Despite the global economic downturn, the number of Chinese students attending US colleges has surged 30 percent. With nearly 128,000 Chinese students receiving higher education in the US during the 2009-10 academic year, China overtook India as the No.1 source of foreign students in the US。
Many top students from Chinese universities regard US graduate schools as the best choice in a globally competitive world. More Chinese students are giving up domestic education at an even earlier age。
One can argue that some of these students blindly follow the trend of studying abroad. However, the fact is that more people lack confidence in China's domestic education system。
China's brightest youth are voting with their feet as they desperately apply for scholarships at US colleges or deliver their parents' lifetime savings as financial aid to these institutions. Despite voices calling for more rationality, many believe an educational opportunity abroad is worthy of the astronomical costs。
The brain-drain effect of studying abroad has started to burgeon due to flaws in the domestic academic environment. Ideally, those who get "gilt" experiences abroad can return home, helping purify the domestic academic atmosphere and enhance research levels. However, in reality, haigui (sea turtles, a nickname for overseas returnees) face various challenges, especially in academic circles。
In colleges and institutes, haigui and tubie (local turtles, a nickname for Chinese-fostered scholars) are becoming polar opposites. Some of these returning students are having such a hard time integrating back into the Chinese system that many are returning to the countries they were educated in or finding work in foreign enterprises。
If the brain drain becomes an irreversible trend, a vicious circle will take shape in Chinese academia. China will continuously send many of its brightest students abroad and many of those top talents will fail to come back. If the trend continues then China's research institutes will be full of mediocre minds and the consequences to China will be disastrous。