Recent data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency shows that Chinese students constitute the largest proportion of the non-EU student population in UK (HESA, 2018). Just like all international students, Chinese students are experiencing a significant transition into the UK higher education institutions, which emphasise on the ability of being autonomous and reflective, meaning students are expected to understand, interpret and explore knowledge independently. This paper introduces a longitudinal study following 19 Chinese Master’s students at a Scottish University for a whole academic year (2016-7) with 3 individual interviews, in order to identify and compare the students’ individual transitions in different stages of their studies. As the data analysis is still on-going, this paper presents the story of one participant – Rachael, for readers to have a close taste of her fluctuated experience and how it reshaped her identity during transitioning in, struggling to adapt to the new learning environment and requirements, and her frustration when re-contacting the Chinese society especially during her job hunting.

Keywords: Chinese international students, academic transition, higher education