In this modern era, education is paramount for anyone who wishes to find a stable job. Students often have to make a choice of studying in their own country or to study abroad. Many students from developing countries choose to study away from their home country because their university does not offer the programs that they want to pursue. When planning to study abroad, students need to carefully analyze the challenges that they might encounter. This essay will discuss the challenges faced by students choosing to study outside of their country or region. There are three challenges presented in this essay for individuals choosing to sojourn abroad to study. These challenges deal with culture, health and finance. Studying in a university outside of your country or region presents its unique challenges.
Firstly, students face cultural challenges due to the change in their social norms and environment. Culture shock also includes the loss of support systems, as well as familiar sights, sounds, tastes, smells, practices, customs, and other life experiences (Thompson, Rosenthal & Russell, 2006). This can be associated with homesickness. A student commented that “Everything in the US is culture shock. I feel lonely. I see unfamiliar food, unfamiliar people and things. These things make me feel homesick. I see things …show more content…
Mental health and physical health are both affected. Stress is a contributing factor to poor mental and physical health. More often than not, students are under a lot of stress when introduced into a new environment. It has been reported that international students studying abroad encounter difficulties that contribute to problems with adjustment to their new environment and presenting acculturative stress (Smith & Khawaja, 2011; Zhou, Jindal-Snape, Topping, & Todman, 2008, cited in Alloh et al., 2018, pp. 1-20). In addition to stress,
Firstly, students face cultural challenges due to the change in their social norms and environment. Culture shock also includes the loss of support systems, as well as familiar sights, sounds, tastes, smells, practices, customs, and other life experiences (Thompson, Rosenthal & Russell, 2006). This can be associated with homesickness. A student commented that “Everything in the US is culture shock. I feel lonely. I see unfamiliar food, unfamiliar people and things. These things make me feel homesick. I see things …show more content…
Mental health and physical health are both affected. Stress is a contributing factor to poor mental and physical health. More often than not, students are under a lot of stress when introduced into a new environment. It has been reported that international students studying abroad encounter difficulties that contribute to problems with adjustment to their new environment and presenting acculturative stress (Smith & Khawaja, 2011; Zhou, Jindal-Snape, Topping, & Todman, 2008, cited in Alloh et al., 2018, pp. 1-20). In addition to stress,