Internal migrant students in Chile transitioning to the university: Experiences in a triple rupture scenario

Abstract

Students who migrate to pursue higher education face many challenges in their adjustment to university. It is necessary to know the specific barriers that internal migrant students face in order to design policies and strategies for institutional support of these students. This article investigates the process of transition to university life for internal migrant students in Chile through an intervalidation process of two exploratory studies aimed at knowing about displacement and transition-to-university experiences from the perspectives of the migrants themselves. This collection of testimonies, and the subsequent identification of shared experiences among internal migrant students, highlights the triple rupture they experienced (change of city, place of study, and residence). According to their testimonies, students reported perceiving greater independence, self-regulation, and self-knowledge. This article discusses these topics and offers university policy orientations based on the findings, as well as aspects of these processes to explore in future research.