Private, public schools work in tandem

Direct competition between private English schools and public universities does not exist, said Yao Yazhi, a lecturer of English at Beijing Jiaotong University.

On the contrary, they can complement each other by providing different types of courses, Yao added.

Students need more than just high scores on standardized tests, such as the TOEFL or GRE, to gain admission to colleges abroad, she said.