Frassetti, Advisor: I've been involved with international students almost my entire career. And I've been an international advisor since the early '70s. And I can honestly say it's been a rewarding experience, and it's something that I would never want to change.

What is usually international students' first impression of the US?
International students have a variety of reactions. A lot depends on where they first entered the United States. If they entered the U.S. on the east coast, in New York, for example, I'm sure their reaction is going to be very, very different from coming into a port of entry like Seattle. But, generally, I think they're overwhelmed by the pace of life for the most part. The fact that transportation is not as easy as it might be in their home countries. Obviously, they're always missing their family groups and they have to go through that kind of a period of adjustment as well.

I think also, one of the things that I've heard students complain about is the lack of knowledge that the average American has about any other part of the world. I hate to say that our culture is somewhat ethnocentric, but I have a feelings that's what most students feel and react to almost immediately.

What kind of difficulties international students might encounter in the US?
I think some of the troubles with the regulations come from the way the regulations are written. They're very confusing. We spend our entire careers trying to understand the regulations and trying to explain them in simple form to students when they come in.

Many of them come in with preconceived ideas about what they're going to be doing. Many students come in with the idea of really not having education as their primary goal, but rather working or having some other kind of an experience. But for the most part, students come in with that idea, that they're going to be in school full time and they're going to be working toward an educational goal.

In terms of other troubles, I'd say, understanding the education system, as I like to explain to our faculty, I have several books of world education systems in my office and it's staggering to see the different ways education is delivered throughout the world. Many students come in with the idea that they're going to be in a system that's familiar to them, at least partially familiar.

And that causes a lot of trouble educationally, when you're not really aware of what they need to do, how the system works, why it works in this, in a special way and how it differs from the experiences that they've had in their home country. I know certain cultures react in different ways. For example, if I show a student general education requirements for transfer to a senior university after they've left this college, many of them look at me with a horrified expression on their face.

As if to say, do you mean I have to choose from this list? Because many of them are in educational systems where everyone takes the same course at the same time. The whole business of units is daunting in many cases. In terms of other troubles, I suppose, the list can go on forever, finding support, finding housing, finding your way around a strange city. All of those troubles. I think probably financial trouble in this area is one of the bigger troubles as well.

What kind of questions of complaints you usually get from international students?
The questions that I get most often are, why are American students so disrespectful to their teachers? It's unusual, I think, in other parts of the world to see a student coming, putting his or her feet on the chair in front. And in some cultures, of course, it's a horrible insult to show the soles of your feet, or your shoes to anyone. And I think that's one of the things, the informality. Maybe not disrespect, but the informality that they find in a classroom. The informality of the teachers as well.

One of the comments that I get quite often also is the way teachers grade. Because there appears to be very little in terms of uniformity that teachers grade, teachers use in grading. Many students find that very difficult to understand and very disconcerting. Especially when the come from cultures or educational systems, where everything is done on a point system. And then they find themselves in a classroom situation where subjective grading is used.

Id' say also one of the biggest complaints is asking why they have to take so much English As A Second Language. I think that's always a problem. Many students see this as being a drain on their finances and on their time, when actually they need to have that in order to survive the academic rigors that they're going to be meeting later on. And I think any student who has gone through the process knows what I'm talking about.

Other questions and perhaps complaints, one of the big complaints is the amount of bureaucracy that we have in the education system, and in the government as well. I know some cultures call the American culture the form-filling culture because it seems that we have a form for every conceivable situation. And trying to understand that protocol is very daunting as well. I think it actually comes down to a familiarity with the system. Once they understand the system, then they can work within it, and it becomes a lot easier.