In recent years, many people may notice that there are more and more Chinese faces showing up in the American campuses as well as an increase in the number of Chinese students learning in American universities. Furthermore, some people begin to show an interest in the reasons behind this phenomenon. For those Chinese students who study in American universities, what on earth makes their decision to be a college student in America? Should more Chinese students come to study in America or not? By summoning the materials and sources mentioned in this paper, there are several main factors that affect those Chinese students’ decision making. First, the strict Chinese educational system has become a burden for many Chinese high school students, which makes some students tired of the way they study in China and interested in the way that American students study. What is more, the huge population has made it harder for Chinese students to be admitted to a good university and only those who are extremely smart are able to get a chance at attending good universities. As for the quality of American education, many Chinese students believe that American college degrees can benefit students not only for their college life but also for their future development. When it comes to Americans, Chinese students studying in American universities can bring a large amount of money to the United States’ economy and can also help American students learn more about Chinese and world culture. With all of these reasons in mind, Chinese students should see studying in American universities as a good choice for them, because it can benefit both Chinese students and American students.

For most of the Chinese students, their lives as students are hard and tiring due to the strict and traditional Chinese education system. “There’s no meaning there” (Jordan and Chen). This is what most Chinese students think about their experience as a student studying in China, because Chinese education only focuses on students’ scores without balancing other aspects. From grade 5 to grade 12, every Chinese student has to stay up until at least 11 at night in order to be able to finish the homework they have for that day. The life of grade 12 students is especially tiring and exhausting, for everyday they have oceans of papers to do in preparation for the college entrance examination. Unlike the SAT in America, Chinese college entrance examination requires students to memorize a lot but does not care about their thoughts or ideas on the content of the exam (Jordan and Chen). Therefore, students have to complete a lot of meaningless repeating tasks and that makes many students feel bored when they study. Furthermore, lots of Chinese schools have strict rules about students’ behaviors, such as uniform requirement. The majority of Chinese students do not like to wear uniforms, for they think the uniforms are ugly and uncomfortable. They want to have their rights to wear whatever they want wear. Similarly, Chinese universities have many limitations for students choosing the subjects they are going to study the whole four years. What a student is going to major in is assigned by the university, and once it is assigned, it hardly can be changed. "I want to go where I can learn whatever I want" (Svoboda), and that is an important reason why many Chinese students choose American universities instead of Chinese universities. The American education system is very flexible, and students are able to choose whatever subjects they like to study as well as change to another major if they find something more appealing.

As is known to all, China has a very large population with only hundreds of good universities for people to choose, which greatly increases the difficulty for Chinese students in being admitted to a good Chinese university, and also leads to severe competition among people who have a desire to enter into a good university. Therefore, some Chinese students choose to apply for American universities in order to avoid the fierce competition of Chinese college entrance exam. Like many Chinese students think, “competition is intense” (Jordan and Chen). This is a widely accepted comment on Chinese education system, and the result of this situation is the increasing trend of studying abroad, especially studying in America. One has to admit that for those parents whose children did not get a chance of entering a top university in China, they would be very willing to send their children to study in other countries where education is developed and meets a high qualification, such as America; however, only families who have the ability to afford the high tuitions for American universities are able to do so. As a result, a large part of Chinese students studying in American universities are coming from Chinese middle class families and some from rich families. Since China is experiencing a rapid development in the economy, there are many middle class families appearing in society, and many of them have children who are studying in American universities, seeing as they are able to pay for the expensive tuitions to American universities and they have a great need of creating a better education environment for their children. 

When Chinese people talk about a high-quality education environment, they often refer to an education system such as America’s. There are several advantages of the American education system as well as American universities. First, students in American universities have the freedom to choose the subjects they are really interested in and are also allowed to change their majors at any point of their college life. The way Chinese universities assign majors and subjects for students to study differs from American universities because the American universities let students decide what they want to study. This makes it much easier for students to accept their studies and it also improves the efficiency of students’ studies because people are always better at things they are interested in and willing to do. American universities require student attendance throughout the whole semester, which ensures that American students will attend school every day. On the other hand, Chinese universities focus only on the final exam at the end of each semester, which leads to a popular phenomenon where only few students go to classes every day. For students who are studying at American universities, every effort is important and every assignment completed though the semester has an effect on the final grades. For students who are studying at Chinese universities, only the grade of the final exam matters. It is so important and necessary for students to work hard during their college life. American universities help students to learn more and work hard; however, Chinese universities cannot make students study and work hard throughout the whole semester.

What is more, Chinese students who have American college degrees have an advantage when they look for jobs in China (“Why Chinese Students…”). There are more and more Chinese companies beginning to show an interest in students with an overseas education background, because they are more intellectual than students who have only studied in China. It makes sense that Chinese students who have studied in America have seen more people from countries all over the world, and thus, most of them gained the ability of perceiving the world from an international point of view, which makes them unique and outstanding from domestic Chinese students. Since China is undertaking a process of a rapidly increasing economy, the need of many companies to explore their overseas market is increasing as well, and with the help of people who have really lived in places overseas, the company can do a better job. This is why students with an overseas education background are welcomed by many large Chinese companies. Thinking back to the 1960s, there emerged a group of the first Chinese students with the intention of studying abroad, because they realized how developed education was in other countries, such as America, when compared with China’s own education. But, “the narrow door” of China has made studying abroad very difficult and complicated, because China was not as open as it is today and the government was afraid of losing intelligent people (Qian and Chu). However, those students decided to overcome all of the problems they met and came to developed countries like America to study no matter what, because they knew that if they learned something useful and helpful,  they could go back to China and make an effort to aid in China’s development. During that time, there were many students who studied abroad and brought a lot of developed knowledge and techniques to help build a new China. Although China has developed a lot in many mays during the past years, it is still weak in education, and there is still a great need for well-educated people in order to make China better. Therefore, Chinese students should come to study in American universities not only because the firms and companies are looking for intellectual people with overseas education background, but also because their country needs them for higher development. A Chinese student, Wang, who has an American college degree, talks about her own story about how competitive she became when she returned to China in a YouTube video, in which also states that it is good for Chinese students to have some experience studying abroad, especially in a country like America.

Not only do American universities benefit Chinese students but also the nation and its people as well. In recent years, many American schools have been willing to provide international programs and admit more international students, such as Chinese students, because each Chinese student has to pay an expensive tuition and that helps boost the economy of America. “A lot of private schools, and even public schools, look at international programs as a solution to their enrollment problems and financial problems” (Gross). It is true that the influx of Chinese students could solve a lot of the financial issues of American schools, but there are also some effects in the humanities that Chinese students have on American students. For those American students who have Chinese students as their classmates, they get a chance of seeing peers coming from a totally different cultural background as well as knowing more about China, a country with a long, attractive history. For those American students who have never been to another country, they get a chance of seeing this world as a whole via the communication with Chinese students.

However, there are also some people, like a Professor at Arizona university, who have the experience of teaching Chinese students and think that Chinese students cannot achieve their academic success in American universities because they speak poor English and often cheat in exams (Adele). It is true that some international students cannot speak English very well and have trouble in communicating, but most Chinese students are able to communicate well with their classmates and professors and have outstanding academic performances in most of their courses. Besides, most Chinese students who want to study in American universities are here for a better future development and successful life, and most of them try their best to adapt the life of American university students. Only those students should come to study in American universities at a very high cost of tuition fees and living, although many of the Chinese students who study in American universities now have a lot of stress because of “language, achievement, and interaction with faculty” (Berliner and Kun, pp. 939-960). For a foreign student, studying something new and difficult in a foreign language will not be easy. What is more, students also have a lot of issues, such as their social life and homesickness, to deal with, and their lives will be very hard and tired. However, they will not give up studying and working hard, for they came to the American universities with their passion and dreams. On the one hand, the major reason for most Chinese students’ coming to the United States is to achieve bigger success with a better education. On the other hand, they would not come to study in American universities at such high prices if all they want to do is spend their whole days playing video games and cheating in exams, which can also be easily done in China. For the very few Chinese students who were asked by their parents to get education in American universities and chose not to study, they might have some bad behaviors during their college life in America, and even get expelled, but they definitely do not represent the major population of Chinese students who study in America.

As a whole, Chinese students with good intentions of achieving larger success should come to study in American universities, for America’s education system can provide them with a flexible education environment and a higher education quality. Considering many Chinese companies’ needs for intellectual people, Chinese students with American college degrees have an advantage when they seek jobs within China, and thus Chinese students who have studied in American universities are likely to have a better future. Besides the benefits for individual Chinese student, China will benefit a lot from having a lot of well-educated people help accelerate the process of China’s development. As for America, the influx of Chinese students brings a large amount of money to the American economy in the form of their tuition fees and consumption within the United States. Having Chinese students present also helps American students see and understand the world by communicating their thoughts with these Chinese students. Therefore, for those American students or professors who do not understand or hold negative attitudes towards Chinese students’ decision of studying in America, it is time for them to accept and embrace the young Chinese students who leave their country and come a long way to study in America with kindness. On the other hand, there is a great need for the Chinese government to do transform their education system in order to build a better educational environment for the younger generations and improve the quality of education so that children in the future will not need to leave their home country and families in order to get a good education.
