Running head: IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Importance of International Students and Analysis of America as an

International Students Hub.
Ayush Vijaywargi
Purdue University

IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Abstract
This project aims to answer the following questions: Why America is considered as
prominent destination to achieve higher education? On contrary what is the importance
of International students for America. How attracting more international students can
affect the country in terms of research, work force etc. Moreover how America can
manage to remain a hot commodity and dominate in attracting international students
by understanding the issues faced by international students and making their stay more
enjoyable.

IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Importance of International Students and Analysis of America as an

International Students Hub.
Plutarch the Greek biographer once said, The mind is not a vessel to be filled,
but a fire to be kindled. There is no better phrase to describe current state of American
educational system. Foreigners look at American education as a system, which is
powered by high research and tremendous amount of opportunities for students to
explore in their field of study. Looking at wide array of opportunities available,
international students flock to America to secure higher education. On the other hand
Americas major part of economic growth depends on these international students,
paying unsubsidized tuition fees. So what is really America is to International students
and what are international students to America!
Every developed country wants to attract more and more international students
to their soil. According to the article published in Yearbook of Pacific Coast Geographers
2011 at University of Georgia, the main reason for attracting international students is
that they have played an important role in advancing Americas research in fields of
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Moreover another point of notice is
that international students tend to become better ambassadors in foreign countries
they have studied in. Hence it can be considered as important measure in enhancing the
image of America oversees. Article made the comment about international student At
the scale of universities and colleges, there has been an increasing recognition that our
graduates will be competing in an international labor market and need to become
comfortable in working with students from different parts of the world.(p.22). This
means that international students with their research connections in their home
country can help in building international intellectual network. Moreover domestic
students get the exposure of foreign culture and values by sharing classes with foreign

IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

students and overall making the country more and more internationally recognized.
Lastly the higher fees that international students pay helps the country economically to
carry out more advance and expensive research. But in order to keep international
students interested, American universities should understand the major problems faced
by these students and try to rectify them.
According to US-newss article published in August 2012 there are many
challenges that international students face. First is a new assignment, International
students are unaware of policies that institute has towards plagiarism and it can be very
difficult for international graduate students to conduct research and citing sources.
Second is getting used to teaching methodology of professors. Every country has their
own teaching ways and students who come from countries, which have totally different
teaching system, then it can be a tough challenge for international students to get
adjusted to new system of education. For example students from India complains that
why professors in America have specific visiting hour and why education is heavily
focused on Do It Yourself scheme. Indian education system doesnt have any focused
meeting hours with professor instead students can meet the professor at anytime
during college hours. Moreover language skills can be barrier for development of
international students, as it will force them to surround themselves with students of
their own country. Hendrickson and Rosen further adds to this point by stating that
Spoken English skills are a prominent factor affecting the Development of intercultural
friendships and in many cases linguistic knowledge inhibits individuals from getting to
know each other(p.220). Homesickness is also one of the most widely known issues for
international students. (Zhang and Mi, 2011) The journal defines homesickness as
longing and desire for familiar environments which can sometimes take the form of
depressive symptoms(p.76). According to this journal homesickness can lead to feeling

IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

of loneliness, sadness and can prevent adjustment to new environment. Furthermore

adapting to totally new food, weather conditions can be challenging.
Hendrickson promotes Friendship formation of international students has been
widely studied by researchers on every continent and has been found to be one of the
most important factors of acculturation, satisfaction, contentment, social support, and
success for international students studying in foreign universities(p.96). Moreover the
journal also states different three forms of friendship among international students: CoNational, Host-National and Multi National friends. In this research journal researchers
have concluded that having Multi National friends is best type of friendship as this kind
of friendship means having friends from host country as well as from your home
country. Befriending students from host country can help in understanding their culture
better and can boost language skills. On contrary befriending students from home
country can help in adjusting to new environment and increases the global self esteem.
Furthermore international students having more friends in host country were found to
encounter homesickness better. What education institutes should do is to form the
clubs and conduct activities, which require the efforts and enrollment of both native and
international students. By doing this they can push international students to meet more
natives and promote friendship with them. Moreover colleges should offer a weeklong
orientation program in which students can know more about professors and their
teaching methodologies. Students should also be made aware of grading policies.
International students have been hot commodity for many countries as they
have boosted host countrys economy, research work and have made country
multicultural which ultimately enhanced host countrys reputation in international
students home country. Barack Obama promotes friendship between nations and
quotes in International Education Week 2012 By studying foreign cultures and

IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

languages and living abroad, we gain a better understanding of the many similarities
that we share and learn to respect our differences. The relationships that are formed
between individuals from different countries, as part of international education
programs and exchanges, can also foster goodwill that develops into vibrant, mutually
beneficial partnerships among nations. He encourages the exchange of students
between countries and considers that these exchanges can break the wall of ethics,
culture and religion between the countries as people from different countries come
together to share each others viewpoint and start progressing together. Hence
international students are vital part for countrys development and country must
promote the study of international students. Specifically United States of America has
been very successful in alluring international students to study in its universities by
providing ample of opportunities in course selection as well as making courses more
and more practical rather theoretical. But other countries have also realized the
importance of international students and are trying to attract more and more students
so that these students can affect their economy. Due to this USA is facing severe
competition from other countries and in order to maintain its dominance in market of
international students, it should identify the major problems that students are facing
and try to rectify them so that every student has a remarkable study experience in the
country and they will themselves promote USA as best study destination in their home
country. Overall International presence is always an add-on for the country and it must
be promoted to high extent in order to accelerate the development process.

IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

References
Hopkins, K. (2012, August. 28). 6 Challenges for International Students in College.
USnews.com.
Hendrickson, B., Rosen, D. & Kelly, A. (2010, August 6). An analysis of friendship
networks, social connectedness, homesickness, and satisfaction levels of
international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 35 (2011)
281295.
Urban, E.L. and Bierlein, L. P. (2013, December 10) International Students as a Resource
for Internationalization of Higher Education. Journal of Studies in International
Education-2014.
Zhang, Y. and Mi, Y. (2009, May 4). Another Look at the Language Difficulties of
International Students. Journal of Studies in International Education-2010.
Yearbook of Pacific Coast Geographers 2011.