I’ve done something quite rare: I’m an American who attended college in both the US and China.
I completed my undergraduate degree in political science at a state university in New York and studied abroad in Wuhan, China, during the summer of 2015. Ten years later, in 2025, I returned to Shijiazhuang, China, while completing my second graduate degree in global health, interning at a medical university.
Experiencing Chinese universities at two distinct points in my life, a decade apart, gave me a rare view of how the system operates and how it has evolved.
I didn’t meet any Americans studying in China most recently
During my first trip, I was in a group of about 30 American college students. The second time, I was the only person from my cohort to go.
Since the pandemic, the number of US students in China has dropped, according to NPR. In fact, I didn’t meet a single American in the three months I was in the country most recently.
Both times, I met lots of African students, though. They were heavily invested in and integrated into the Chinese learning and working systems.
I’ve noticed China sets the international students I met up for success
Many of the international students I talked to in the US told me how hard it was to integrate and find a pathway to work after school in New York.
In China, I noticed there’s a pathway for international students who want to stay, particularly those who have developed strong Mandarin skills.
The Chinese government and universities are actively trying to entice international students to come to the country, while also investing in ways to retain graduates.
Campus life looks very different from what I experienced in the US
The internet firewall in China can make research difficult, and I’ve seen doctors smoking in classrooms between lectures.
Student life also reflects a different set of norms. There is low tolerance for drugs and alcohol on many Chinese campuses. After class, I saw friends playing badminton rather than drinking beer.
Technology and security are also visible on campus. Students on the campuses I studied entered by scanning their faces and were tracked by cameras.
Courtesy of Catherine Work
Politics also felt more openly present in academic life. Most of the professors and physicians I worked with were active members of the Communist Party and often wore pins on their lapels to signify it.
As one local friend put it, “having one state party means policies don’t change every four years,” which, in their view, can create a certain level of stability for universities.
Chinese universities are far cheaper and more specialized
The two universities I studied at in China didn’t have the fancy sports facilities most American colleges do, but many students I met weren’t going into debt to study either.
Tuition in China is subsidized by the government, especially at public universities. That means it’s relatively affordable compared with many Western countries.
Housing and food costs are also inexpensive in my experience. I was eating a healthy lunch on campus for $1 a day. My American campus used to sell a single banana for $1.05 in 2015.
I also spent a year taking general courses in America. While I loved taking a class on Bollywood as a political science major, the specialization offered by many Chinese universities helped better prepare me for the real world. I also saved money by not taking general courses while in China.
Studying in both systems changed how I think about education
I didn’t just earn my degrees in multiple countries; I learned about the culture of education. I learned how the government impacts who can study what and if they will be successful.
I’ll always be partial to the American scholastic mentality of questioning everything and forming opinions, rather than the rote memorization I saw in China, but I’d prefer not to be launched into the working world with so much student loan debt.
I hope more Americans can form their own opinions of China’s educational system, which has rapidly evolved and will only continue to grow in its unique way.
