The content dimension is richer, and the amount of research reaches a new high
This year isNew Oriental Publishes White Paper on Studying in China for the Ninth Consecutive Year, which covers the current situation of Chinese students studying abroad, the interpretation and planning of overseas study data, the guidance of overseas study examination, the planning and interpretation of the international curriculum system, the vocational education and employment development plan, the overseas academic needs of Chinese students studying abroad, and the overseas consumption and payment behavior of students studying abroad. Compared with previous years, the content of the 2023 China Study Abroad White Paper more rich, comprehensive, detailed, both breadth and depth, covering a series of study abroad links from study abroad planning, application preparation, overseas study and life to job hunting and employment。
Build consensus and work together.New Oriental Vision Overseas has joined forces with the world’s leading digital payment company Visa and New oriental International Education Asia and Europe Education, Sphinx international art education and global leading market research company Kantarto form a powerful force. Through the profound insight of big data of studying abroad, it comprehensively analyzes the development trend of the studying abroad industry and grasps the future development of the industry.
The survey covered 34 provincial-level administrative regions and some overseas countries and regions. For students and parents who have the intention to study abroad, students who have studied abroad experience, and social personages who participate in the recruitment of units, a total of 9551 effective samples were collected, and the sample size exceeded 9000 for the first time, reaching a record high.
Focus on the whole stage of the study abroad crowd, study abroad trend interpretation more refined
In order to better distinguish and interpret the mentality and cognitive changes of the groups who intend to study abroad at different stages, the “2023 White Paper on Studying Abroad in China” continues to be divided into two volumes: the secondary edition and the university edition. It is further refined into the four stages of study abroad groups: young age, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctoral degree, deeply portrays the portrait of the whole stage of study abroad groups, accurately interprets the application and admission of each group, and presents a more comprehensive trend of study abroad.
On the basis of focusing on the characteristics of secondary school students and college students studying abroad, the “2023 White Paper on Studying Abroad in China” combed out the choice, planning, confusion and corresponding changing trends of the current intended students and families to study abroad through nine years of data accumulation. At the same time, by summing up the experience preparation and career development planning of the overseas students who have studied abroad, the overall trend of the overseas students from study to career development at all stages is fully displayed. With scientific, rigorous and continuous data records, we strive to provide more targeted guidance and reference for the majority of Chinese students and families.
Gain insight into the study abroad industry and grasp the future direction of international education
Since the first release of the White Paper on Studying Abroad in China in 2015, New Oriental has conducted research and statistical analysis of overseas students for nine consecutive years. It deeply depicts the situation of studying abroad under the background of big data, shows the cutting-edge dynamics of the studying abroad industry, and provides a reliable reference for the study abroad path and future development of the majority of Chinese students. In the White Paper on Studying in China 2023,New Oriental actively responds to national policies, deeply combines the strategy of strengthening the country with talents, the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of vocational education, comprehensively analyzes the development of the study abroad industry and the trend of talent training, and provides a clearer direction for relevant practitioners in the international education industry.
With 27 years of deep study abroad business, New Oriental continues to tap the needs of customers in the whole process of studying abroad, creating one-stop study abroad services, and is committed to becoming a bridge for Chinese students to study abroad and a rainbow for returning home to start their own businesses, providing them with diversified growth paths and meeting all-round development needs.
Empower to grow and move forward. In the future, New Oriental will continue to integrate high-quality resources from various parties, strengthen interaction with all parties, and provide more opportunities for Chinese students to enter the world. The opportunity to realize self-worth, take the initiative to shoulder the mission responsibility entrusted by the times, help the country cultivate international talents with international vision, family feelings and global competence, and contribute wisdom and strength to the improvement of China’s international education influence and development prospects.
The number of people aged 17 and below who intend to study abroad is on the rise, and the number of people aged 25 and above who intend to study abroad for master's and doctoral programs is increasing.
According to five years of research,The age of the people who intend to study abroad for bachelor degree and below is mainly distributed in 15-21 years old.. As can be seen from the data comparison,Gradual increase in the number of people aged 17 and underAn increasing number of Chinese families are considering studying abroad at an early age, which further indicates that Chinese families are more forward-thinking about their children’s international education.There is a rising trend among people aged 25 and overDue to the increasing pressure of further education and employment in China, more and more students, even working people, hope to further their education by studying abroad to enhance their academic qualifications, enhance their competitiveness in employment and broaden their future career paths.
One year in advance to prepare for the examination and application to become the mainstream choice, doctoral application preparation still needs a long period
Most undergraduate students will be more inclined to prepare for the examination or study abroad application one year in advance, but there are still many students two years or more in advance began to prepare, especially for the preparation of the examination. This may be due to the fact that these students are targeting highly ranked and competitive colleges, and therefore want better test scores to help them increase their acceptance rates.
For high school students and below, a considerable number of people did not plan to study abroad at the beginning, but only considered the “transition” when students found that they were not very adapted to the domestic secondary education system, thus making the preparation period shorter.
Whether it is for the preparation of the examination or the application for study abroad, people who intend to study abroad generally choose to start one year in advance; The PhD application process is relatively complex and uncertain, and the requirements for applicants are relatively high, so most people who want to study abroad for a PhD will prepare for it two years or more in advance, in order to get the desired admission.
Over 70% have a GPA of 3.0 or above
Judging from the scores of the intended students,72% of the intent students achieved a GPA of 3.0 or above. It can be seen that students with relatively good grades have a strong desire to study abroad, which also shows that the competition for applications is becoming increasingly fierce.
40% of those who intend to study abroad have studied abroad before studying abroad
In 2023,40 percent of those who intend to study abroad have had overseas study experience and the trend has been increasing over the past five years. More and more students choose to study abroad programs to enrich their personal background experience and lay a solid foundation for their future study abroad applications and overseas life.
Ordinary families are still the main force, and the parents of returnees are increasing year by year
According to the White Paper’s nine-year survey,families whose parents are “general employees” have become the main group of students studying abroad since 2018, and the proportion continues to rise. This is closely related to the rapid development of the national economy and the improvement of people’s living standards. Studying abroad has also become more popular and normalized from a minority choice.
In 2023,16.5% of parents of overseas students with degrees from overseas returnees are expected to attend. It can be seen that parents who have received overseas education are more inclined to let their children go abroad to receive international education and expand their international horizons.
More than 50% of international students believe that the actual expenses of studying abroad are in line with expectations, and they have a positive attitude towards "recovering the cost" of studying abroad
According to the survey data of 2023, 56% of the undergraduate students and below think that the actual cost of studying abroad is basically consistent with the expectation, and 54% of the students think that the actual cost of studying abroad is basically consistent with the expected cost, accounting for more than half of the total. This shows that most of the foreign students and families are more rational in the expectation of studying abroad, and the planning is reasonable.More than half of undergraduate students and below, as well as graduate and doctoral students, believe that they can recover their capital within five years., it can be seen that the efforts and investment in the early stage of studying abroad are very much worth looking forward to, no matter from the short-term or long-term feedback.
More people who intend to study abroad will strengthen their study abroad plans, and the channels for further studies will be more diversified.
With the opening of the epidemic prevention policy in the second half of 2022, more people who intend to study abroad are firmly committed to their study abroad plans.The proportion of undergraduate and below students who wish to study abroad is more than 50%, and 45% of them are interested in studying abroad.At the same time, due to the rapid development and popularization of international education in China, the proportion of people who pay attention to Sino-foreign cooperative education programs has increased significantly, and they also hope to find their own development direction through the channels related to international education.
"Nearby study abroad" has become a new trend of undergraduate and below students, and the students of postgraduate and doctoral programs are more cautious about choosing countries / regions to study abroad.
From the perspective of study destination, with the opening of the epidemic policy, more than half of the people who intend to study abroad are no longer trapped by the impact of the epidemic on the choice of countries / regions to study abroad, and the uncertainty caused by the epidemic also affects the younger families of international students.More likely to choose “closer to China” countries and regions to further reduce the riskAt the same time, the graduate and doctoral students hope to continue to apply to universities in multiple countries at the same time, which shows that they tend to be conservative and cautious about choosing the countries / regions to study in.
The United States and the United Kingdom are still the mainstream countries, and Canada is more favored by high school and below.
In 2023, in the eyes of those who intend to study abroad,The UK and US remain the most popular countries for study abroad.. From the breakdown of the population,High school students and below also hope to go to Canada to study in secondary school, which is closely related to Canada’s safe and livable, excellent education quality, and loose and favorable co-reading policy. The UK, with its high ranking institutions, excellent language environment, favorable visa and employment policies and relatively short academic system, has attracted the attention of undergraduate and postgraduate students. The people who intend to study abroad more want to go to the United States, which is closely related to the relatively perfect scholarship system and the leading scientific research strength of the United States.
More and more students are returning to their countries of study.
With the opening of the epidemic prevention policy and the resumption of international navigation, more and more international students choose to study abroad to begin or continue their studies. By 2023,there are 49% undergraduates and below studying abroad, 45% postgraduates and postgraduates studying abroad. As the global epidemic dissipates, studying abroad has gradually returned to normal.
After graduation, the undergraduate students directly obtain employment and continue to study, while the graduate and doctoral students choose to obtain employment.
According to the data of 2023, theproportion of international undergraduate students who choose to pursue further study and choose employment is basically the same. It can be seen that employment and further study are the mainstream choice of international undergraduates for future planning. Theproportion of direct employment or starting a business is 65 percent of the total after graduation.
The proportion of international students with internship experience declined, employers still value practical experience
According to the 2023 survey,At present, 43% of undergraduate students have internship experience, and 61% of graduate and doctoral students have internship experience, both of which have declined from 2022.. At the same time, “related work experience”, “professional counterparts” and “rich internship experience” are still the background information of foreign students that employers focus on. Due to the consideration of the cost of employing, employers prefer to have the above qualities of foreign students. It is suggested that students should also pay attention to accumulating relevant internships and work experience in the process of studying abroad, so as to lay the foundation for long-term career development in the future.
Undergraduate students' job-hunting front is stretched, while graduate and doctoral students are optimistic about job-hunting
Under the current employment situation,overseas undergraduate students take a long time to prepare for job hunting and the time to find a job is mainly within 6-12 months before graduation and 6 months after graduation. Graduate and doctoral students are more relaxed in their attitude towards job hunting. More people choose to start preparing for job hunting six months before graduation. Not only that, nearly half of the graduate and doctoral students begin to consider the problem of job hunting after graduation.
Employers are optimistic about the development of studying abroad, and the recruitment demand for international students is increasing
With the improvement of the global epidemic situation and the gradual opening up of China, employers’ evaluation of the heat of studying abroad has rebounded, and they believe that the current evaluation of the heat of studying abroad has increased by 7 percentage points compared to 2022. In 2023,employers’ demand for international students is the same as that of 2022 and the proportion is 64%.
More than half of employers require international students to have a master's or doctoral degree
From the perspective of academic background, employers’ requirements for the qualifications of international students are mainly concentrated in the undergraduate and higher stages. At the same time, 51% of employers require international students to have a master’s degree or even a doctorate. With the continuous growth of highly educated talents, employers’ recruitment threshold for overseas students has also “risen.”
International students are more competitive in the job market
In recent years, in the domestic good economic development momentum and generous policy of talent welfare, students have chosen to return to work. According to the survey data in 2023, the starting salary of international students is generally higher than that of domestic college graduates. In addition, the median salary range for international students is between $7,000 and $9,999, while the median salary range for domestic students is between $5,000 and $6,999. Overall,When recruiting college graduates at home and abroad, employers are more willing to pay them higher salaries and recognize their competitiveness in the job market.
