The purpose of this study was to investigate how transformative perspective is manifested in female graduate students from Africa studying at Iowa State University. The study focused on the effects of migration, the experiences of culture shock and college experience as these women pursue higher education;It is my belief that as international students study at American universities a personal transformation takes place as they try to adjust and adapt to their new environment. This occurs in response to externally imposed disorienting dilemmas, such as migration, divorce, etc. These experiences can be viewed as "trigger events" that precipitate critical reflections which lead to transformations. These transformations have a significant impact on the ways the students will use their education during and upon completion of their studies;This was a qualitative research study that utilized indepth interviews as a method of data collection. Because the researcher was interested in personal experiences of these graduate international women, purposive sampling was used. Eighteen women from nine different countries in Africa were interviewed for the study. Each interview lasted from one to two and a half hours. The interviews were audiotaped and later transcribed. The research questions for the study were: (1) What happens to people when they migrate to a culture different from their own?; (2) What are some of the problems they encounter in their new environment and culture?; (3) How do they resolve the encountered problems?;Data were categorized into six themes that emerged from the interviews: decision making, negotiating two cultures, building support network, community experiences, college experiences, and resolving issues. The researcher then compared and contrasted the data using the established categories;The interviews revealed that a transformation takes place as students try to adjust and adapt to life in the states. Implications for the study are: sensitize faculty and staff to international students' concerns, tailor orientation programs to particular target groups, diversify hiring practices for the international offices, and conduct similar research with other groups.