Higher education has been increasing exponentially throughout the globe. As the higher education sector expands, the desire and the curiosity mostly enhances the international students to start pursuing their higher studies in the United States. But the question is, do most of them achieve what they came for? Why do they fall behind in classes? These are common questions raised on surveys. I would like to address this letter on current methodologies and aspects governing the international student retention at universities and the reasons I think they are not being rewarded fairly. I strongly believe that money issues and student advising are the two primary factors which limit international students from being successful.
International student enrolment in the U.S has risen over 50% since 2004/05 (Institute of International Education 2012). Some institutions had their international student population grown from 4% to 10% of total enrollments in the freshman year. (Simmons 2013). These admissions bring this country millions of dollars each year. But, their chances to receive scholarships or borrowing a loan from a bank is minimal. International students are faced with multiple challenges when they move abroad for studies. They are expected to handle and maintain rigorous academic set standards compared to their domestic counterparts. If these conditions were not met after admission, students automatically fall into the danger zone in which they might lose their status in the United States. Why are the authorities setting these complex requirements only for international students? Is it fair?.
I believe that the most crucial factor in higher education is tuition fees. Paying for college is one of the vital jobs that a student needs to come prepared for. Some international students may come from rich families but majority of them do not. Yet, the reports observed and analyzed in surveys proved that failure and dropout rate had increased rapidly in the last decade.