Comparison of characteristics of successful and unsuccessful foreign students at California State University, Northridge

Purpose This study is a comparison of characteristics of successful and unsuccessful foreign students at California State University, Northridge. Procedures A structured interview was administered to 70 foreign students who attended California State University, Northridge during Fall 1979 and Spring 1980 semester. Thirty-five of these students were on the Dean's List with grade-point averages above 3.6. Thirty-five of these students were disqualified, having failed to maintain grade-point averages of 2.0 in at least 12 units. Responses of the two groups were compared, using the chi-square test of independence. Statistical significance was determined at the .05 level. The structured interview attempted to identify personal, educational, and experiential characteristics of the two groups and also to identify initial difficulties, problems concerning living situation, problems concerning academic programs, and problems concerning finances. Conclusions 1. Unsuccessful students tended to be older than successful students. 2. Unsuccessful students indicated far less contact with American students than did the successful students. 3. Loneliness was considered less of a problem for unsuccessful students than it was for successful students. 4. Heavy study loads troubled unsuccessful students considerably more than they did successful students. 5. Unsuccessful students found the competitive grading system to be a major problem, while fewer successful students indicated this to be a problem.