Through an influx of income for rising middle class families in China, coupled with a desire to gain an edge in the Chinese job market, many Chinese students are opting to further their education thousands of miles away from home in the United States.
For Zu Chen, who spent his high school years waking up at 6:30 a.m. and finishing classes at 10:30 p.m. in Henan,
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“I attended Missouri State University’s China campus for international business administration,” said Chen, a senior agricultural business major at MSU. “After the general classes,
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Chen’s family in China is part of the country’s growing middle class whose growth has allowed for more Chinese students to study abroad in recent years.
Chinese people are getting richer, said Chen, and with more disposable money, some are putting the extra cash towards studying abroad in America where they believe the experience can help their careers.
Chen was one of 157,558 Chinese college students studying in the United States for the 2010-2011 academic year. The number of Chinese students studying in the United States has continued to grow since 9/11 and the nation has more students studying in America than any other country, according to the Institute of International Education.
“The growing middle class in China means that parents have the money to send their students to the best universities anywhere in the world, and China’s one-child policy means not just parents but four grandparents can help students pay for college,” said Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president of IIE.