Let's begin my talking about an average student entering his or her freshman year. Of course, such a person never really exists, but still it's convenient to talk about an “average" student for our purposes. Foreign students are often surprised at how poorly prepared American students are when they enter a university. Actually, at very select schools the students are usually very well prepared, but at less selective schools, they may not be as well prepared as students in your country are. Schools in the States simply admit a lot more students than is usual in most other countries. Also, most young American university students have not traveled in other countries and are not very well-versed in international matters and do not know a lot about people from other countries. Foreign students usually find them friendly but not very well-informed about their countries or cultures.