Chinese students at the University of Iowa continue to try making do in a system that isn’t tailored to them, from the admissions process to academics and life on campus, despite moves by the university and others over the past several years to make life more pleasant for them in the United States.
An IowaWatch story former reporter Lu Shen wrote about University of Iowa difficulty helping Chinese students adjust to Iowa in 2013-14 has won the Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) Mark of Excellence Award for best online news story by a college journalist in 2014.
Spouses of visiting students and scholars at Iowa's public universities often put their lives on hold, living in boredom unable to work or continue their own advanced studies in the United States.