Summary
The article by Eric Rosenberg (2016) discusses the main challenges and the opportunities available for the International students in the United States. There are many students who are applying to study in the US and need to be aware of the challenges and opportunities available for them. The US is the dream for many students across the globe because it is the home for many top universities that offer quality education (Rosenberg, 2016) .
Some of the challenges that are encountered by the international students are cultural challenges. There is a big difference between the culture in the US and the one a student was used to when at home. Students are more likely to experience culture shock, irritability, and homesickness. For instance, Japanese culture allows people to bow when meeting a new person while in the US it is not appropriate. Despite the cultural change, it gives the students an opportunity to make new friends.
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Financial challenges are common among international students. Education in the United States is expensive and will cost more from what is used at home countries. Tuition fee and upkeep expenses are quite overwhelming (Rosenberg, 2016) . Consequently, health costs are also expensive. The opportunities to solve this problem include scholarship, financial aid and part-time jobs for students.
Social challenges because people from different cultural backgrounds interact differently. An international student may feel lonely and intimidated during the first days. The opportunities include volunteering to academic groups and befriending local students to help in the smooth transition.
Finally, academic challenges are faced by the international students because of the change of environment and schooling program (Rosenberg, 2016) . Most international students are unable to perform well during the first semester or term because of adjusting to the new environment. International students can overcome this challenge by asking for guidance from student mentors and talking to the professors.
Description
Majority of the international students apply for universities in the US to advance their education level because the US is considered to be a destination for quality advanced learning. Even though the students face challenges such as cultural, financial, social, and academic challenges, the number of international students in the country has been increasing every year (Jordan, 2015) . The international students face social isolation of the difference in cultural backgrounds and the way of communication. Some feel lonely and intimidate and take time before they are fully acquainted with the new environment of the US. The Cultural difference gives the foreign shock, and some of them suffer from homesickness. These challenges usually result in poor performance in the first semester. Other students may take longer than a semester to completely adjust to the new cultural practices . In addition to the social and cultural challenges, the international students face financial challenges . Studying in the United States is costly as compared to the local schools (Jordan, 2015) . The cost of health, boarding and living are also higher than in the home countries of different international students. To deal with this challenge, the students can apply for a scholarship to study including other financial aids such as students’ loans and grants. These financial opportunities are available in the University’s financial offices that cater to the international students. Also , there are on-campus jobs available for the students such as working at the library, bookstore, or gymnasium. The part-time jobs help international students to earn money that they can use for personal expenses. It is important for the local students in the US to embrace the international students and to positively influence their transition from their countries to the new environment in the United States.
Comparison and Contrast
In addition to the discussed challenges that the international students face, the international students in the US have limited job opportunities. Finding a job after graduating is a challenging process for international students, and therefore, they need to have a proper plan for their job search. First, the students need to explore the best opportunities for the international students. The students should focus on employment opportunities that are open to international students. The current immigration reforms under the Donald Trump administration which has highly contributed to a decrease of job opportunities to international students.
The students should focus on locations that are friendly to immigrant workers like Texas, California, and New York (Wu, Garza, & Guzman, 2015) . These areas have high job opportunities for the international students and have companies that are ready to accept the international students. This will reduce the time wasted when looking for a job opportunity after graduating. A student can start looking for job opportunity while in college before graduating to reduce the waiting time . The students can also apply for an off-campus internship during junior year. This provides an open door for the student to be hired after graduating. International students are highly advised to be proactive; which is a suitable skill that can be applied in the workforce. Employees love proactive and productive employees. Such employees grow quickly in the job employment and get positive referrals.
Despite these challenges, studying in the US is one of the best opportunity for the international students. Every challenge provides a new opportunity for the international students that is advantageous to their lives. For example, cultural difference is a challenge, but with time the students make new friends and connection in the US. Due to the increased diversity and globalization in the workforce, these students become better shaped to work in multinational organizations. This exposure cannot be gained by students who studied at local universities in their home countries.
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Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/international-students-stream-into-u-s-colleges-1427248801
According to these statistics, the US is still the best destination for international students to advance their studies. This table indicates that majority of the international students come from Asia, China, and India as of February 2015. Foreign students are usually attracted to the universities and colleges in the United States because it has some of the top best universities in the world. Also, the universities and education have a great reputation worldwide. Public universities are aggressively recruiting more foreign students who pay a premium as compared to the local students in the US (Jordan, 2015) .
The reasons as to why many international students prefer going to study in the US is because the institutions are high quality. Some of the highly ranked universities include Harvard, MIT, Stanford and the University of Chicago. These universities have a greater reputation that makes graduates more attractive to future employers. This is an opportunity for the foreign students because they can compete favorably in the employment sector.
International students have the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of programs and combine different subjects. The flexibility of choosing minors and majors in undergraduate can be found in the US. The student has the opportunity of choosing the most innovative subjects according to the experience each student wants to achieve.
Foreign students have the opportunity of experiencing the most interesting cultures and diversity from other students. Young people have the chance to meet and interact with students from other countries and learn their culture (Wu, Garza, & Guzman, 2015) . Learning diversity as a study becomes a great asset in the future when working in multinational companies . Therefore, despite the challenges that the international schools face, the US is the best destination for all students.
- References
Jordan, M. (2015, March 24). International Students Stream Into U.S. Colleges. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/international-students-stream-into-u-s-colleges-1427248801
Rosenberg, E. (2016, March 24). Challenges for International Students in the United States. Tokio Marine HCC. Retrieved from: http://www.hccmis.com/blog/study-abroad/challenges-for-international-students-in-the-united-states/
Wu, H.-p., Garza, E., & Guzman, N. (2015). International Student’s Challenge and Adjustment to College. Education Research International , 1-9.
