Exam no longer the only way up

China's college entrance exam, for decades compared to a stampede of thousands of soldiers and horses across a single log bridge, is now turning out to be just one of many options for students in top senior highs.

"We have 219 students graduating this year. Among them, more than 80 have been admitted to overseas universities, while more than 80 others have already been recommended to domestic universities," said Cui Deming, president of the Shanghai Foreign Language School, a school known for cultivating foreign language skills.

The number of Chinese students at US undergraduate schools increased by 43 percent from 2010 to 2011, according to the US-based NGO Institute of International Education.