In many countries, China is the largest sending country for international graduate students, and the landscape for recruiting these students has become increasingly competitive and complex. As more and more international universities vie for China’s outbound graduate students, its worthwhile to better understand what inspires Chinese graduates to go abroad, how they see graduate education in the context of their careers, and how international universities can adapt their recruitment efforts in light of the employment considerations of Chinese students.

Last fall, we surveyed more than 2,000 students and 28 counselors at Sunrise’s China recruitment tours to learn more about how students in tier 2 and 3 cities in China approach the college application process and find information about universities. 40.42% rely on in-school resources, presentations, and in-school counselors for study abroad information.

The recent Sino-Canadian friction began in December 2018 when Canadian authorities detained Meng Wanzhou, the CFO and daughter of the founder of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. Although Meng’s detention was related to an extradition request by the US, the Chinese government quickly retaliated by arresting 13 Canadians in the following month, including a diplomat on national security grounds.

Around the world, universities have made steps to implement the gaokao into their admissions processes, though some universities and regions are far ahead in accommodating the needs of gaokao track students. The total number of gaokao-accepting universities reportedly exceeds 1,000 universities in 20 countries and regions,