http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_17913602.htm
Parties, carefree vacations and maybe a
brief summer romance: high school graduates have begun a three-month
holiday after finishing the national college entrance examination
yesterday.
But for those who failed to perform as well as they
had hoped in the make-or-break test, the summer months are also a time
to look at opportunities for education abroad.
Many parents were
holding flyers from foreign language training centers as they waited
outside local examination centers yesterday.
University
aspirants walk out of the No 6 High School in Wuhan, Hubei province,
after finishing the morning session of their college entrance exam
yesterday."I suppose 60 to 70 percent of these
parents wish their kids could study overseas if they could afford it,"
Qiu Chunhua, the father of a student sitting for the examination at the
Middle School of Renmin University of China, told China Daily yesterday.
Chinese
parents like Qiu believe that if their children do not get into top
universities or study popular majors, they will face big difficulties
finding jobs after graduation.
They believe that studying overseas will give their students an edge when looking for jobs back home.
More
than 10.2 million students sat for the exam this year and about 60
percent will get into university thanks to the expansion of China's
higher education system.
Yin Kai, an education expert from
Chivast Education International Company, said the demand for better
education and limited places at China's few prestigious universities
force students to look at their study options abroad when the
examination is over.
He said many advertisements for English
language training and overseas study consultation are placed in local
media at this time.
On June 13-15, the Beijing International
Education Expo will be held at the China International Expo Center to
provide information about overseas study.
The number of high
school graduates studying abroad has increased steadily since 2005.
Last year, about 180,000 Chinese students studied at overseas
universities, nearly half of those were high school students.
The
eight most popular destinations are the United States, United Kingdom,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and Netherlands.
Spain, Italy and South Korea are also becoming more popular among Chinese high school students in recent years.
But Yin warns that Chinese students and their parents should be cautious when choosing the country and major.
"Do research, consult with professionals and avoid illegal agencies," he said.
There
have been numerous reports of illegal agencies overcharging students,
faking the application documents or running away with the money.
"I
have heard of many such cases and I am afraid of being deceived by
those lousy agencies when getting my son study overseas," the father
Qiu said.