As the US remains the top choice for Chinese students' overseas study, State University of New York (SUNY) - the largest comprehensive state-wide university system in the US - is stepping up its efforts to attract its share of students from China.

From Oct 17 to Nov 5, SUNY is conducting its fourth annual recruiting road show in nine Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Beijing.

Several campuses of SUNY - including Potsdam, Buffalo, Albany, Brockport, Fulton-Montgomery, Cobleskill, Old Westbury and Oswego - have joined the fair this year, as school officials answer questions and do on-site interviews of interested students.

"SUNY conducts these recruiting events because we are very interested in having more qualified Chinese students attend our sixty-four campuses," said Mitch Leventhal, vice-chancellor for global affairs at SUNY.

Founded in 1816, SUNY has grown to include 64 individual colleges and universities that were either formerly independent institutions or directly founded by SUNY.

According to Leventhal, of SUNY's 20,838 international students last year, 4,753 - or 23 percent - were from China, making it the No 1 country of origin among international students at SUNY, followed by South Korea.

EduGlobal, a China-based student recruitment firm that co-organized SUNY's recruiting event this year, said SUNY's diverse majors and high-quality teaching resources have attracted a number of outstanding international students in pursuit of advanced studies.

"During the two week roadshow, SUNY has interacted with hundreds of students," said Kirsten Louise Feddersen, manager of international recruitment at SUNY. "We do anticipate that the outreach will lead to more students applying and enrolling at SUNY campuses."

"The SUNY-sponsored recruitment event is one of several recruitment activities we participate in China over the course of a recruitment cycle," said Timothy Lee, director of undergraduate admissions at SUNY Albany. "Last year we attended well over 100 events and meetings in China and we currently plan to do the same this year."

Lee said his university participated in the program to support SUNY's efforts to attract talented well-prepared Chinese students to the largest, most comprehensive state higher educational system in the US.

"As is the case with most selective US public research institutions, China continues to be the University at Albany's top source of enrolling international students, with over 100 Chinese students registering in the Fall and Spring 2013 terms," he said.

About 194,029 Chinese students were enrolled in US schools for the 2011-12 academic year, an increase of 23 percent from the previous year and holding the spot as the top source of international students on US campuses for the third year in a row, according to the Institute of International Education.

California remains the top US state for hosting international students, followed by New York and Texas. About 102, 789 international students were studying in California in the 2011-12 school year - an increase of 6.5 percent from the previous year, the report said.

According to the University of Southern California (USC), for the 10th year in a row, USC accounted for more international students than any other American institution of higher education and China was the largest source of international students there, with a record 2,515 enrolled last year.

After its own road show, SUNY will continue its recruitment efforts in China by joining the 2013 China Education Expo, which will open in Beijing on Nov 2 and stop in Xi'an, Wuhan, Shanghai and Chengdu.

The education expo is expected to welcome more than 600 overseas schools from 43 countries this year. More than 90 American universities will take part.

yuwei12@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 10/30/2013 page2)