Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to you to present a design for a proposed study which will focus on academic

performance of international students. According to the findings of Rienties et al. (2012), who have

studied in depth correlations between international students’ ethnicity (western or non-Western), the

academic success of students is primarily influenced by their level of academic integration, while

social adjustment tends to have a negative effect on academic performance. Surprisingly, that study

reported that international students compensate their lower levels of social integration by a heightened

focus on academic pursuits and integration. Additionally, they suggested that students' performance

and GPA are largely determined by their academic adjustment rather than their ethnicity.

Rosenthal et al. (2008) found that being an international student does not affect one’s physical or

even mental health negatively, although international students reported some cases of feeling excluded

or distressed. That means that on average, health issues shouldn’t be more a hindrance to their

academic performance than in the case of their domestic peers. Still, a 2010 exploratory study focusing

on the problems international students experience recorded social adjustment difficulties, language

problems and financial concerns. At the same time, it has also reported that international students feel

“overwhelmingly positive” about their academic life (Sherry et al., 2010).

My hypothesis is that social integration of international and domestic students could benefit both

of these groups. International students may face fewer social distractions than their peers, but they face

other challenges which may or may not affect their academic life. Forging social ties with domestic

students could provide them with a support network, which would benefit their overall wellbeing and

could in turn enhance their academic performance. While for a domestic student, having a highly

motivated peer could be a catalyst for academic growth and integration.

I propose forming about 50 permanent study pairs between domestic and international students

for the length of one term, doing collaborative study projects and being encouraged, although not

forced, to interact even beyond their studies. Their GPA from this term could then be compared to

their GPA in the previous term, and any changes could be recorded and analyzed for any clear trends.
Although the academic performance of international and domestic students has already been studied

and compared, there hasn’t yet been a study focused on whether the two groups could aid each other

consistently.

Thank you for your consideration. I will be looking forward to your answer.

Kind regards,

Anna

References:

Rienties, B., Beausaert, S., Grohnert, T., Niemantsverdriet, S., & Kommers, P. (2012).

Understanding academic performance of international students: the role of ethnicity, academic and

social integration. Higher Education, 63(6), 685–700. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41477908

Rosenthal, D. A., Russell, J., & Thomson, G. (2008). The Health and Wellbeing of International

Students at an Australian University. Higher Education, 55(1), 51–67.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/29735163

Sherry, M., Thomas, P., & Chui, W. H. (2010). International students: a vulnerable student

population. Higher Education, 60(1), 33–46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40784044