The COVID-19 has put the Chinese students in a dilemma whether they should study abroad. Nowadays, with the changes of entry policies of various countries and the orderly restoration of offline teaching in overseas colleges and universities, what is the new trend of studying abroad?
The number of applications for studying abroad has increased
According to the global education institution QS 2021’s “How COVID-19 Affects Global Students”, over 60% students said the COVID-19 affected the study plan.
One of Li Meina’s plans to study abroad was delayed because of the epidemic. “In July 2020, I graduated from college. In order to apply for studying abroad, I didn’t choose employment after graduation. Instead, while waiting for the situation of the epidemic to be clear, I readjusted my study abroad plan and prepared for studying abroad.” To Li Meina’s surprise, she waited for more than a year. She didn’t submit her application for study abroad until 2021. To her relief, she has received admission notices from several British universities.
“Although the general direction of studying abroad has not changed, it has been greatly adjusted with the original study abroad plan in the choice of study abroad destination country and study abroad institutions.” Li Meina said, “the sudden epidemic not only disrupted the rhythm of studying abroad, but also changed some of my ideas, which affected the choice of destination country and major. However, I have a clear feeling that the market for studying abroad is recovering, and many students around me began to continue their previous study abroad plans.”
Li Meina’s feelings have been confirmed in the 2022 white paper on studying in China released online by Kai Tak Education recently. According to the data of the white paper, the number of Chinese students applying to study abroad increased year-on-year in 2021, and the UK has ranked first in the list of Chinese students’ intention to study abroad for four consecutive years.
Jia Hongyan, deputy general manager of Qide study abroad Beijing Branch, said that due to the sudden impact of the epidemic, the study abroad market was cold in 2020 and gradually recovered in 2021. “According to our own customer data, the number of students applying abroad in 2021 increased by 8.19% year-on-year. The study abroad market will continue to pick up in 2022”.
Comprehensive recovery of offline Teaching
Behind the recovery of the study abroad market is the orderly reopening of many mainstream study abroad destinations to foreign students. In May 2021, the US embassy in China resumed student visa business; Recently, the New Zealand government officially announced the gradual opening of the border. According to this plan, New Zealand entry visas will fully return to normal from October 2022, so that international students can register in New Zealand from the 2023 academic year.
The international student data of each study abroad destination is also evidence of the recovery of the study abroad market. According to the UK undergraduate application data in 2021 issued by the UK University Admissions Service Center, the number of applications from mainland Chinese students reached 28490, an increase of 4060 or 16.6% over the same period in 2020 (24430); According to the data of the Australian Ministry of the interior, in the first half of 2021, the proportion of new signings of Higher Education (over 20 years old) increased to 74.8%; According to the data of the French higher education agency, nearly 30000 Chinese students studied in France in 2020. The number of Chinese students studying in France in 2021 increased by 22% compared with the same period in 2020.
At the same time, overseas institutions have gradually resumed offline teaching. In the autumn of 2021, American colleges and universities opened offline teaching, British colleges and universities also fully resumed offline teaching, and most colleges and universities in Canada resumed offline teaching; After the beginning of the winter semester in 2021, most universities in Germany mainly adopt the teaching mode of offline teaching.
“This is good news for Chinese students who are about to embark on the road of studying abroad, because the benefits of studying abroad include not only the acquisition of knowledge, but also cross-cultural experience. If they are all online teaching, the latter will be greatly reduced.” Li Meina said.
Studying in Asia grew rapidly
According to the 2022 white paper on studying in China, in the past two years, more and more mainland Chinese students have chosen Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and other places, and the application for studying in Asia has increased significantly.
Jia Hongyan explained the trend with a set of data. According to her introduction, according to the customer service data of Kai Tak study abroad, the destinations with high growth in the overall number of applications in 2021 include Hong Kong, China (65.37%), Japan (41.08%), South Korea (25.00%), Singapore (21.34%) and the UK (17.20%). In addition, from January to July 2021, the consulting volume of studying in Hong Kong increased significantly compared with the same period in 2020, with a year-on-year increase of 126%.
In this regard, the relevant study abroad experts said that, first of all, the warming of studying in Asia is the development trend in recent years. Behind this, there are not only factors such as relatively low tuition fees and relatively easy cultural adaptation, but also factors such as the change of Chinese students’ concept of studying abroad; Secondly, China COVID-19 has been favored by more and more Chinese students since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia outbreak. This is related to the idea that students are eager to choose to study abroad when the international situation is complex and the epidemic situation is uncertain. Finally, considering the impact of the epidemic, some students will take studying nearby as a transition in order to lay a foundation for the follow-up goal of studying abroad.
However, it is worth noting that with the rise of studying in Asia, the application requirements of some Asian institutions are also increasing. Taking Singapore as an example, relevant data show that due to the increase in the number of applicants, Singapore colleges and universities have raised the entry threshold. For example, in the past, the application of some majors in Singapore universities could meet the requirements of professional average score and IELTS score, but now some majors have added score requirements such as GRE. This requires Chinese students to plan and prepare in advance.