Advertisement

Chinese Students In U.S. Colleges

44:59
Download Audio
Resume

With Anthony Brooks in for Tom Ashbrook

American colleges flooded by Chinese applicants and the application process isn’t always honest. We’ll investigate.

American colleges flooded by Chinese applicants and the application process isn’t always honest. (flickr/markus6464)
American colleges flooded by Chinese applicants and the application process isn’t always honest. (flickr/marcus6464)

For American colleges that want to go global a natural place to look for students is China. The Chinese want American college degrees; and American colleges want diversity, not to mention students who can pay their own way.

But it’s not always an easy fit. Many Chinese hire agents to fill out their applications, write their essays – even their recommendations. The result – a growing population of Chinese students struggling to fit in, and a growing number of colleges struggling to fit them in.

This hour, On Point: American colleges confront the Chinese invasion.
-Anthony Brooks

Guests

Karin Fischer, Senior Reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her recent story on Chinese students at U.S. universities can be found here.

Parke Muth, Associate Dean of Admissions, University of Virginia.

Scott Stevens, Director of the English Language Institute at the University of Delaware’s Newark Campus.

Leaf Zhang, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Department at Iowa State University. She wrote her dissertation on the use of paid agents by Chinese college applicants to American schools

From The Reading List


The Chronicle of Higher Education and The New York Time
"The students, mostly from China's rapidly expanding middle class, can afford to pay full tuition, a godsend for colleges that have faced sharp budget cuts in recent years. But what seems at first glance a boon for colleges and students alike is, on closer inspection, a tricky fit for both."

The New York Times "The number of Chinese students studying in the United States surged 30 percent in the 2009-10 academic year, making China the top country of origin for international students, according to “Open Doors,” the Institute of International Education’s annual report."

Danwei "There has been a rush to study abroad over the last few years. Chinese students are the largest group on American campuses, with 40,000 in undergraduate and 66,000 in graduate programs in 2010. There has been a proliferation of Chinese applications to U.S. universities over the past few years and with that, a rise in application fraud that has overwhelmed admissions offices across the United States and hurt the reputation of China abroad."

Open Doors: Report on International Educational Exchange, published annually by IIE in partnership with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

This program aired on November 10, 2011.

Advertisement

More from On Point

Listen Live
Close