Chinese have long history in US schools

The Open Doors report released last week by the Institute of International Education is quite telling. The number of Chinese students studying in universities and colleges in the United States jumped 21.4 percent in the 2012-13 academic year, rising to nearly a quarter of a million, or 235,597, to be exact.

It means that 28.7 percent of all international students studying in the US are from China. Chinese undergraduates have been fueling the trend, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the total number of Chinese in US universities and colleges.

The momentum is expected to continue because more and more Chinese parents are able to afford to send their children - often the only one in the family - to US schools. Many US schools are struggling with funding shortfalls and have cashed in on the Chinese students, who, in general, pay higher tuition than their US counterparts.