Destination USA: Being an International student in the US

I am American, but when I arrived in Boston in the fall of 2001 to start my undergraduate studies at Boston University, I very much felt like an international student. I had grown up abroad, graduated from a non-American school system, and was embarking on an exciting, but also mildly terrifying, a new adventure in an unfamiliar environment. What I quickly found out is that I was by no means alone!

Hundreds of thousands of international students enrol in US universities every year and in our globalised world, the American students you meet may well have international backgrounds of their own. For me, that was a highlight of studying in the United States – being able to easily find communities of internationally-minded students that I could relate to and that helped me settle in and thrive.

Many US universities also offer special resources for international students. I remember international student clubs from my days at BU, but the university has since developed a pre-arrival webinar and peer mentor program specifically for international students.

I will be honest: learning to navigate a new academic system was still a challenge and my grades in the first semester at BU were far from stellar. But they quickly recovered as I found my footing and took advantage of the academic excellence that US universities are renowned for.

As a Consulate, we are committed to providing qualified student applicants with the student visas they need to access US universities. If you are thinking about studying in the United States, please reach out to the EducationUSA office in Hyderabad – one of eight across India. It can help advise you on the process of shortlisting universities, applying to them, fulfilling funding requirements, applying for a student visa, and preparing for life in the United States. For more information, visit https://educationusa.state.gov.

— Alexandra, US Consulate General Hyderabad