With the goal of studying chemistry abroad, Rafael Wang set his sights on master's programs in the United States. However, Wang's Nanjing University of Science and Technology was added to the US sanctions list in 2020. Wang then decided to study at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.
"The US is still attractive to me," said Wang, 24. "But the problem is that even if a university accepts me, I can't get a student visa. So I decided to study in Europe."
The decline in the number of Chinese students in the US
Wang is not alone, and some Chinese students have in recent years also shied away from degree programs in the United States, once their top destination for studying abroad. Some fear being caught up in the tense geopolitical rivalry between the two countries, others worry about visa denials, and some say they fear the possibility of violence.
Meanwhile, Chinese universities continue to improve, climbing up global rankings, making foreign degrees less attractive to Chinese students.
The decline in the number of Chinese students studying at American universities has affected the foreign talent pool in the United States, while strengthening China's intellectual capacity at a time when the country is in dire need of skilled technicians in key industries.
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
According to the Open Doors 2023 report from the nonprofit Institute of International Education, the United States will host 289,526 Chinese students in the 2022-2023 academic year. This number marks a 0.2% decline from the same period last year and a 22% decline from the peak of 372,532 Chinese students in the United States in the 2019-2020 academic year.
The report also notes that some US schools have lost 89% of their Chinese student enrollment since 2017. However, despite the decline, US State Department figures last year showed that students from China still make up the largest group of international students in the US.
Anti-Asian sentiment and cost burden
Deborah Seligsohn, associate professor of political science at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, pointed to a rise in anti-Asian sentiment in the US during the pandemic, noting that some Chinese students have expressed concerns about being questioned when entering the US, or being accused of being foreign spies.
In January, China accused the US government of making it difficult for Chinese students to enter the country and said dozens of Chinese citizens were being denied entry each month. US-China relations have deteriorated since 2018 over a trade war, technology transfers and a range of geopolitical differences.
Concerns were further heightened when US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said in June that the US needed to recruit more international students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, not just from China.
Li Huiyan, 22, a University of California student from Hubei province, found that "living in the US can make you feel unsafe," while the cost of living here exceeds many other countries.
Higher education in the United States costs an average of $38,270 per student per year, including tuition, books and living expenses, according to a May estimate by the Education Data Initiative. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said a bachelor’s degree in the United States costs an average of $8,200 more than in most of the 38 OECD member countries.
According to estimates by online student resource platform Keystone Education Group, students at public universities in China pay only about $2,000 to $10,000 per year.
Su Di of Beijing wanted to pursue a master's degree in gender studies and found that her ideal program was in Chicago. But that was in 2020, when Chicago and other major American cities were facing a surge in street violence following the killing of a black man in police custody.
"When I was preparing to apply, the situation in Chicago was chaotic. Security was really bad at that time," said Su, 26.
Foreign degrees "devalued" in China
Over the past four years, Chinese universities have improved their average scores in teaching and research, the British Council's education and culture arm said in a study in October. China has 13 universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, up from seven in 2020.
“Foreign degrees have lost their value. Students can do better with a university degree from China,” said Associate Professor Seligsohn.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (USA), the difficulty in finding jobs and maintaining US visas has prompted many graduates to return to China.
According to a study by the University of York, the proportion of Chinese students returning from abroad increased from 14% in 2002 to more than 80% in 2019. The China Daily estimated the return rate in 2021 at 69%.
Rory Truex, associate professor at Princeton University's Department of Politics, said the decline in the number of Chinese students would harm American science and research.
“Chinese students, especially doctoral students, increasingly feel unwelcome in the United States,” Truex said. “This population is incredibly talented and vital to the American scientific and research enterprise, but unfortunately they have been viewed as a potential threat.”
Hoai Phuong (according to SCMP)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bang-dai-hoc-my-khong-con-la-giac-mo-voi-sinh-vien-trung-quoc-post308466.html
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