Choosing Chinese Universities

"Not all mobile university students are moving from East to West or South to North. Movement within the greater East Asia region is again becoming important, as it was for hundreds of years before European colonialization, and China is at the centre of the region. This great study by Dr. Alice Te takes us into the hearts of students making the momentous educational journey between systems, from Hong Kong SAR into PRC China."

Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Oxford, and Joint Editor-in-Chief of Higher Education Journal

"Drawing on interviews with 51 students and other sources, this volume unpacks the forces that influence the decision of some Hong Kong students to enroll in mainland universities for their undergraduate education. Dr. Te demonstrates that, while students make these decisions, these decisions are influenced by students’ academic objectives and performance, the involvement and perspectives of their parents, the resources of the secondary schools they attend, the strategies mainland universities use to recruit them, and the larger political, economic, and socio-cultural contexts. Findings have useful implications for policy and practice, as well as students and their parents."

Laura W. Perna, Vice Provost for Faculty and GSE Centennial Presidential Professor of Education, University of Pennsylvania

"This is a valuable book providing information and analysis on how and why Hong Kong students choosing to study in universities in Mainland China. As an international city, many Hong Kong students decided to study in Western countries, especially in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, with a few studying in Singapore and Japan. There are very few studies about Hong Kong students in mainland universities. This book therefore fills a significant gap in the literature on destination for higher education outside Hong Kong. The study has identified six popular universities including Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan, Sun Yat-sen, Jinan and Huaqiao. Dr. Te has proposed a model based on Laura Perna’s conceptual model that integrates human capital, sociological and contextualization perspectives in understanding how the push-pull factors affect students’ choice of university, and how mainland universities have become an increasingly attractive choice for Hong Kong students. This book will be useful for those who consider pursuing higher studies, as well as researchers and policy makers who want to understand the push-pull factors for choosing mainland universities."

Wing On Lee, Professor, and Executive Director, Institute for Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences

"This is an unusual book. It is not just another account of students cross borders and cultures, it is a wonderful window to understand how young people think under the One Country Two Systems arrangement."

Kai-ming Cheng, Emeritus Professor, The University of Hong Kong

"This eye-opening book provides insightful analysis of why Hong Kong students choose to study in Chinese mainland universities through in-depth interviews with the students. The model of college choice under a multi-layered structure which integrated both push-pull model and process approach has not only made substantial theoretical contributions, but also nicely encompassed institutional influences of government departments, universities, and secondary schools. This book is highly recommended for public policy makers, university administrators, secondary school principals and teachers."

Peter Fong, Professor, Editor-in-Chief, Public Administration and Policy Journal, and President, Hong Kong Public Administration Association

"This is the first book-length study of a progressive pattern of Hong Kong students moving to the Chinese mainland for university. As a Hong Kong insider who also studies international student mobility patterns, Dr. Te brings us a more nuanced understanding of this complex phenomenon. Her findings can helpfully inform local policy deliberations going forward."

Gerard A. Postiglione, Series Editor of Education and Society in China, and Emeritus Professor and Honorary Professor, The University of Hong Kong