Besides leaving behind the pollution that plagues the environment near his home in the Shanghai area, general management senior Zeshan Jiang also wanted to come to the U.S. for college because of the degree offerings and academic reputation of American universities.
But to help him choose which university to attend, he hired an agent to help navigate him through the process, an increasingly common practice for Chinese students.
“A lot of people do that, almost every student,” Jiang said.
According to a recent study published by Art & Science Group LLC, many Chinese students strive to earn degrees from American universities. Out of more than 680 Chinese high school students surveyed, 94 percent of students said they were interested in studying at an English-speaking university.
From the population interested in studying away from China, 78 percent chose the U.S. as their top choice, and 26 percent said they used an agent to help select a college.
MSU’s Chinese population has exploded in recent years as a result of factors including the growth of the Chinese middle class and the liberalization of U.S. Visa policies, said Peter Briggs, director of the MSU Office for International Students and Scholars.
In fall 2011, there were 3,012 total Chinese students at MSU, an increase of more than 2,000 from 2007, according to data from the office.
Jiang estimated more than 90 percent of Chinese students at MSU worked with an agent before coming to East Lansing. Agents mediate communication between the student and the universities and also help with the application process, he said.
Briggs said agents have become a big business in China.
“The family knows that a U.S. degree is high status, but they don’t know the difference between different U.S. universities, so they will go to somebody who markets themselves as knowledgeable of U.S. higher education,” he said.
Briggs said he believes the emphasis on liberal arts as well as depth and quality of education in the U.S. are perceived to be greater than in China, factors that attract students here.
The fact that MSU has been recognized as a top-100 university in the world by the Institute of Higher Education of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, combined with numerous highly ranked programs are what draw international students to MSU specifically, he said.
“This puts some data with some of the anecdotal things I’ve heard off and on for a number of years that has given higher status and higher recognition to what you get out of U.S. education,” Briggs said.
MSU has an office in Beijing and has a great reputation when it comes to recruiting students from China, he said.
Marketing junior Alvin Ntan said he believes many international students come to college in the U.S. for the academic prestige and to experience American culture.
Ntan, a native of Hong Kong — a special administrative region of China — said his friends at home have a much harder workload and often have daily work and school meetings until 10 p.m. or later.
“(In the U.S.), it’s pretty relaxed and the workload is not that much, but I can still have time to do schoolwork and spend time with my friends, so I like it,” said Ntan, who did not use an agent to select MSU.
After graduation, Ntan said he wants to work in the U.S. for a few years and eventually move back to Hong Kong.
“(The culture) is the main reason I wanted to come to America to study,” he said.
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