enoVate: What are the main reasons Chinese youth choose to study abroad?

Joe: There are as many reasons as there are students, but in my experience there are a few general, overarching categories:

First, there are kids who simply want the best education possible. These are super achievers (2200+ SAT, perfect SAT II’s, completed summer programs, musicians, artists, etc) who generally want to go to top 10 US schools. Their parents are usually very successful, and have high hopes for their children. If you get them into NYU early and they want to apply to Cornell. Get Cornell and they want Columbia. Get Columbia and they want Harvard. And if you get them into Harvard they want financial aid. These kids have been pushed and prodded to be #1 as long as they can remember.

Secondly, there are those who aren’t going to get a good enough GaoKao to get into a top 10 Chinese university. These tend to be lazier children of very successful business people who see study abroad as a way to get a fresh start.

Last, are those who want a bigger worldview. Sometimes it’s the kids, sometimes it’s the parents (and sometimes the parents just want to take their business global so they want the kids to speak English). This category varies quite a bit more since the students and parents usually don’t know as much about the US education system and the complexities and costs involved.

enoVate: Are more students leaving for High School as well?

Joe: We are seeing more and more interest in high school. Parents seem increasingly skeptical of the Chinese high school system where much importance is given to the GaoKao. Moreover, parents see American boarding schools as a way to help their children get into top 10 US schools. Parents are, nevertheless, reluctant to send away their children at so young an age.

enoVate: What are the main countries of interest when choosing to study abroad?

Joe: The United States is by far favored, with England and Australia tied for second. It may be that  the US education is seen as much better or simply that there are so many more Universities in America. Personally, I would guess it’s that there are more “name” schools that parents can be proud of (read: brag about).

enoVate: What is the largest factor in choosing universities abroad?

Joe: Ranking pretty much first, last and only. It’s impossible to explain the concept of “good fit” or “educational culture” to Chinese parents. They are paying top dollar for tuition, they want something to brag about.

enoVate: Regarding China’s current “brain drain,” is China’s emerging superpower status affecting decisions to work abroad versus working in China? Where does the greatest opportunity lie?

Joe: At least for the moment the brain drain is working in reverse as foreigners (like me) come to China to work. The Chinese who stay appear to do it for a couple reasons. One, they like the lifestyle abroad (Americanization through education), or two, they want more pedigree before returning (like working at MorganStanley in New York before returning to do finance in China).

enoVate: If a young Chinese person would like to study abroad, how does he or she go about doing this?

Joe: As an education consultant I mostly see people who use that route. The majority, numbers-wise go to agents like New Oriental who simply place students in less competitive colleges and take commissions from the schools on the tuition paid by the students. For people who go direct to schools, college fairs seem to be popular ways to get started.

“Chinese students came to America to study and they have a lot of pressure. Life is so fast paced in America and money is another pressure in life. Everyone has stress particularly we Chinese who have no loved ones ( like parents, relatives or even friends ) We are lonely and sometime isolated. Pressure and stress is so high. It is hard for this young man and young lady. When they came to this Country, they are lack of love, care and probably without good understanding. They are so new in this Country, the girl was here for only 2 weeks.
It is great loss for both of them. The girl died. The boy is in jail. I Can not think of any worse ending like this. Tragedy! They are so young and both are good students academically. Yet it is not only study here, you have to deal with finance and loneliness and all kinds of things you cannot even imagine.” (Stupidcelebrities.com)

It would seem any amount of pressure placed on students is felt much stronger by those abroad and isolated. Moreover, those coming from less wealthy families whom gamble all their worth on the success of their child by sending him abroad – well that’s a kinda of stress I can’t even imagine…
However it’s not all doom and gloom. Many students use this opportunity to meet new people, both local and foreign. For instance, the thread, “I don’t want to be a single overseas student!” is just one of many Douban groups for Chinese students studying abroad. Such groups’ members number in the thousands.

Others take advantage of local flavors by immersing themselves in various cultures. Shenggy - contributer to Chinese modern art and music web-zine Dig for Fire – has taken the opportunity to engrain herself in London’s local music and arts scenes. What she learns and discovers, she relays back to China through podcasts recorded live on the streets of east London. These podcasts offer her audience some context and background for the music she showcases.

Shenggy’s experiences hint at a deeper, more cultural experience for Chinese students abroad. Once getting over the potentially immense culture shock, one can immerse themselves into a new culture. In this case, the experience can be much more significant than just receiving a Western degree. It’s a chance for international cultural exchanges that can benefit both parties.

The number of Chinese students studying abroad continues to rise. During the last three decades, 1.4 million Chinese students have gone to overseas universities, with 200,000 in 2009 alone. A competitive domestic job market, the prestige of western schools, and the allure of living overseas are just a few of the factors pushing a new generation of Chinese students to study abroad.

Push and Pull factors

With the arrival of a new year, we can expect a new surge in job-seekers. At 6.11 million strong, China’s Class of 2010 out-numbers the populations of countries like Ireland, Denmark, and Singapore. Factor in an additional 7 million past graduates still seeking employment, and you can understand the benefits a Western diploma offers applicants in an over-saturated labor pool. Furthermore, China’s 2009 graduate employment rate stands at a mere 60%, while countries like Britain and Singapore exceed 85%. (news.zj.com) As such, the possibility of landing a job outside China’s borders becomes another reason to study in such countries.

Many other reasons exist for studying abroad. First of all, people have begun to realize the benefits of fluent English and an international view. Matt Ye, a Shanghai University student who dreams of studying in a first-class American business school, tells us: “It will add a lot of experience to my life. You have to take care of yourself, thus, you can mature very fast. When you communicate with different people, you will broaden your horizon will not judge people by your old values. And of course, you improve your English in an environment of native speakers.”

Secondly, some claim dissatisfaction with certain aspects of education and life in China. Raul Tang, Matt’s classmate, states: “The reason why I’m seeking opportunity of studying abroad is quite simple: the permanent residence. What else can you do if you feel tons of discontent about the education and politics system here? I will study hard so that I can get a decent job abroad, and never come back maybe.” Last but not least, is the overwhelming pressure placed on today’s students. Parents’ hopes, societal expectations, and fierce domestic competition can be an overwhelming burden for many youths. Studying abroad becomes a way to escape such domestic pressures.

Popular destinations

According to Shinyway International, 23.4% of applicants prefer to study in the USA, where they can get a quality education, abundant financial aids, and graduate with a recognized diploma. Other popular destination countries include Australia (21.6%), UK (13.2%), France (12.5%), Canada (10.1%), Japan (5.7%), South Korea (4.9%), Switzerland (2.2%), Italy (1.8%), and Singapore (1.4%).

As for academic programs, business schools in the USA remain the most popular. Other majors like management, computer science, applied physics and bioscience are also popular fields for Chinese studying in America. Australia attracts people interested in accounting, actuarial science, mass media, business and management. The UK is known for the diversity of its programs, with 3400 majors for Chinese students to choose from (including perfume management, water skiing). (eduwo.com)

Resources

Many resources exist for Chinese students wanting to go overseas. On January 8, 2010, the Ministry of Education of the PRC announced a list of recognized educational agencies to combat scams arising from the potentially lucrative business. In the past years, the number of such agencies has skyrocketed to 401. Many universities have also stepped into this market by establishing offices in China. What’s more, the China Education Expo holds well-attended, yearly fairs. On October 18 – 19, 2009, more than 500 educational services, embassies, universities and colleges from over 30 countries came to 5 large cities in China, to introduce their programs to students. The increasing scale of this exhibition is another testament to the growing tendency of studying abroad.

In his two posts he examines separate, yet not entirely different viewpoints regarding studying abroad and returning home after the completion of education. Both Beida students Ash speaks with link the concept of returning back to China as something that is almost a pre-governed internal conclusion.

Beida student, Leonidas, shares with Ash that he has decided he wants to study abroad in America, yet does not want to remain there after graduating.

“I can’t give up what I have in China. I can’t imagine beginning a new life in the USA. If I begin a new life, I don’t know if I can be accustomed to it … After all, I have spent almost 20 years education in a Chinese culture and atmosphere. So I think I have a different cultural system with America. This is too big a problem if I live there forever.”

Ash writes about another Beida student, Tony, who also shares similar sentiments.

And why does he want to come back? Again, a chief reason is deceptively simple: it’s alienating to live in a different culture. China is his motherland. England isn’t. Another factor: Tony feels that if he’s away from China for too long, “I might lose touch with minor changes in the Chinese way of thinking”. On top of those, ever-present, are more material concerns: there simply seem to be more appealing job opportunities for skilled Chinese in China than there are anywhere else.”

From these dual perspectives, one can gain a sense that currently in China, a foreign degree is both a feather in the cap as well as an opportunity to standout in the crowded Chinese job market.

It’s also interesting to note a change in Chinese political rhetoric regarding the PRC’s stance on Chinese youth studying abroad. Ash writes:

Tony tells me a telling titbit: a government slogan aimed at students going overseas used to read 回国服务 (hui guo fuwu … return to your country, to serve); now it reads 为国服务 (wei guo fuwu … serve [for] your country). Well, Tony hopes to serve too. Academic as his interests are, in his personal statement to Oxford he wrote – with intriguing vagueness – of his desire to also be a “practitioner in the future, to promote effective communication between China and Europe”.

Alec also notes that Tony is interested in hearing more “Chinese voices” in the Western academic discourse. I could not agree more. At the University of Michigan I was often in modern Chinese politics and culture classes with Western educated teachers. It wasn’t until I took a Modern Chinese history class, taught by a visiting professor from China, where a true perspective of Chinese history entered into my thinking process.

I cannot wait to see how “Western” policy and key educational studies are affected by more and more Chinese voices in the future. It can only aid future dialogue between China and the rest of the world.

22-year-old Beth Tang studies from her English dictionary.  Beth grew up in the remote countryside of central China’s Hunan province.  Her farmer parents took out bank loans to pay for her undergraduate education while working odd jobs to supplement their income.  The first of her family to go to college, and fluent in English, Beth represents a major shift in her family’s legacy.  However, her academic success has put a new burden on her shoulders.  Though she dreams of continuing her studies abroad where she can put her mastery of English to use, she finds it necessary to take a job quickly after graduation and begin to give her parents a return on their investment.

We lead off this week with a post from eno Marketing Supervisor, Faye Yu, a graduate from Shanghai’s Fudan University and a MBA recipient from UCLA in California. She outlines her decision factors to study abroad as well as the future impact this has on China’s economic growth.

Studying Abroad towards a PhD

Chinese PhD students tend to study abroad because:

1) the education/research capability is typically better overseas
2) the education is mostly free
3) there’s a good chance after graduating PhD students are allowed to remain in their country. For example, PhD graduates in the US can apply for green card in a fast track program. If a student is interested in conducting research, then it’s normal to become a post-doc or faculty member. Other not so research-minded people look for opportunities in their selected industry or consulting. PhD students usually prepare their own application, but are most likely to take classes for GRE and TOEFL test preperation.

For this group, because their education takes longer to finish, most of them would have been living overseas for over 5 years and perhaps settled down with a family by the time they finished their education. Therefore the barriers for them to move back to China are higher considering the need to move an entire family. Recently there has been a large push from the Chinese government to attract Post-grad talents back to China to teach or to conduct research in domestic universities. There are many online heated debates and conflicting conversations for whether to return (“海归”) or not on overseas Chinese BBS’, such as MITBBS, and HUAREN.

Studying Abroad towards a Post-Grad Business Degree

Chinese Post-grad Business students choose to study abroad because:

1) The education at international business schools typically rank higher than in China.
2) There are plentiful opportunities to work overseas after graduation.
3) International business schools over a vast network and international experience.

Studying business internationally is much more expensive than studying for a PhD, and the chance of receiving a scholarship is much slimmer. However, most people view it as a form of investment to aid in their career development or to move up the corporate ladder. Because the application process is very intensive and most of these people are working full-time while applying, some Chinese business school applicants seek help from consultants, such as BeBeyond. Most of this group will also take classes to prepare for their GMAT and TOEFL tests.

We see more and more returnees to China in the business degree group especially during 2009 becaus:

1) Employment opportunities internationally decreased dramatically for MBAs in 2009. (Meaning Chinese MBA’s are more accessible for Chinese companies to hire)
2) Some industries, such as Consulting and Banking, are offering global level pay in China.
3) Most people in this group only live overseas for 2 years, thus not becoming as tied down.

Generally, I think China’s improved global status is very attractive for studying abroad Chinese to return and work in China. Most people would agree that there are more opportunities in China today, compared to the US or UK. Yet, the main barriers that keep Chinese study abroad students from returning is mostly the lower wages and (sometimes) lower living standards. Most of these returnees want to be treated better than local talents, or equally as expats. According to a friend who is involved in job recruitment in China, the trend is that the demand and pay level for returning study abroad Chinese is increasing, while the pay of expats is decreasing. It appears China may be experiencing a “brain gain” rather than a “brain drain”.