Families look beyond US due to pandemic, other factors

Jin Zihao, an 18-year-old graduate from an elite private senior high school in Shanghai, should have begun his studies as a freshman at a university in the United States at the start of the fall semester.

However, the pandemic and other factors have meant that Jin is reassessing his plans to register with Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

The teenager, who has long wanted to study in the US, is taking a gap year and is also considering an offer from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom.

He said that if there was social unrest between rival supporters of the two main political parties in the US in the runup to next month's crucial runoff elections in Georgia for the Senate, he would choose to study in the UK.

He added that he would also take such a decision for his safety if there was any discrimination against Asians in the US or significant changes in the country's policy toward international students that would affect his academic and career development.

Jin said the UK's attraction for him is increasing following the introduction of a visa policy late last year that allows international students to work in the country for two years after graduation. There have also been fewer reports of discrimination or violence against Asians and other groups in the UK than in the US, he said.

Jiang Fangzhou, co-founder and China CEO of Crimson Education, a consultancy based in New Zealand that assists students seeking opportunities to study at top universities worldwide, said it takes the students and their families at least three years to prepare for studies overseas.

"It's hard for them to simply change their plans out of the blue," he added.

With vaccines being developed, Chinese students and their parents have generally adopted an optimistic attitude toward the pandemic and also to international relations, he added.

However, Jiang said that in view of uncertainties regarding the pandemic, the international political situation, visas and travel, some students are looking at more countries as overseas study destinations.

Jin said that for years, the US has remained his sole option due to a variety of reasons. He cited the fact that students in the US have a further year of undergraduate study than in the UK. There is also a "broader vision" in the US for students to learn and explore diverse fields during undergraduate studies, more options for master's and doctoral programs, and more internship and employment opportunities, he added.

"Various social and educational factors may be influencing my choice, but if the Ivy League schools change their policies for international students doing master's programs, this will be a minus for the US," Jin said.

His father, Jin Guoxiang, said he fully supports the decision to take a gap year, which his son is spending by taking open classes organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and traveling to at least 10 cities in China.

"No matter which country he chooses, I feel that with the mass availability of vaccines, the pandemic could be over by next summer," said Jin Guoxiang, 47, who works for a German architectural technology company.