Students and pedestrians walk through the courtyard of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on March 10, 2020. (Reuters photo)
It was a difficult decision for continental university graduate Zancy Duan to give up her coveted spot at a school in the U.S. Ivy League.
It was a difficult decision for continental university graduate Zancy Duan to give up her coveted spot at a school in the U.S. Ivy League.
Duan, from the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, had been admitted by Cornell University as a candidate for a master’s degree, along with admissions from several other American schools. But in late April, with the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, he rushed to apply for European universities.
“In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic, a series of President Trump’s hostile policies toward international students; his blame for China as the cause of coronavirus disease; and the current security situation affected by the Black Lives Matter movement – it all gave me an idea of concern, “Duan told the South China Morning Post.
“So, from a politics and security perspective, studying in the United States was not a good option for me at the moment. Actually, many of my friends who had planned to study in the United States applied in Singapore, Hong Kong or European schools in recent months. “
For decades, the United States has been the best option for Chinese students seeking to continue their studies abroad. The latest statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Education showed that Chinese students abroad increased from 285,000 in 2010 to 662,000 in 2018.
Since 2009, China has been the largest source of international students for American schools. One in three of the more than one million foreign students in the United States comes from China. But now, Chinese students are having second thoughts and this year marks a big change in their choices.
Britain surpassed the US for the first time in the year as its preferred study abroad destination, according to a report by the Beijing-based New Oriental Education & Technology Group, an also famous study abroad agency. for teaching English.
A company survey of Chinese students found that 42% expected to study in Britain compared to only 37% who nominated to the United States. It is a significant change from four years ago when 30% of respondents expected to study in Britain, while 46% planned to study in the United States.
Market consulting firm Qianzhan Industry Research Institute said that both Britain and the United States remained the best options for Chinese students, but that people currently favored Britain, and not just because of tensions between China and the United States. They were also drawn to Britain’s shorter school term for master’s and doctorate degrees, as well as the friendlier immigration experience.
Britain’s popularity as a study destination was fueled by the reintroduction of its postgraduate graduate work visas that allow international students to live and work in Britain for up to two years after completing a master’s degree, or three years after a doctorate.
Duan said the longest post-study leave period for foreign students in Britain was another attraction for her to study there in the fall. After examining invitations from universities in Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden, she decided to enroll at Imperial College London.
“I think the academic performance of Imperial College London is as good as that of the best schools in the United States and it can also offer me many opportunities, although it is not the school of my dreams,” he said.
Duan said many Chinese students were horrified by the US measures “issued one by one since last year.”
These included the proposal by United States President Donald Trump to limit job opportunities for international graduates of American universities, and a bill introduced by Republican senators to ban Chinese citizens from receiving visas to study in STEM fields. of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
For Duan, it is highly likely that even if he applied for a visa to study in the US, he would be rejected because his specialty, material science, is among the people on the “sensitive” list who are subject to visa restrictions. . said.
Last week, the government announced that foreign students whose universities only taught online should leave the country and that no visa would be issued for those enrolled in those schools.
This caused a protest among the community of foreign students in the United States. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took the Trump administration to court, describing the decision as “dangerous” and arguing that it would create chaos for universities and international students.
In the face of widespread opposition, the United States government withdrew this controversial visa rule earlier this week.
Duan, who has just finished his undergraduate program in Taiwan, said getting his master’s or doctorate in the United States was always a dream because he considered it the world academic center for science majors.
But its positive impression of the country has been affected by the way the United States has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic. “It is a shame that it has been admitted by a prestigious American university, but I have to give it up,” she said.
Kim Wang, a consultant to the Shanghai-based Timespin study abroad agency, said there has been a huge increase in the past two years of students applying to multiple countries, choosing Canada, Britain and Australia, as well as the United States. United.
“British university applicants have increased tremendously and Singapore universities have received more attention in the past two years,” he said. “This means that competition is much fiercer than before and British schools are stricter in controlling application materials.”
An agent for the JJL Overseas Study, a Beijing-based agency, said many American universities, for fear that international students may have lost interest in them, have loosened admission requirements. “Some of the best schools decided in early July that they didn’t need GRE scores for international students applying for their MPA programs,” said the agent, whose last name is Wu.
“So for students starting their college life in the fall of next year, I suggest you consider more than one country to avoid risk,” Wu said. “But many people are not aware that there are great possibilities of being enrolled in the best American universities [if they apply in the second half of this year]”
Ivor Emmanuel, director of the international office at the University of California Berkeley, said it was too early to know if there was a decrease in enrollment of Chinese students.
“After the start of the school year, in late August, we will know if there is an observable decline in enrollment of Chinese students. Then it will also be unclear to us what a direct link to that decline would be,” he said.
Columbia University “eagerly awaited” the continued presence of Chinese students in its many degree programs and schools, a spokeswoman said, describing them as “essential to fostering a global exchange of ideas in Columbia and our pursuit of knowledge.”
“To that end, we have strongly opposed US government policies that would make it difficult for international students and academics to attend our university. The combination of in-person, hybrid and online course offerings being developed to Fall will be tailored to the needs of Chinese students and other international students as much as possible. “
In an op-ed published by the New York Times on Tuesday, MIT President L. Rafael Reif strongly emphasized that international academics were vital to the innovation and competitiveness of the United States, warning that it was “wrong policy.” indicate that foreign students should stay away. .
Earlier this year, Reif also stated that it was essential to attract top talent and said that “foreign students who receive a doctorate in the United States must immediately receive a green card to establish in the United States.” He also warned against anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Although MIT publishes the total number of international students who applied and were admitted to each class, it does not break those numbers down by country. MIT has indicated that the size of the incoming first-year undergraduate class is comparable to that of previous years.
Zhu Huaixin, a comparative education expert from the Zhejiang University School of Education, said that switching from American universities to universities in other countries would be detrimental to fostering China’s talent, as there were not as many high schools in other places like in the United States.
According to this year’s QS World University Rankings report, 46 of the top 200 universities are in the US “There is a gap between the overall quality of American universities and those of Great Britain, Canada, or Australia,” Zhu said.
“Chinese universities treat our American counterparts as the standard and we have been learning from them. A high percentage of professors and experts in many fields in China are returned from graduating from American universities.”
Some Chinese students, who fled to China when the Covid-19 pandemic spread through the West, are now eager to return to their schools for the new semester in September.
Amy Gu, a Shanghai student who graduated from Cass Business School in London this summer, said she plans to apply for a British visa so she can return to the country in late September to begin her graduate school life.
He returned to China in March when Covid-19 cases in Britain increased by thousands every day. Gu has been accepted into various graduate programs in Britain, but has not yet made her final decision.
The number of new daily Covid-19 cases has decreased in Britain, averaging approximately 700 new cases this week, compared to its peak of 6,000 new cases in a single day in May. In total, Britain has reported over 300,000 coronavirus patients, ranked ninth in the world.
However, Gu said she was not concerned about that at this stage. “I will wear masks when I go out, I will uphold the rules of social distancing and I will wash my hands frequently. That should be fine,” he said.
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