User:Happyweekdays/sandbox

Chinese international students in the United States are students who have traveled from China in order to take part in an education program in the United States. After India, Chinese students make up the second largest international student community in the United States. According to a report published by the Institute of International Education, Chinese students that enrolled for the college accelerated 60% in the United States altogether including 11% growth comes from the undergraduate students.an 11% growth in overall undergraduate student .

The research Chinese Students' Motivations for Studying in the United States. suggests that Chinese students consider U.S academic and education system that have a rather fair and scrupulous atmosphere as more qualified and a better choice for pursuing higher education. Also, those students report that the experience of studying abroad will bring them a broad worldview. In this way, the desire to get a certificate or diploma from a college in the United States attracts Chinese students flush to study in the United States. The data indicates that Chinese students show certain predilection in terms of choosing major. Fields related to finance, such as business and management is ranked on the top of the list among the Chinese students who want to study in the United States. In one report, 26.5% Chinese students interviewed tell that the main factor that drives them to make a choice with regards to the major is to see whether it will facilitate them to find a decent job and stand out in the fierce competition when they come back to China. Other factors that influenced their choice to study in the United States includes "the desire to improve their language ability, to better understand and integrate into Western culture, and to receive a high-quality education". As Chinese students believe that American credentials can expand their career opportunities these students expect that a degree from a prestigious college in the United States will give them an edge over others in searching for a job. People expect a trend of the Chinese students coming to study in the United States will keep rising up.

Historical Context

The earliest record of Chinese student's coming to study in the United States can date back to the late Qing Dynasty. During 1872 and 1875, the Chinese government gave permission to send 120 Chinese to study in the united States. From 1899 to 1901, China (Qing Dynasty) was involved with eight western empires and dedicated to fighting against colonism. Afterwards, with the war of Jiawu broken out between Qing empire and Japan, China started a long battle against Japan for about ten years. In accompany with the temporary end of the war, an incredible increase of the number of Chinese students who fly across the ocean to seek more possibility for better education was witnessed in the United States (Wang 1965). The statistics says that there had about 36,000 Chinese students by 1951 studying in the United States (Dow 1975). Afterwards, the government of the People’s Republic of China put up with a series of scenarios and regulations to promote the development of modernization during the late 1970s in which China was going through an unprecedentedly crucial reform on various fields. Under such a circumstance, in order to reinforce the scientific research capability and cultivate experts for certain areas, the demand for international cooperation and exchange on technology directly lead to the immense flow of Chinese students to the United States and promote the the primary stage of U.S-China educational exchange (Lampton et al. 1986) Beneficial from the agreement between two countries' government to exchange scholars and students, the mainland Chinese students soared quickly and the number reached a total of approximately 20,030 in 1988, while the number in the beginning of 1978 is almost zero in the United States. Since then, the trend for Chinese students to study in the United States was rising up sharply. With the overwhelmingly growing population, Chinese students become the second largest group among international students in the United States (Orleans 1988; Wan 2001).

The research shows that although within the years of 1978 and 2008, there are 1.39 million Chinese students studying in the United States and most of them had made choice to stay for job searching or seeking further education, as well as apply for permanent visa to be an U.S citizen. , a rise on the number of Chinese students who returned back to China is unable to be ignored. Some scholars relate this change to the economic reform issued by Chinese government and visible international influence. In addition, some people assume their experience in the United States also contributes to this phenomenon. For example, the pressure to find a job due to the worse economic environment since the breakout of financial crisis in 2007/8 worldwide; reported high-rate rejection of H-1B visa, the one the most Chinese students depends on to keep valid status after graduation in the United States. An array of immigration policies launched by the president Donald Trump also believed to constrain the interest of Chinese students to come and stay in the United States . Additional encouragement to return to China are favorable policies issued by the Ministry of Education of China, which allow for returning Chinese students to receive citizenship in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, depending on the level of their degree. This holds an appeal for students, as citizenship in Beijing is considered to be one of the hardest to obtain in China. Furthermore, returned Chinese students are also able to apply for funds and financial aids.

Government Policy

Chinese students are required to obtain a visa prior to entering the United States. According to the U.S. Department of State, the most common visa types issued to Chinese students include F1, M1, J1 :

• F1 Visa : "F" visas are issued to students who are enrolled in either an academic program or English language program and are the most commonly obtained visas in the United States. Under this visa students can obtain part-time jobs on-campus and can also work on optional practical training (OPT) for up to one year after completion of their academic program.
• J1 Visa : J1 visas are granted in cases where students are traveling to the United States to receive necessary practical training that cannot be performed or is not available in their home country.
• M1 Visa: M1 visas are issued to students who are going to attend a non-academic or vocational school.

H-1B visas

H-1B visas are granted to foreign workers in specialty occupations and must be sponsored by an employer in the United States. These visas can be difficult to obtain, which can lead to Chinese students opting to return home after graduation rather than remain in the United States. In April 2017 President Donald Trump signed the “Buy American, Hire American” executive order, stating that the H-1B program should be limited to "only the most skilled and highest-paid applicants", leading to a decrease in the amount of H-1B visas granted to foreign workers. The number of Chinese workers gaining access to H-1B visas dropped between the years of 2011 and 2012 and many skilled foreign workers are returning to their countries of origin rather than remain in the United States, where it can be difficult to rise above the middle-class.

Challenges and Coping Strategies

Research suggests that cultural shock resulting from the desire to start a new life can cause people both mental and physical challenges. As a result, Chinese students suffering from culture shock have no choice but to seek out appropriate solutions to adjust themselves to the new environment. In a 2002 article for College Student Journal, researchers Wen-Chih Tseng and Fred Newton identified four challenges international students commonly face:

1. General living adjustment, such as becoming accustomed to life in America and its food, housing, environment, and transportation
2. Academic adjustment marked by an adjustment to the American university system and the skills needed for success
3. Socio-cultural adjustment, such as cultural norms and behaviors
4. Personal psychological adjustment, such as homesickness, loneliness, or feelings of isolation and lost identity

By adopting appropriate adjustment methods, Chinese students are more likely to integrate themselves into the host countries and thus they can establish a healthier environment where they can fit their own culture into other cultures on campus. .

Further studies have shown that having a strong motivation to successfully return home with an advanced degree served as a coping strategy for international students in dealing with academic and adjustment stresses. Spirituality, strong support networks, studying more, and discussing academic hardships with instructors have also been identified as active coping strategies carried out by international students. Furthermore, students were also able to foster a sense of belonging and acceptance as well as stronger social interactions with their host cultures by participating in volunteer activities.