A recent audit at Dickinson State University in the United States will have made uncomfortable reading for parents in China.
对于中国学生家长们来说，一份于近日公布的针对美国狄克森州立大学的审查报告将令他们感到不安。

Over the last four years, the college in North Dakota had issued diplomas to 400 foreign students despite their failure to complete the required coursework.
过去四年中，这所位于美国北达科他州的学府中，有400名留学生在未能完成必修课程的条件，却仍然拿到了大学文凭。

Roughly 95 percent of these students were Chinese.
其中，大约有95%为中国留学生。

It was just one of several controls "waived or intentionally overridden or ignored" by DSU, which has again cast a spotlight on the risks families face in paying out huge sums to have their children educated overseas.
这仅仅是狄克森州立大学在管理监督方面的漏洞之一，对于这些漏洞，该校或置之不理，放任自流，或有意掩饰。这一事件，也使人们关注的目光再次投向那些支付高昂费用送子女留学的家庭所面临的种种风险之上。

Such investments often create what sociologists call "the new urban poor".
此类的留学投资通常都会导致社会学家口中所谓的新城市贫民的产生。

"Parents are surrendering their last resources to wager them on a child's future by sending them abroad," said Lao Kaisheng, an education policy researcher at Capital Normal University. "If these children don't get the decent jobs and the salary that is expected, their parents will naturally be sucked into poverty."
首都师范大学教育政策研究员劳凯声表示：家长花光所有积蓄送子女出国是在拿钱赌孩子的明天。如果孩子们找不到体面的工作、没有预期的收入，那么家长自然就身陷贫困。

The desire to send offspring to schools overseas has existed for decades, although today it is largely fueled by the belief that it gives youngsters an advantage in the tough domestic employment market.
这种父母迫切想要送子女出国深造的情况已存在了几十年的时间了，只不过如今，家长认为出国留学能让孩子在竞争激烈的国内就业市场占据优势，因此，这种想法就愈演愈烈了。

However, not many Chinese families have enough saved in the bank to cover the tuition fees and accommodation and living expenses. Instead, many are choosing to take on massive debt at a critical time in their own life.
然而，只有少数的中国家庭有足够的积蓄来支付学费、住宿费及生活费。很多家长会选择在自己人生的关键时刻背负高额债务。

It is a gamble, experts say, and the stakes are high.
专家称，这就是一场风险很高的赌博。

"People need to think over the input and potential output, as well as the risks that any investment brings," said Zhang Jianbai, who runs a private school in Yunnan province.
云南一所私立学校校长张健柏（音译）表示：人们需要企业仔细考虑资金投入、潜在回报以及这项投资所带来的风险。

He said that parents in small cities across his southwestern province, many of whom earn just 2,000 yuan a month, often sell their apartments to fund their children's study overseas.
他说，在云南西南部的很多小城市里，很多月收入只有2000元的家长通常会选择卖掉房子来资助子女出国留学。

"Those who are now suffering trouble or financial difficulties would not have been in this position had they chosen a more suitable way to educate their children," he added.
他还表示：如果这些家长能够选择一种更恰当的方式来教育子女，那么他们就不会像现在这样陷入遭遇困境，遭遇经济危机。

Differences in quality
教育质量差异

After graduating from the university in Guangdong, Wang Jianhai was sent to Texas to get a master's degree, which his family believed would give him an edge in the job market.
王建海（音译）从广东一所大学毕业后，就被送去美国德克萨斯州攻读硕士学位。他的家人坚信这会为他将来就业提供优势。

His father worked at an electronics factory and earned more than 10,000 yuan a month, so the adventure was not a great financial burden. However, after his return, 26-year-old Wang was no better prepared to find work.
王建海的父亲在一家电子工厂上班，月收入一万元，所以送孩子出国留学这一险招并不会带来太大经济负担。但回国后，26岁的王建海在求职时可以说毫无准备。

Even his English skills had not improved, he said, as "we stayed with other Asians most of the time".
甚至就连他的英文水平也没有进步。王建海称，这是因为自己大多数时间都会和亚洲人呆在一起。

Eventually, his parents had to invest more money to help their only son eke out a meager living by running his own electronics store.
最终，王建海的父母不得不再次掏腰包资助儿子开了家电器商店，勉强维持生计。

"He hasn't earned a penny back for us, even though we've taken care of him for 26 years, while other people his age might have earned more than 200,000 yuan by now," said his 66-year-old father.
王建海66岁的父亲表示：尽管他们抚养了王建海26年，但王建海没有为他们挣回一分钱，而其他很多同龄孩子现在可能已经赚了二十万元了。

"We could have had a decent life after retirement with our savings, but now we've painted ourselves into a tight corner," he added bitterly.
他苦涩地补充道：我们本可以靠着自己的积蓄在退休以后过上份舒适体面的生活，但现在我们深陷困境，自讨苦吃。

Although parents see an overseas education as a shortcut to success, experts argue that very few truly understand the vast differences in quality that exist among colleges in developed nations.
尽管家长们将出国留学视为一条成功的捷径，但有关专家称，很少有家长真正了解众多发达国家大学在教育质量上存在巨大差异这一事实。

Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor at Renmin University of China, said everybody knows Chinese parents are willing to spend money on their children, but he warned that those looking to benefit today are largely "second- and third-rate colleges that don't offer scholarships or subsidies".
中国人大社会学教授周孝正（音译）表示，中国家长愿意为孩子花钱这是众所周知的事，但他也提醒说，当下那些利益为先的院校大多都是二三流的学校，它们既不提供奖学金也没有补助。

Parents need to be reasonable, he said, as well as "clear about what they expect from the study period mental development or practical skills".
周孝正称，家长们需要放理智，并且弄清楚自己究竟想让子女在留学期间的收获些什么，是心智的成长还是实用技能的培养。