Chinese Applicants are Flooding U.S. Graduate Schools

Key facts:

1. Applications from China now comprise nearly half of all international applications to U.S. graduate programs.

2. China the largest country of origin for international graduate students in the U.S.

 

This is a slightly older story but important: Chinese student application volume rose 18% for U.S. master's and doctoral programs starting this fall, according to a new report from the Council of Graduate School based on a 514,298 applications tracked.

This is on top of a 21% jump last year and a 20% rise in 2010—and is the seventh consecutive year of double-digit gains from China, according to the graduate-school industry group.

According to the WSJ, China's expanding middle class has fueled an interest in expensive U.S. schools, as has corporations' interest in hiring local talent with Western exposure. And as more Chinese students attend U.S. schools,burgeoning they encourage friends and colleagues to apply in what is called a "multiplier effect."

Overall, international application volume rose 9% this year, according to preliminary results. International students comprise about 14% of students at U.S. graduate schools, says the Council of Graduate Schools.

The  growth in China is due in part to effort by some U.S. schools to attract Chinese students, says the WSJ:

For example, Ohio State University, with more than 10,000 graduate students, opened a "gateway" office in Shanghai in 2010 to coordinate recruiting, alumni activities and fundraising efforts in those markets. 

According to the Institute of International Education, the U.S. enrolled 20% of all international students—undergraduate and graduate—in higher education in 2010, down from 28% in 2001.

Source: WSJ