Westward bound

By He Na (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-17 14:03

Zhang Hengrui, senior consultant of Xuemei Overseas Service, says the global economic meltdown has eroded the currencies of many developed countries. "The exchange rate change means a big margin of saving on overseas study expenses for Chinese students," Zhang says.

For example, a Chinese student would have spent at least 320,000 yuan ($46,800), which includes tuition and living expenses, for one year of university studies in the United States, before the financial crisis. Now, the cost is down by 50,000 yuan a year.

With the huge depreciation of the Australian dollar, Chinese students spend 30 to 40 percent less than before. Even at Asian universities, the annual expense can drop by about 40,000 yuan.

Karl Rensch, professor of linguistics at the Australian National University, says he is surprised to see so many Asian faces in this year's freshman classes.

"Although the number of Chinese students has been going up every year, this year's has been especially sharp," he says.

Statistics from the Australia Embassy in China show that China has already become the biggest source of overseas students for Australia.

About 75,000 Chinese students were enrolled in schools in Australia in 2008, a year-on-year increase of 29 percent.

Besides Australia, the United States, Canada and Europe are also seeing an increasing influx of students from China. "I have been planning to study creative mechanical design in the United States for a long time, I like the openness of the universities there," says Guo Yichen, a student from the Changchun University of Science and Technology.

"The depreciation of the dollar is really good news for me, for I can save a lot of money for my parents."

Many colleges and universities abroad are also facing funding difficulties amid the economic downturn.

Statistics from Commonfund Institute show that universities in the United States saw the biggest fall in funding in the second half year of 2008, down 24.1 percent over the same period the previous year.

In a bid to ease the funding crunch, many countries are relaxing visa restrictions and a number of schools are lowering enrolment requirements to increase the proportion of international students. A large number of these schools have fixed their eyes on China.

Liu Zaixiang, former education consul at Chinese Embassy in the United States, warns students to take note that with rising unemployment in foreign countries, it will be hard for Chinese students to find part-time jobs and internships and receive work visas.

Education experts also sound a note of caution saying that overseas study is not suitable for all, and not everyone sees an immediate benefit when they complete their studies.

NTU vice-chancellor Gorman advises students to pick their courses wisely. It should be based on their interests, he says adding that, "Although people majoring in finance and banking are now finding it extremely difficult to find jobs, this does not mean it will remain so in three or four years."

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