Chapter 5: Abroad in the United States: Reflections From International Students and Scholars

Every year the United States is host to international students from around the world, with 19,828,00 during the 2017/2018 academic year (Institute of International Education, 2019). International students choose to study in the United States for undergraduate and graduate studies, as well as English language instruction. International students come to the United States through exchange, direct enrollment, and government programs such as Fulbright, Panamá Bilingüe, and the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM). Regardless of how international students arrive, they provide diversity on campus and opportunities for all students to engage in cross-cultural experiences and to negotiate different interpersonal and communication styles (Krislov, 2019). But what are the experiences of international students at U.S. colleges and universities? Ammigan and Jones (2018) found that while international students were satisfied overall with their learning experience, they also indicated a lack of opportunities to make friends with domestic students and an inability to work to support their studies. This chapter presents the reflections of six international students on their graduate studies and experiences during their time at a large Midwestern university. Their stories capture their successes and challenges in their own voices.