Some Recruiting Agents Exploit Chinese Students

[wangshitao]

The #1 problem with Chinese students is other Chinese students who clump together. This often hinders their ability to learn English and do their homework on their own, so if I were running a program I would spend money merely to stop them forming an isolated group within the university.

It has become the social norm among Chinese students. If you are Chinese then you have to clump together with other Chinese. If you dont, you will be greeted with endless hostility even from non-Chinese students and professors let along Chinese. I will be very curious to find out how someone can end this apartheid.

 

[rishab dhar]

Isn't, at-least, US a democratic country. I think one should be freely able to choose the people with whom one interacts. I don't know about others, but at-least I wouldn't be hostile towards a Chinese if he is friendly towards me, regardless of whether he clumps together with other Chinese. In fact, I would appreciate if he would want to talk with me, as I would learn more Chinese people and Chinese culture.

I have no reason to believe that professors would be racial towards a Chinese if he doesn't clumps together with other Chinese. If I were a professor, the only thing I'd be interested in is his performance in the class.

 

[bigbadwolf]

It has become the social norm among Chinese students. If you are Chinese then you have to clump together with other Chinese. If you dont, you will be greeted with endless hostility even from non-Chinese students and professors let along Chinese. I will be very curious to find out how someone can end this apartheid.

That's not correct. The reason they clump together is not ostracism but because 1) they form mutual self-help groups, 2) they don't understand the new society in which they live in terms of rules and mores, and 3) they're not comfortable with the language. The same holds for Indians, incidentally. Where I am I always find them (Indians) roaming around in small herds of threes, fours, and occasionally even more. The ostracism you refer to holds more in Europe than in the USA.

 

[alain]

It has become the social norm among Chinese students. If you are Chinese then you have to clump together with other Chinese. If you dont, you will be greeted with endless hostility even from non-Chinese students and professors let along Chinese. I will be very curious to find out how someone can end this apartheid.

This is total hogwash. I don't believe any piece of it.

 

[SYau]

It has become the social norm among Chinese students. If you are Chinese then you have to clump together with other Chinese. If you dont, you will be greeted with endless hostility even from non-Chinese students and professors let along Chinese. I will be very curious to find out how someone can end this apartheid.

Most US colleges, as far as I can tell, are fairly liberal and accept foreign students. It is your choice to socialize exclusively with other Chinese, when you could easily mingle with other students irrespective of race. I know there is a comfort level in speaking your own native language, but when you are in another country, learning new material in another language, wouldn't it be more beneficial to immerse yourself in that new language as much as possible?

I don't see this hostility from non-Chinese students in all my studies at various universities (Harvard, Boston University, Northeastern, NYU, CUNY/Baruch). Btw, I am Chinese in case you were wondering.

 

[Jim]

I dont get it. What do u think Chinese cheat on Olympics?

It's simple. Take a look: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/gymnastics/news?slug=dw-gymnastsage081408

This is just one of many articles on the net about China pulling off a cheat. I hope you get it. But hey, they were successful, and the world treats China as if they never cheated (which is exactly what I was saying). So I guess they never cheated.

 

[Joe]

It depends on what group of Chinese students you are talking about. When top universities (Princeton, MIT etc.) in the US admit Chinese students, of course they will first cherry pick the ones from schools such as Tsinghua, Peking; and to be fair, students from these top Chinese univ. are extremely talented (imagine there are millions of people wanting to get into these top schools by passing the national standardized exams every year in China). The reason why many feel some Chinese students at even top US engineering/business schools lack social skills, it is because these are the ones that were chosen exactly because of their superb quantitative skills! You must take into the considerations that in China the language to be used in classroom is Chinese, so you can't just compare their English language skills with students from US undergrad Eng/Lib Arts programs .. and when they arrive in US, it is very hard for them to study hard on quant subjects (which requires tons of time) on the one hand, but also make up all their language gap compare to their US peers .. just imagine you are studying MFE in a Chinese University .. it is that simple. Of course there are tons of very sociable Chinese students out there, and they are doing extremely well in their own fields (not quant though)

 

[rishab dhar]

It depends on what group of Chinese students you are talking about. When top universities (Princeton, MIT etc.) in the US admit Chinese students, of course they will first cherry pick the ones from schools such as Tsinghua, Peking; and to be fair, students from these top Chinese univ. are extremely talented (imagine there are millions of people wanting to get into these top schools by passing the national standardized exams every year in China). The reason why many feel some Chinese students at even top US engineering/business schools lack social skills, it is because these are the ones that were chosen exactly because of their superb quantitative skills! You must take into the considerations that in China the language to be used in classroom is Chinese, so you can't just compare their English language skills with students from US undergrad Eng/Business programs .. and when they arrive in US, it is very hard for them to study hard on quant subjects (which requires tons of time) on the one hand, but also make up all their language gap compare to their US peers .. geez just imagine you are studying MFE in a Chinese University .. it is that simple. Of course there are tons of very sociable Chinese students out there, and they are doing extremely well in their own fields (not quant though)

Isn't this the very reason they should socialize with Americans. I can't possibly find an easier and a faster way to learn English or for that matter any language than by communicating with native speakers. It will also help them to grasp concepts faster in class (taught in English) and study stuff (again English books).

 

[alain]

.. and when they arrive in US, it is very hard for them to study hard on quant subjects (which requires tons of time) on the one hand, but also make up all their language gap compare to their US peers .. geez just imagine you are studying MFE in a Chinese University .. it is that simple.

This is a bunch of baloney. All international students go through this and they manage.

 

[Joe]

Isn't this the very reason they should socialize with Americans. I can't possibly find an easier and a faster way to learn English or for that matter any language than by communicating with native speakers. It will also help them to grasp concepts faster in class (taught in English) and study stuff (again English books).

I know. What I was trying to say is that there is a trade-off and you must make a decision. I myself is Chinese (been living in the states for 10 years) and I have seen how my Chinese friends with very good quantitative backgrounds (like many other countries in Asia and Europe (and also schools in the states too, but it is mandatory in China), students start learning math early) diverge into two groups: one are those who stick to what they are good at doing - science/math/eng - and capitalize on their competitive advantage, and they are doing well in grad programs, as researchers, in hedge-funds, what have you; the other started off with very good science background, got into the top schools in US, but decided to embrace the American way, partied like no tomorrow, and they are living a very decent life as investment bankers etc. But you know, what people in latter group can do everyone else can do, they just gave up the advantages they got by coming from a Chinese education system, and try to excel in what people raised in an American education system is best at. Just my two cents, no offense to anyone here

 

[Joe]

This is a bunch of baloney. All international students go through this and they manage.

Again I agree. Like everything else in life, this is just a decision among many every international student must make

 

[Joe]

You know, I was actually expecting this thread to turn into a heated-discussion about the dark-sides of the Chinese education system and corruptions in the Chinese society in general, which basically is what I have been told all my life .. but what's remarkable is that the thinkings are so similar for different nations. Corruption exists everywhere, and there is hardly any education system that is perfect and all-around. But what makes the US a great place to study and work though, is that you get to see and hear the different opinions from other cultures, this is the best education in my own opinion

 

[rishab dhar]

@ Joe

This is one reason American system and Americans so great. Because they are much more receptive towards criticism than most countries. I believe that this is the best method to improve on anything. If you allow people to express their ideas and feelings (both +ve and -ve) and are also open to the fact towards any criticism that others might have to make, you will , usually, get a much better system, because it expresses the emotions of each and every individual.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Did anyone bother to read the article in full? I quoted some a small part where I found it interesting from the admission point of view.
I'll forward the article to the people in the committee so they have a better understanding of what's going on out there.

 

[Anthony DeAngelis]

Chinese students might cluster together, but I think American students could make more of an effort to help them acclimate. It is your American job to be a welcoming citizen. I was leaving work at around midnight and met a scared Jamaican girl who literally just landed in the US. I spent about 20 minutes helping her figure out what to do. I would hope that this is the type of first impression that most if not all foreigners have when they come here.

And while I think it sucks that this Chinese kid got sucked, he will still go back to China with a UConn degree. I am sure he also would have the option to transfer to the main campus as well as to other schools. Apparently being uninformed and helpless spans across all countries.

 

[DominiConnor]

It has become the social norm among Chinese students. If you are Chinese then you have to clump together with other Chinese.
I can accept that happens, and which is why I favour trying to stop it, this habit does not serve them well.

 

[Jim]

I actually don't mind having Chinese students clump together. The only loss that I see myself enduring is the potential gains that one could attribute to interacting with them (had they not been so clumpish).

That particular habit not serving them well seems to benefit me.

 

[coolharvard]

It's not just Chinese cheating in international sports competition. Koreans are also notorious for "doing ANYTHING they can to win."

 

[LeoDong]

It has become the social norm among Chinese students. If you are Chinese then you have to clump together with other Chinese.
I can accept that happens, and which is why I favour trying to stop it, this habit does not serve them well.

I would say there is no need you have to clump together with other Chinese if u r Chinese. I am Chinese and during my past 3 years in US, I was most of the time involved with Americans or people from other parts of the world. I believe I am here to learn English and earn an American degree, there is no point to stick around with too many Chinese; clumping would not really benefit one's future career. I guess the only thing I would do with many other Chinese is celebrating our traditional holiday.

 

[euroazn]

Although few people are as scathing of the way some finance courses are marketed, I do not yet quite see why he thinks he is subject to deceit

It never crossed his mind that he’d pay $47,000 a year to live in an almost empty country inn
It sounds like he has better accommodation than I had at university.

and attend classes five miles down the road
I had to travel >5 miles, but my ethnic group is Irish, we can do this "walking" thing I believe some of my people now can ride bicycles, though I regard the rumours that people in Ireland now have cars as a flight of fancy.

at a UConn satellite campus comprising two buildings and 250 students.
So ? And ?

He shares a room and a microwave with his only compatriot on the Torrington campus,
I shared a room for my first 4 months at university, it ended badly, knives were involved, but I still don't see this as unbearable hardship. When my wife-to-be was studying at Oxford (a British university, you may have heard of it), they did not provide a microwave oven, indeed they forbade them. So I had to buy her what she and her room mate called "the magic cupboard".
Strangely, people who've been to Oxford (like the British Prime Minister, the Mayor of London and a good % of the quants in London and NY) never ever talk of the bitter hardship they faced at this university, imagine it ! cooking on a microwave, just like ordinary people !

with his only compatriot
The #1 problem with Chinese students is other Chinese students who clump together. This often hinders their ability to learn English and do their homework on their own, so if I were running a program I would spend money merely to stop them forming an isolated group within the university.

“I didn’t know there was a regional campus,” said 20-year- old Lin
If you meet Lin, tell him not to send his resume to my firm, because he would fail any evaluation of intelligence we might apply.

I appreciate that China hasn't quite reached the level of (say) Zimbabwe, where one may use the Internet without risking being tortured, but I'm pretty sure that you can use Google to do basic research.

About 90 percent of recommendation letters for Chinese students are fake and 70 percent of essays aren’t written by the applicant,
This is obviously false, the % are far higher.

Biking to school? Fancy. My parents had to walk to their University in the Russian snow... :P

Well said Dominic.