Chinese students have started avoiding US universities and heading to other countries to obtain higher education. And all because of the trade war between the US and China.
It’s a well-known fact that Chinese students are the primary source of abroad students and revenue for the universities of the US. Approximately 1/3 of abroad students studying in American universities come from China.
These students flood billions of dollars into the economy of the United States. But this year the number of Chinese students in US universities has seen a significant downfall. March of 2019 displayed motions that hadn’t had happened in over a decade.
- Visa delays
- Possibilities of being rejected from research projects
- Safety issues and concerns
According to Chinese students and their parents, these factors have made the students from China decide to avoid US universities.
As the survey by New Oriental has shown, Britain, Australia, and Canada are great study destinations for “refugee” Chinese students. Japan and South Korea have also seen the growth of Chinese student applications, as well as Germany and Scandinavian countries.
What caused Chinese students to turn their backs on US universities?
In 2018, the US President, Donald Trump’s administration announced the visa changes for students in science and technology areas. Regular five years were shortened to one.
The reason for this was the suspicion of these students never finishing their studies, as Gu Huini, Founder of Boutique College Consultancy says.
What do Chinese students and universities have to say?
Melissa Zhang is a 17-year-old high-school senior with past dreams of studying in the US. She now has abandoned these dreams, and started learning German to apply in the German university in STEM fields.
She says:
“I’ve already wasted a year preparing for my SATs.”
Others say that the American dream has lost its’ idea and shine.
It seems like the US government have a lot in common with the UK government, that drove away Indian students.
Universities are concerned about the matter as well. Some of the universities, such as Yale and Stanford, had announced that the trade war between the US and China, had affected their process and campus recruitment.
Even though president Trump attempted to reconcile with Chinese students with a truce between presidents of both countries, they still feel like American isn’t safe.
