Chinese group to weigh US middle schools

A group of Chinese teachers and overseas study consultants will head to the United States on Sept 20 to collect more information for young Chinese students who would like to study in US secondary schools.

During their 21-day trip, the teachers and consultants, who are working for Vision Overseas, a consulting company on overseas study under the umbrella of New Oriental Education Group, will visit 23 middle schools in six US states.

They will also talk to some education experts, school heads, teachers, students and host families in the US to collect more views and opinions on some heated topics, including such things as the differences in Chinese and American basic education, and the advantages and disadvantages of overseas study at an early age.

Zhao Yao, one of the group members, said it's a growing trend that an increasing number of Chinese parents are sending their young children to study in the US, but many are making the decision blindly without having enough knowledge of US high schools.

According to Zhao, just as eight prestigious northeastern US universities are called the Ivy League, 10 elite US middle schools, also located in the northeastern US and which have very low annual admission rates, are called "the Ivy League Junior" by Chinese people.

These schools include Phillips Academy Andover, The Hotchkiss School, Deerfield Academy and others.

"There are thousands of Chinese students applying for these middle schools each year, but only about 20 of them will be admitted. The competition is really fierce," said Zhao, who is also a program manager of Vision Overseas focusing on study in US middle schools.

"The purpose of our trip this time, is to gather more information about different kinds of US secondary schools so we can guide parents to lower their expectations appropriately and help students to better navigate the application process," she said.