A look into the struggles that international students face at the University of Saskatchewan.

Canada, known for its multiculturalism, high-quality education and promise of opportunity, is often promoted as a welcoming destination for international students. Each fall, international students from around the world arrive in Saskatoon with hopes of academic success, new friendships and life-changing opportunities. Yet for many, the reality of studying at the University of Saskatchewan includes challenges that go far beyond coursework. 

While USask prides itself on diversity and accessibility, international students often navigate financial stress, academic pressure, cultural adjustment and policy obstacles that make their journey uniquely demanding. 

Financial pressure

One of the biggest issues for international students at USask is the high cost of tuition and living expenses. International tuition at Canadian universities can be significantly higher than domestic rates, and estimates show that in most programs, international students may pay roughly four times more than Canadian students for the same year of study. 

Reports and student voices from across campus suggest that tuition increases over recent years have hit international students especially hard. According to interviews with international students conducted by Global News, some students say their tuition has nearly doubled since they began their degree, raising fears about staying enrolled and completing their program.

High fees often force students to stretch limited savings, take on debt, rely on family support back home or work extensive hours at a place of employment, all while dealing with living costs in a city with a competitive rental market. And that’s only if they are able to even stay and finish their degree, which many international students have decided not to pursue after surges in prices.

Policy Barriers

Recent changes to federal immigration and study permit policies have had a noticeable impact on international students coming to USask. Stricter requirements, such as doubling the financial requirements for international students and issuing work visas to graduates only in fields related to labour shortages, have contributed to a decline in new international student enrolments at Saskatchewan’s universities, including USask. In 2024, the number of new international students at USask appears to decline.

These policy shifts create uncertainty for future students and complicate long-term planning — especially for those hoping to work after graduation or pursue permanent residency. Students often arrive with hopes of building a life in Canada, but these changing rules make it harder to know what opportunities will be available once classes begin.

Academic and language challenges

In addition to navigating tuition fees and the financial stress of living in the city, international students are also attending classes conducted in a language that, while familiar, may not be their first or primary language. Adjusting to university academic expectations is another common hurdle with understanding academic conventions, discipline specific language and social and cultural nuances of classroom communication presenting significant challenges. 

These students may work harder to read and understand texts and assignments, to use consistent and correct grammar or incorporate a wider ranging vocabulary, feel self-conscious about presenting their ideas in class among peers or directly to instructors, feel anxious to ask questions about academic integrity out of a fear of being judged negatively by instructors, adjust expectations and practices in other educational systems and fear the use of GenAI detection tools that falsely identify human written work of non-native speakers with AI content. 

Even beyond language, adapting to unfamiliar teaching styles and academic norms can be an additional source of stress.

Mental Health and Social Isolation

The transition to university life in a new country carries an intense emotional weight. According to the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health, these international students who don’t have family nearby or established community networks often confront loneliness, stress and anxiety, particularly when academic workload and financial worries compound the struggles and challenges of daily life. 

Mental health professionals emphasize the importance of equitable access to support services that address these challenges, noting that many international students experience elevated stress due to cultural adjustment alongside typical academic pressures. Peer Health is a resource at USask that students can access for support. 

Support Services and University Response

USask has expanded services designed to help international students acclimate and succeed, including the International Student and Study Abroad Centre (ISSAC), which offers advising on immigration matters, settlement issues and cultural transition. They also plan events to encourage international students to meet with one another and make friends, easing the transition that many students face when moving from a place with lots of family and friends to a place where they know very few people, if any. By having these events, a community of international students can mingle and interact, creating long lasting friendships and a shared community between students.

ISSAC provides one-on-one support for navigating visas, work eligibility, health care and housing questions which can be extremely helpful for managing finances and figuring out how to live in Saskatoon. This can ease the stress that many students face when transitioning to living in Saskatchewan and trying to manage costs, allowing them to focus on their schooling and making friends within their communities.

Looking Forward

Despite these efforts, international students at USask continue to confront structural challenges that require community, institutional and policy-level responses. With federal immigration policies evolving and global competition for students intensifying, how USask balances support with recruitment and retention will shape not only its international community but the broader cultural fabric of campus life.

For many students, the promise of global education remains a powerful draw but one that increasingly comes with real-world financial, academic and emotional costs. Being an international student at USask can be an extremely rewarding experience, but it can also be an intense struggle for community, understanding and financial comfortability.