The right time to study abroad

I arrived in the United States as a fresh college graduate from Nanjing University 14 years ago for higher studies, and ultimately completed my doctorate at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. At that time, it was rare to hear about Chinese students funding their studies. A vast majority of Chinese students were, like me, getting full scholarship from American universities covering their tuition as well as living expenses.

Times have changed drastically. The booming Chinese economy has given rise to a more affluent middle class and, as a result, more Chinese families can now afford to pay for college education in the US - which is quite challenging even for average American families.

I started teaching in a private research university, nestled in a quiet and almost never-changing upstate New York, eight years ago. What has added to the vitality of the small town is the pronounced increase in the number of Chinese undergraduate students, accompanied by the mushrooming of Asian restaurants and grocery stores that cater to this population. I have interacted with many of these undergraduates, inside and outside classrooms, and know that almost all of them are self-financed students (rather their parents pay their tuition and other expenses).