Of Iowa State’s 3,797 international students, exactly 1,986 are from the People’s Republic of China. This group has been the largest international group on the ISU campus since 1991 and has grown rapidly over the past years.

Other major international groups from India, South Korea and Malaysia may not reach the number of the Chinese population here, but with a range from 266 to 404 students they are still fairly large compared to the student populations from other countries.

Coming to Iowa State as a student from one of these backgrounds can bring some advantages but some disadvantages as well.

James Dorsett, director of the International Student and Scholar Office said new students of these origins come into a large group of people who can help them with cultural, logistical and adjustment issues.

“Obviously if there is a lot of students that’s easier to do because they set up committees and have different people in charge of different things. That makes it easier to handle all those sorts of issues,” Dorsett said. 

The Chinese Student Association has set up numerous events this semester to bring Chinese students together and get new students involved.

“We helped them to get involved in Iowa State as soon as possible. During orientation we had a short introduction of Ames and Iowa State, where to go eat, buy clothes or how to choose classes.” said Xiaolong Wang, junior in supply chain management and president of the Chinese Student Association. “We helped them to open their bank accounts and get their cellphones set up.” 

The Korean Student Association, which represents the third-largest international group on campus goes even further and does an orientation for new Korean students right in Korea.

“We do a little gathering, where we introduce the university and give them our advice and experience, and we try to do that again when we come back here in the Fall when they all try to settle in again,” said Byoungwoo Choi, graduate student in accounting and president of the Korean Student Association.

Choi said that the large group of internationals students provides a safety net when students come into a new culture.

“You need the most help when you first get here. People new to this country have never lived on their own before; it is hard to know what to expect. So right when they come here, they can get in touch with another Korean student,” Choi said. 

In addition to help while settling in, such large groups can provide the students with familiar things from home. As Choi points out, Korean students can fall back on their traditional food or their religion from South Korea.

Wang says the Chinese Student Association does that as well.

“For the Chinese New Year Celebration, we provide moon cake and make them feel back at home. It is a tradition,” Wang said. “We are really close to each other, and when we are homesick we go to our Chinese friends.”

Dorsett agrees that when students really need help with certain problems being in such a situation can be beneficial, but points out that part of the value of being in a different culture is to learn to be more independent.

“If you are coming into a situation where there is nearly 2,000 of you, like the Chinese students, it’s easier to not have to get out of your comfort zone and not branch out and have to fend for yourself,” Dorsett said. 

Coming out of that comfort zone is never easy and sometimes language barriers make matters even more difficult.

“Chinese students are shy. They don’t know how to say somethings. They will just say hi and then stop talking,” Wang said.

This self-consciousness and the fact that some of these students might not be as used to moving out of their comfort zone, can lead to slightly more interaction between students from the same country and other international countries. 

“If I am a non-native speaker and you are a non-native speaker and I am a bit self-conscious, I may feel more at home in talking to you than I would with an American because there would be this hope that your English is no better than mine,” Dorsett said.

Choi said he agrees. 

“It is easier to become friends with Korean students. We speak the same language and English is more difficult. So it can be a barrier,” Choi said.

He also points out that it is hard for American and Korean students to become best friends.

“Becoming best friends is really hard,” Choi said. “Everyone has their American friends and international friends, but it is hard to become friends for life since people fall back on their Korean friends for that.”

With time and effort, Dorsett said he hopes that students will form strong friendships with others from everywhere.

“If they have been here long enough and developed confidence in their cross-cultural abilities and their English, then hopefully they will branch out to everyone,” Dorsett said.