Concerned, but US still attracts
Source: Agencies |
April 13, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE parents say the fatal shooting of two Chinese students near the University of Southern California on Wednesday is a concern but will not deter them from seeking an American education for their children.
The tragedy came amid a big jump in the number of Chinese pursuing higher education in the United States, much of which has been made possible by China's economic growth, which has produced a richer and younger generation of students. But they have also grown up carefully protected by their parents and possibly not as well equipped to handle challenges in a country so distinctly different from China.
China sent nearly 160,000 students to US universities last year, more than four times the number 15 years ago and more than any other country, according to the US-based Institute of International Education. Chinese students account for nearly 22 percent of international students, who contribute more than US$21 billion to the US economy through tuition and living expenses.
Zhou Rou, a senior consultant with New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting, said Chinese students often lack life skills such as knowing how to rent an apartment and how to exercise caution. "The students are usually unaware of safety issues. They are not trained to live independently," Zhou said. "That's because Chinese parents usually want their children to focus on nothing but schoolwork."
But Chinese parents, students and education consultants said yesterday they think the incident at USC, the university with the largest international student presence, was an isolated one.
Wu Qing said that although she is worried, her 18-year-old son will continue his studies at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California.
"He wants to study abroad to develop himself, and we are supportive of that," said Wu, a college teacher in Beijing.
Liu Bo, a student at Peking University, said the shooting will not change his plans to study abroad. "Probably I will be careful. Maybe my family will be more concerned."
Education consultants who advise Chinese students on studying abroad said the huge jump in the Chinese student population in the US has increased the chances of one of them getting caught up in a tragedy such as the shooting and in more mundane things such as traffic accidents.
"The probability is higher," said He Lianshui, who works for the consulting firm US Visa Dream.
The tragedy came amid a big jump in the number of Chinese pursuing higher education in the United States, much of which has been made possible by China's economic growth, which has produced a richer and younger generation of students. But they have also grown up carefully protected by their parents and possibly not as well equipped to handle challenges in a country so distinctly different from China.
China sent nearly 160,000 students to US universities last year, more than four times the number 15 years ago and more than any other country, according to the US-based Institute of International Education. Chinese students account for nearly 22 percent of international students, who contribute more than US$21 billion to the US economy through tuition and living expenses.
Zhou Rou, a senior consultant with New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting, said Chinese students often lack life skills such as knowing how to rent an apartment and how to exercise caution. "The students are usually unaware of safety issues. They are not trained to live independently," Zhou said. "That's because Chinese parents usually want their children to focus on nothing but schoolwork."
But Chinese parents, students and education consultants said yesterday they think the incident at USC, the university with the largest international student presence, was an isolated one.
Wu Qing said that although she is worried, her 18-year-old son will continue his studies at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California.
"He wants to study abroad to develop himself, and we are supportive of that," said Wu, a college teacher in Beijing.
Liu Bo, a student at Peking University, said the shooting will not change his plans to study abroad. "Probably I will be careful. Maybe my family will be more concerned."
Education consultants who advise Chinese students on studying abroad said the huge jump in the Chinese student population in the US has increased the chances of one of them getting caught up in a tragedy such as the shooting and in more mundane things such as traffic accidents.
"The probability is higher," said He Lianshui, who works for the consulting firm US Visa Dream.
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