Studying abroad popular among young Chinese students

The average age of Chinese students studying abroad has been getting younger every year. Some of them are even starting as early as middle school.

In the past, the majority of students studying overseas were postgraduates and doctors. But now, more and more middle and high school students are choosing to study overseas.

Lu Wei, director of US High School Dept., Beijing New Oriental Vision Consulting Co. Ltd, said, "We can see this trend through the composition of the number of US student visas. Last year, the number of US student visas was 135,000. About 54,000 visas were issued to students who waned to study in American universities, and 7,000 visas went to those who want to study at US middle and high schools. These two groups make up 45 percent in the overseas students. "

Bulging Chinese wallets is one reason behind this trend. Well-off families also believe their children can receive a better education overseas.

Sun Hongmei, a parent, said, "I learnt from the website, newspaper and students who have been abroad that American education can better help develop children’s creativity. Students can also be more independent when studying abroad. So I sent my daughter to America one year ago."

Xu Chuyang, is in the eleventh grade in America. She says another upside of American education is that students can get more personal attention from teachers.

Xu Chuyang said, "Students in the US get much more personal attention from teachers, because there are much fewer students in class. The biggest class I attended had 20 students, while in my hometown, Shandong, classes usually have 50 to 70 students. Some teachers could not even remember my name . That’s really depressing."

The increasing number of young Chinese students overseas reflects a shortage in quality education resources in their home country. How to enlarge education resources in China to meet the needs of students is a problem that remains to be solved.