Chinese students wanting to study abroad are being assisted by the economic crisis, which is leading some universities to lower admission standards, the organizer of an education expo said.

Zhang Xinying, of Well Trend United Inc, which organized the 2009 Exhibition of World Famous Universities, said the United States remained the most popular destination for Chinese students.

He said about 50 to 60 percent of visitors to the weekend expo were most interested in studying at US universities, which are among the best in the world.

"Because of the economic crisis, more American universities ranked in the top 100 are lowering requirements just to attract more Chinese students," Zhang said.

"This includes offering conditional admission, which allows students to improve their English proficiency in the US for around one year before getting full admission to the university."

More than 800 students and their parents attended the exhibition at the Scitech Hotel, where there were representatives from 40 universities from the US, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Adam Backo, from the University of Massachusetts, said he was impressed that so many Chinese asked their questions in English.

"'The rank of our school' and 'what kind of courses we provide' are the very first questions that Chinese students usually tend to ask," he said.

"Question about the tuition fee, which I thought would be their first question, comes a little bit later."

He said the US offered a great opportunity to Chinese students because it had many great universities.

Lin Yuan and Zhang Jiuying, both from Beijing Forestry University, said they both dreamed of going to university in Europe or the US.

"It is not because the economic crisis or the growing difficulty of landing a job for college students in China, but simply about having more exotic life experiences," Lin said.

According to the statistics from US Embassy, more than 50,000 Chinese were given student visas in 2008, accounting for roughly one third of the total number of Chinese who pursue education overseas.

The total number of students traveling abroad to study increased from 144,000 in 2007 to 170,000 last year.

This figure will probably top 200,000 this year, said Feng Jishang, marketing manager of Wiseway, a consulting firm that advises students and their parents about overseas schools.

(China Daily 09/21/2009 page20)