The challenges that international students face at colleges and universities in the United States of America and how they adjust to be successful

Abstract

There is a growing number of international students entering the United States of America seeking to become better educated. Few studies have examined the challenges that international students face when they come to study in America and many of them focus on the metal well being of international students. This study, at a midsized public university in the Midwest, examined the challenges that face international student at this particular institution and how the international students adapt to life in the United States of America to become academically and socially successful. The study was qualitative in nature and the data were gathered through interviews with international students that lived in the university apartments. The interviews were held in February and March 2006. The data were analyzed and themes were discovered.The researcher concluded there were a number of challenges experienced by international students that directly correlated to the literature that was already established on this topic. International students experienced a wide range of challenges during their time at the institution although each had varied experiences depending upon their cultural background.