Chinese eyeing US degrees turn more discerning – is the opportunity still worth the risk?

South China Morning Post

2 days ago

Jason Lin of Xiamen surprised his mother this year by applying to 10 undergraduate schools in the United States and receiving a US$15,000 annual scholarship from Brandeis University near Boston. There, he intends to earn a master's degree in economics over the next five years.
But to his mother, it's like he's venturing into the wild, compounding the anxiety parents often feel when their adult children leave the nest.
She's afraid of 'instability' in the US. And Lin, 19, has concerns that even a traffic ticket could get him deported. But he weighed the pros and cons, laid it all on the table for his mother, and decided on Brandeis in time for the coming fall semester.
Despite a sharp increase in US-China tensions this year, Chinese students such as Lin are still pursuing American higher education much as they have in the past, but they are being more selective than before, according to applicants and university officials.
'Basically, the thought of going to the States came to me when I was in ninth grade,' Lin explained. He expects more academic freedom in the US than in other countries and recalls the 'vibe' in New York when he visited as a tourist.
Well-known schools, highly ranked programmes associated with the majors of students' choices, and flexible financial aid packages have become bigger draws. And if the university campus is located in a relatively safe American city, it gets bonus points in the selection process among Chinese applicants.
'The US does have the pre-eminent global research universities, for now at least,' said Rory Truex, an assistant professor with Princeton University's Department of Politics. 'And many students are willing to take the risks to get access to that opportunity.'