This article draws on findings from a longitudinal study of Chinese international students beginning study in a New Zealand university, and focuses on the very different experience of two students in relation to a single course and its assessment requirements, as they sought ways to negotiate identities as university students in their new setting. While neither student passed the course, one of them was able to learn from his experience of challenge and failure, in particular by developing his reading skills over the period, leading him to a deeper understanding of the course and a growing sense of competency as a university student. The other prided himself on his well-developed speaking skills and favoured oral interaction as his means of clarifying difficulties, but this served him less well in the "DIY" (do-it-yourself) learning expected in the university. The brief encounters available to him for verbal enquiries provided no obvious explanation for the ineffectiveness of his previously successful learning practices, and no counter to unhelpful advice. The suggestion is made that large first-year classes, with no smaller groupings providing timely interaction with teaching staff, can seriously impede the recognition and adoption of appropriate learning strategies. Two paths to an improvement of this situation are posited: better preparation for the practices demanded within the university, signalled by entry requirements for more than just English proficiency, or an acceptance of greater responsibility to provide teacher guidance within first-year courses.