Cultural Differences Between International And Exchange Students

There seems to be numerous groups on a college campus, each sharing at least one particular cultural trait in common. However, there is one group on campus that is composed of people from different cultural backgrounds and walks of life. These are the international students. This is an ever growing subset of those attending an American university, making up almost 820,000 students across all colleges and universities in this country in the 2012-13 academic year (Institute of International Education). Even though the number of international students is growing consistently over the past couple of years, there is still hostility and an exclusiveness towards this diverse group of students. International and exchange students bring their different …show more content…
A study done back in 2015 of international students from Asia on an American college campus showed that these students often felt marginalized and isolated from the other students, leading to negative views on both ends (Sato and Hodge). Most of the time, these differences in language and in culture lead to alienation among international students, not being able to forge bonds with the American students, but with the other Asian students (Sato and Hodge). This is all caused by the foreignness that the American students see in them, as well as the language and cultural barrier (Sato and Hodge). One way that international students break down their differences with America, and the mystique that some students see with this country, is by going out into the community and volunteer, as well as interacting with the police (Keckeisen). By doing this, the international student’s perception of America is changed, from one they see in the media to one they actually see. Even though there are challenges towards international students becoming accustomed to their new culture, there are ways, like volunteering and face to face interactions, to bring them closer to their American