Benefits of US Education to International Students
By 2013 the number international students seeking education in U.S had risen to 820, 000 and the number has continued to increase despite the stiff competition from sending countries, Australia, Canada and United Kingdom Urban and Palmer (153). One may be interested to understand advantages of the U.S. higher education that attract a huge number of international students. Study by Obst and Forster (2007) as quoted by Urban and Palmer (153) concluded that international students are attracted to the US universities with anticipation to broaden their career opportunities and acquire comprehensive experience that will increase their competitive advantage in the job market. Obst and Forster conforms to the study by Alghamdi and Otte (16) which found that studying abroad comes with numerous benefits like having a chance for cross cultural exchange and financial gains. Based on the two researches it can be concluded that international students studying in US benefit from more career opportunities, deep experience and knowledge to increase their employability options, financial gains, cultural awareness and other rewards. To buy the inferences by the two studies; this essay uses four other sources to explore the advantages that U.S. system offer to the international studies pursuing higher education. THIS IS A SAMPLE ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Porterfield used his own observation and first-hand information to identify the fruits international students were reaping from US universities. As the President and CEO of Franklin & Marshall College, Porterfield was able to spot four international students from different countries and continents who had benefited from higher education in US. Porterfield presents the real names of the students including the things they did which confirmed to have been impacted by the US education. He starts with Felipe, a student from Brazil who had majored in economics and environmental studies. Porterfield noted that Felipe used his first summer in the college to undertake a course which helped him to advise the rural Ecuadorian community on the importance and benefits of sustainable businesses and product techniques. From the lens of Porterfield, the U.S. education system helped Felipe to learn while doing. Using an example of Felipe, Porterfield strives to show that exposure to U.S. learning environment can help learners to find solutions to the global problems like global warming, community-based problems and deforestation.
Porterfield also uses an example of the second student, Tekla from the Republic of Georgia. Tekla majored in Business, Organization and Society and Sociology. Although Tekla was curious in pursuing her liberal art education, she never knew she was endowed with abilities of an intellectual leader (Porterfield). Porterfield argued that it is the US learning system that changed Tekla’s perception to understand that she can also pursue other options. Tekla has identified other opportunities including serving a college committee and mentoring new foreign students to help them identify their talents (Porterfield). Porterfield also points out that through the help of the college, Tekla has developed a national identity-based project that has appeared in European cultural institutions. Through Tekla’s example, Porterfield demonstrates that U.S. education is well-rounded to prepare learners to advance their knowledge in the multinational organizations. Portfield has again used Mawupemor an international student from Ghana to showcase how US education is promising. Porterfield says that Mawupemor got opportunity to practice with F&M local community on the best practices of affordable housing and empowerment of communities. According to Porterfield, Mawupemor acquired an experimental learning, a knowledge that he would apply on his home country to improve the lives of the local communities. THIS IS A SAMPLE ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Finally, Porterfield focused on Xinyu, a student from China. Porterfield argued that US education system offered Xinyu a lot of educational opportunities which are either rare or not available in her home country. Xinyu was able to learn French, Sociology, British Literature and Earth Science. These arrays of subjects helped hear to contemplate the relationship between different cultures and fields (Porterfield). Surprisingly, the diversity in the US education system helped Xinyu to learn about African music which she incorporated with Chinese traditional song. This depicts that U.S. do not facilitate cultural exchange among U.S but also other international students.
Upon analyzing the value of US education on international students, through the perspective and observation of Porterfield, it is apparent that foreign students benefit a lot. His observation has exhibited that the US education system offer best ways in which students can develop their talents as displayed through Felipe, Tekla and Xinyu. Besides, the international student make friends, learn team skills during group research projects and learn about American society and its culture (Porterfield). Eventually, Porterfield attest that over 90 percent of the international students pursuing education in US are employed upon graduating. He has based his conclusion on the 2015 graduates in F&M College among which 99 percent of them were employed (Porterfield).
Urban and Palmer study found that international students in U.S believed that they will find another home away from their motherland. However, the sample used in the study noted that it was hard to make friends with U.S students. Nonetheless, they all agreed that they received sufficient academic assistance from staff and professors. They also acknowledged that U.S higher education equipped them with appropriate skills. It was also found that students gained both professionally and personally (Urban and Palmer 168). Urban and Palmer confirmed that international students benefited mostly from high quality education, developing independence skills and learning new skills in their fields of study. Urban and Palmer study corroborated with other earlier studies which found that U.S universities and colleges helped foreign studies on how learn clearly and effectively, understand their academic strengths and weaknesses and gain practical experience. These gains were evidenced to both professional and personal outcomes.
Professionally, students were given opportunities to put into practice knowledge acquired in class, teaching is coined to suit employment requirement in their respective fields of study, advisors and professors help them on the best career plans and available career services to guide them in making the right specialization decisions. Personally, international students benefit from career services including direct contact with staff and professors, student services, willingness U.S students to help them cope with the new learning environment and engaging with students from different backgrounds (Urban and Palmer 168). From the Urban and Palmer perspective, U.S higher education offer limitless benefits to international students including making sure they are absorbed into US learning environment. However, Urban and Palmer notes that occasionally international student’s expectations supersedes what they gain and this may sometimes lead to disappointments.
Yuan studied on cultural and academic experiences of Chinese students in U.S. Chinese students are one of the largest and earliest groups of international students in the United States. . The study used ten Chinese students studying in the same university. YUAN found that Chinese students faced critical problems like limited interactions with students of the American origin and use of English language during class discussions. Nonetheless, Chinese students appreciated the U.S educational system and they agreed that the educational experiences were quite rewarding. They unanimously agreed that U.S offers first-class graduate education (Yuan 152). They attributed their argument to diverse learning environments, advanced research and teaching facilities and globally certified scholars (Yuan 152). These are some of the significant benefits that accrued to all international students studying in U.S. Even though Chinese students attested to have to benefited from the U.S education, they argued that for one to succeed he or she must work hard. They also pointed out certain challenges like cultural adaption, language difficulties and interaction with U.S students. Yuan depicts US education as one of best in the world and therefore, students who prefer to study there are more advantaged than others. Even though she points out specific challenges facing international students, she judges that these problems are quite common to all international students irrespective of the country they are studying. THIS IS A SAMPLE ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Although a significant number of international students have revealed benefits offered by the U.S. higher education, others have different experiences. This is in line with the study conducted by Unruh who judged that international students in US face varied challenges and struggles. She identified the majors being inability to cope with required English language proficiency, cultural differences, inadequate prerequisite skills in their field of study, study and learning techniques and different teaching methodologies (Unruh 5). However, Unruh can be disputed because in her research she has noted that students can use their strengths to overcome these challenges. The faculty members interviewed by Unruh opined that international students are goal-oriented, self-motivated, focused, committed and determined to succeed. This means international will not be hampered by these challenges to enjoy the benefits of the US education. Besides, these are common problems not only in the United States, but in the other country.
It is apparent that the U.S. higher education has more merits than demerits to international students. First, student receive quality education that widen their skills and knowledge and increase the employability chances. Secondly, it equips with practical skills through internships and workshops which they can apply back at their home countries. Thirdly, US education system attracts the most acclaimed professors all over the world. The challenges faced by the international students do not outperform the benefits. As presented through the lens of Yuan these challenges are common to all international students all over the over the world. Therefore, Unruh argument and others who may have similar position cannot be used to dispute advantages of US education to international students.
Works Cited
Alghamdi, Hamad and Suzanne Otte. “The Challenges and Benefits of Study Abroad.” International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 6.5 (2016): 16-23. Print.
Porterfield, Dan. How International Students Benefit From Going To College In America. 2010 April 2016. Web. 20 Septemeber 2018. <https://www.forbes.com/sites/dporterfield/2016/04/20/why-international-students-benefit-from-going-to-college-in-america/#6649d7202245>.
Unruh, Susan. “Struggling International Students in the United States: Do University Faculty Know How to Help?” Athens Journal of Education (2015): 1-12. Print .
Urban, Ewa and Louann Bierlein Palmer. “International Students’ Perceptions of the Value of U.S. Higher Education.” Journal of International Students 6.1 (2016): 153-174. Print.
Yuan, Wenli. “Academic and Cultural Experiences of Chinese Students at an American University: A Qualitative Study.” Intercultural Communication Studies 20.1 (2011): 141-158. Print.