness and culture shock. According to Ivan Sekyonda from Uganda, he appreciates the school faculties for helping him with going through homesickness and culture shock (Sewall, p. 127). Students from different countries happen to have trouble adapting to American culture that is more liberal. This inability of getting along with American culture due to culture difference causes homesickness which makes students want to go back home. Many international students seem to not enjoy their first year in America for such problems.

When international students study for the first time at a university in the United States, the first challenge almost is study. For instance, students’ communication and writing skills, the grades in each class and so on. When the student decided to study abroad, parents place great hopes on the students. Almost international students were having a bit afraid to talk with native speaker, when they first time at the university in the United States. Also, international students could not write really like the native students writing. At the same time, students must want to get a good grade in each class, but different countries have different education system.

Maureen Andrade article, “International students face academic and social transition issues in their first year of university” (P.135), so, students will face hard times at the beginning because they came from different countries which have different traditions and believes so, they will need time to adjust with the new environment depends on the student’s personality if he or she is extroverted or introverted. Accordingly, social adjustment issues present an obstacle for the international student; they face new life style, and sometimes the social support they get is less than what the domestic students get. Language proficiency can be the biggest obstacle for the international students, sometimes they feel shy speaking to native speakers because

However, the change from home to college can be difficult for international students (Mesidor & Sly, 2016). While some international students find it easy to adjust to the transition, others international students find it challenging to adjust to the transition (Mesidor & Sly, 2016). Studies show that international students experience many challenges as a result of language and cultural barriers, academic difficulties, financial difficulties, medical issues, housing concerns, food differences, alienation, homesickness, lack of social support system, racial discrimination, and cross-cultural loss) (Akanwa, 2015; Guzman et al., 2015; Mesidor & Sly, 2016; Sherry et al., 2010; Smith & Khawaja, 2011; Tung, 2011; Zhang & Goodson, 2010). According to Prieto-Welch (2016), international students as a group are regarded as a main minority population in campuses

I have learned that retaining global relationships are a unique, enlightening and a significant experience. In College, I have had the privilege to encounter with many international students. Consequently,

Studying abroad, which has become a common phenomenon, can be a fun and meaningful experience. Many university students are interested in studying abroad because it gives them an opportunity to explore different cultures and broaden their horizons. As Mark Sherry, Peter Thomas and Wing Hong Chui argue in “International Students: a Vulnerable Student Population,” the goals that students pursue international study are often to acquire different ways of learning and to improve cross-cultural understanding, which helps them gain self-confidence as well as maturity (33). This experience turns out to be beneficial to those who study abroad. Nevertheless, when students are surrounded by a wholly new environment, many problems that hinder their

In Nathan’s article, she keeps her principal focus on how foreign students interact with American students and the distinctive type of relationships that they build. It is quite strange to some of the foreign student’s that Nathan has interviewed about how non-committed American students are to the foreign students because American 's students do not socialize as much, and tends to spend more time alone. Furthermore, they will make small talk rather than being close friends or let it evolve into more. At that point, Nathan turns her center towards the difference between a relationship and a friendship between American and foreign students. She also discusses with different foreign students with different background and how they interact with their American roommates, and the relationship that they bond. In addition, American student’s family is a distinct subject from school but for international students, it is something naturally integrated into their social lives, which is why they care so much about their parents (Nathan 73). Furthermore, she discusses how many foreign students make comments about how different students look and the lack of attention that they give their professor compared to in their home country. Nevertheless, the social life and making companions in American can be quite troublesome for any foreign students. However, once you become acquainted with American students and get to be

“In 2006 to 2007, according to the data compiled by the Institute of International Education, 582,984 students from all over the world were enrolled in American colleges and universities in a wide range of fields” (Carter, Paragraph 2, 2008). The United States has the highest number of students who are coming to study abroad than any other countries. Each year, the number of international students coming to the United States to obtain degrees is increasing by thousands, and home countries of these students are primarily India, China and Korea, all located in the whole different continent. But what are the motives of students who are crossing the sea to study? Their goal of studying abroad is to experience diversity and to adapt attitudes

International students face many different challenges when studying abroad. This is due to many factors. First, they are living in a country very far away from their own. The country they are studying at has a very different way of life than theirs. Further more, the laws in that country are much different than the laws in their own country. Due to that they face a lot of problems trying to adapt to this new culture. Me personally as an international student in the US studying at ASU, have faced three particularly difficult challenges that I was able to overcome through time. In this essay I will explain how international students can overcome tough challenges and situations.