In the bustling metropolis of Shanghai, two young women, aspiring to pursue higher education abroad, have taken a surprising decision. Rather than opting for the United States, the go-to destination for Chinese students for decades, they are looking elsewhere. This raises the question – is the allure of American education fading for Chinese students?
Cost and Safety: The Deciding Factors
Helen Dong, a 22-year-old senior studying advertising, found the cost of American education prohibitive. She said, “It doesn’t work for me when you have to spend 2 million (yuan) ($278,000) but find no job upon returning.” Dong, instead, has chosen to go to Hong Kong this fall.
Conversely, for Yvonne Wong, a 24-year-old studying comparative literature and cultures at the University of Bristol in Britain, it was not the cost, but safety concerns that steered her away from the United States. She voiced the concerns of many Chinese families when she said, “Families in Shanghai usually don’t want to send their daughters to a place where guns are not banned — that was the primary reason.”
A Trend in the Making?
With global interest in studying abroad rebounding post-pandemic, many are observing that the stream of Chinese students to the U.S., which has been steady for decades, could be slowing down. As per BBC, there are several factors at work here, including a decline in China’s population due to low birthrates, strained U.S.-China relations, high costs of American education, and growing regional choices for Chinese families.
This decline has been noted both in undergraduate and graduate programs. Zheng Yi, an associate professor at Northeastern University in Boston, reported a significant drop in the number of Chinese applicants to the school’s engineering programs in recent years.
Implications of the Shift
The implications of this trend could be far-reaching. As Fanta Aw from the NAFSA Association of International Educators based in Washington warns, “International education is a bridge. A long-term bridge, because the students who come today are the engineers of the future. They are the politicians of the future, they are the business entrepreneurs of the future.”
However, it seems this trend is here to stay. Andrew Chen, CEO of Pittsburgh-based WholeRen Education, which has been advising Chinese students in the U.S. for the past 14 years, calls it a “new era.” He cited the Chinese government’s sidelining of English education, portrayal of U.S. as a declining power, and highlighting of gun violence in the U.S. as key reasons for Chinese families’ growing hesitancy to send their children to the U.S.
While the U.S. remains a popular choice for many prospective students, it seems that the U.K. has begun to emerge as a more desirable destination, offering shorter study programs, affordability, and a perceived sense of safety. According to EIC Education, a Chinese consultancy specializing in international education, Chinese students are increasingly favoring the U.K. over the U.S.
Despite these shifts, Chinese students remain eager to study abroad, hoping that degrees from reputable foreign universities will improve their career prospects. However, the destination of choice seems to be changing, and it will be interesting to see how this shift influences U.S.-China relations and the global education landscape in the coming years.