International students after graduation may be torn between going home, staying or moving abroad. Hitit University data and a look at living with uncertainty.
For most students, the graduation ceremony is both an ending and a beginning. But for a student studying far from their family, their country and their language, this moment often arrives with a question mark: "What happens now?" Go back home, stay in Turkey and look for work, or move to another country? International students after graduation are not only making a career decision; they are seeking a balance between a sense of responsibility towards their family, uncertainty about residence and work permits, the language barrier and the new ties they have formed over the years. Hitit University in Çorum is one of the universities whose number of international students has grown rapidly in recent years. In this article I will discuss the data on this growth, the uncertainty students experience after graduation and ways of coping with that uncertainty.
What Do the Figures Say? International Students at Hitit University
The number of international students at Hitit University has multiplied within a few years:
- 2018–2022: According to indicators in the Monitoring and Evaluation Report of YÖK (the Council of Higher Education), the number rose from 172 to 805. (Because this report cannot currently be accessed directly, these values come via secondary sources.)
- 2024: According to an academic study based on university data, there were 1,294 international students (Özakyol, Manjang and Jammeh, 2025).
- Currently: According to the total of the nationality table on the official "Study in Türkiye" portal, there are around 1,318 students from 62 countries.
In terms of nationality, Azerbaijan is by far the largest group (475 students). It is followed by Syria (122), Somalia (79), Iraq (77), Afghanistan (66), the Gambia (49), Kazakhstan (43) and Gabon (41). Students from African countries make up the second-largest group after Azerbaijan.
Across Turkey as a whole, there were around 350,000 international students in 2023; this is around 5% of all students in higher education.
Findings on life after graduation
Two academic studies conducted with international students in Çorum help us understand the background to post-graduation worries:
- Özakyol and colleagues (2025), in a survey of 60 international students at Hitit University's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, highlight limited job and internship opportunities, work permit procedures and the language barrier among the factors affecting career planning.
- Boduroğlu (2025), in interviews with 23 international students, identifies the language barrier, financial difficulties, bureaucracy, social exclusion and experiences of discrimination as factors that make adjustment harder. Family, friends and the university's support units stand out as protective factors.
The limits of the data
These studies were conducted with small samples and do not represent all international students. No published data at provincial or university level could be found on how many international graduates return to their home country, stay in Turkey or move to another country. The number of students studying at Hitit University on Türkiye Scholarships (the Turkish government scholarship programme) is also unknown. The assessments below are therefore based on general knowledge in the field and on the findings of these studies.
A Sociological Reading: Why Is Life After Graduation So Uncertain for International Students?
It would be incomplete to see post-graduation uncertainty merely as individual indecision. There are structural factors that shape a student's options.
Legal and administrative procedures. A student residence permit ends when education ends. For a graduate who wishes to stay in Turkey, a work permit, a new type of residence permit and procedures involving an employer mean both time and uncertainty. Not knowing the details of these procedures can increase anxiety.
The local job market. In a medium-sized Anatolian city, job opportunities in which one can work in English or another foreign language are more limited than in big cities. The fact that students in these studies emphasise the scarcity of English speakers and job opportunities in the city may explain a tendency to head for a big city or another country after graduation.
Language. For a student who has learned Turkish but not developed it enough to use it in working life, job interviews and official correspondence can be a significant obstacle. On the other hand, for students who learn Turkish well, the language can also become a serious advantage.
Conditions in the home country. Some students' home countries may face economic difficulties, conflict or security problems. For these students, "going back" is not an easy option; sometimes it is hardly an option at all. This makes the post-graduation decision a much heavier and more emotional burden.
Family expectations. Many international students study abroad with a large financial and emotional investment from their families. While the family may expect a good job, a regular income or a return home after graduation, the student's own wishes may be different.
A Psychological Reading: Living with Uncertainty
Post-graduation uncertainty can show up in international students as several different emotional experiences.
A sense of living a temporary life
For a student who has lived for years with the thought "I'll leave once it's over anyway", graduation can mean that all the postponed decisions suddenly pile up in front of them. In a life seen as temporary, a person may avoid forming deep bonds, buying belongings or making long-term plans. This can increase loneliness and a sense of rootlessness. As graduation approaches, the feeling may emerge that "I didn't build a life here, but I no longer fully belong there either."
The debt of success and shame
Let us say a student from Africa has studied in Çorum with the help of his family's savings and the support of relatives. If he cannot find a good job immediately after graduating, he may feel ashamed to return to his country "empty-handed". When talking to his family he may say everything is fine while hiding the anxiety he is really experiencing. This sense of a "debt of success" makes it harder to ask for help and isolates the person even further.
Intolerance of uncertainty
Some people adjust to uncertain situations more easily, while for others uncertainty feels almost unbearable. A student with high anxiety about uncertainty may constantly think through possible worst-case scenarios, put off making a decision or, on the contrary, decide hastily without enough thought. Sleep problems, difficulty concentrating and physical tension are common during this process.
Moving to another country: the third option
For some graduates, neither going home nor staying in Turkey seems right; moving to a third country comes onto the agenda. Although this option promises new opportunities, it can mean starting from scratch once again, with a new language, new bureaucracy and a new loneliness. When international students after graduation choose this path, the adjustment skills they gained in Turkey become an important resource: having already learned once how to stand on one's own feet in a foreign country can give confidence for a second transition.
Grieving for leaving and for staying
Whichever option is chosen, something is left behind. The student who returns home leaves behind the friendships they made in Çorum, the independent life they grew used to and the language they learned. The student who stays accepts continuing to live far from their family. Grieving these losses does not mean the decision was "wrong"; it is a natural part of every transition.
Uncertainty is not the place where the next step cannot be seen; it is simply the place where the whole road cannot be seen at once.
Reverse culture shock on returning home
The process may not be easy for graduates who choose to return to their home country either. Someone who has lived for years in a different culture may notice on returning that their family and surroundings have changed, and that they themselves have changed too. This experience is known as reverse culture shock and can lead to an unexpected sense of loneliness and alienation.
A new chapter for those who stay
A new period of adjustment also begins for graduates who decide to stay in Turkey. The structure provided by student identity, the halls of residence, the campus and a ready-made circle of friends disappears. The person is now an adult looking for work, paying rent and handling official procedures alone. This transition is challenging for Turkish students too; but for international graduates, language, legal status and distance from family add to the burden. It is important that a graduate who chooses to stay does not interpret the difficulties of the first months as "I made the wrong decision". Every new period has its time of adjustment.
Seeking support
In Boduroğlu's (2025) study, family, friends and the university's support units stand out as protective factors. According to Hitit University's 2024 Institutional Internal Evaluation Report, psychological support at the university is provided two days a week by a psychologist assigned by the Provincial Health Directorate, within the Social Support Unit of the Addiction Prevention Application and Research Centre. No counselling unit specifically for international students could be found in the sources. For this reason it may be helpful for students to consider, alongside the resources available at the university, the International Office, student societies, academic staff and, where necessary, professional support online or in person. In some cultures asking for help may be seen as a weakness; yet seeking support during a difficult period of transition is a form of taking care of oneself.
What Can International Students Do After Graduation? Practical Suggestions
For international students in their final year:
- Do not leave the decision until the last week. Start thinking about your options at least a year before graduation. For each option, find out the documents, timescales and costs involved.
- Consult the university's International Office. Getting up-to-date information about residence, work permits and postgraduate opportunities reduces uncertainty.
- Bring your Turkish up to working level. If you are thinking of staying, studying Turkish for working life broadens your options.
- Gain internship and volunteering experience. Even short-term work experience both strengthens your CV and helps you build a local network.
- Prepare a "plan B". Thinking in advance about the possible obstacles and alternatives for each option increases your sense of control.
For coping with uncertainty:
- Separate what you can control from what you cannot. Preparing applications is in your hands; the speed of bureaucracy is not. Direct your energy towards the steps you can control.
- Talk honestly with your family. Sharing the uncertainty you are experiencing instead of hiding it eases the burden of shame and often leads the family to show unexpected understanding.
- Keep your support network alive. Friends, students from your own country, academic staff and student societies are important resources during this process.
- Keep up your daily routine. Sleep, nutrition and physical activity are the foundation of coping with anxiety.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Anxiety and indecision after graduation are natural. However, it may be helpful to seek support in the following situations:
- If worry about the future has been noticeably affecting your sleep, appetite and daily tasks for weeks,
- If you cannot take any steps because you cannot decide, and you feel stuck,
- If loneliness, homesickness or a sense of exclusion has turned into persistent low mood,
- If you are experiencing intense shame or guilt towards your family and cannot share it with anyone,
- If anxiety, fear or traumatic memories because of events in your home country are affecting your daily life.
If feelings of hopelessness have turned into thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life, this is an emergency. In Turkey you can call 112 (emergency services) or go to the emergency department of the nearest hospital.
How Is Post-Graduation Uncertainty Addressed in Therapy?
In psychological work with international students, cultural context, language and the experience of migration are always taken into account. Therapy can help a student clarify their decision-making process in line with their own values and develop a more flexible relationship with uncertainty. Sessions can work on the following areas:
- Tolerating uncertainty: Noticing thoughts such as "What if I make the wrong decision?" and being able to act without eliminating uncertainty completely.
- Decision-making: Evaluating options in a structured way in terms of personal values, practical conditions and emotional needs.
- Shame and family expectations: Questioning beliefs that define success only by external criteria, and strengthening communication with the family.
- Transition and grief: Recognising the grief for what is left behind, whichever path is chosen.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) offers structured tools for noticing and managing the thought patterns that feed anxiety. For students who graduate and move to another city or country, online therapy can allow the support process to continue without interruption.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many international students are there in Çorum?
The number of international students at Hitit University was 172 in 2018 and reached around 1,300 in 2024. According to the current nationality table on the official Study in Türkiye portal, students come from 62 countries; the largest group is from Azerbaijan.
Is it normal to feel indecisive after graduation?
Yes, it is entirely normal. Graduation requires many decisions about career, family, country and identity to be made at the same time. If indecision leaves you unable to act for a long time or leads to intense anxiety, seeking support may be helpful.
I'm ashamed to go back to my country empty-handed; what can I do?
This feeling is shared by many students who study abroad. The education you received, the language you learned and the experience you gained are real achievements, even if they do not immediately turn into a job. Talking openly with your family about expectations and remembering that success has no single measure can help.
If I feel like a stranger after returning to my country, will it pass?
The feeling of strangeness on returning home is known as reverse culture shock and usually lessens over time. Building new routines, talking to people who have had a similar experience and giving yourself time to adjust make this process easier.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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