According to last year's record, 300,000 Chinese students migrates to United States to attend in U.S. colleges and universities and mostly, to Christian schools.
This was reported as due to the fact that Chinese students fill up spots in U.S. secondary schools searching for best education which is a a better way for getting into U.S. universities.
According to the report, Chinese students find it hard to enter public schools in U.S. which headed them to attend private institutions which are mostly Christian. Moreover, their Chinese parents are okay with it.
Foreign Policy obtained data from the Department of Homeland Security via Freedom of Information Act, "58 percent of the F-1 visas issued for Chinese high school students in 2014 and the first three months of 2015 were for Catholic or Christian schools."
"Under 28 percent of Chinese students obtained these visas to attend Catholic schools, while 30 percent were for schools with nondenominational or Protestant Christian affiliations, including schools affiliated with Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Mennonite, Baptist, Church of Christ, and Quaker traditions. (F-1 visas are the most common visas sought by foreign students at U.S. secondary schools.)" as shown in the report.
Following the report, Chinese students were asked why they enroll at religious institutions. The reason was always "it is more open to student input and participation, whereas in China, they cannot be open or participate openly." Therefore, it was concluded that they are more after to open education system.
Chinese students went to Christian schools in US without the knowledge about Christianity but because of the school, more of them are now Christians despite their parents are not.
"They come with no religious background.We do require religion classes. We're very upfront about it ahead of time," ," said Alyce Schales, a registrar at Mountain View Academy, a Seventh-Day Adventists School in California who began to notice growth of Chinese students in the school since 1990s.
"It's challenging to come to these classes with zero knowledge. They have no framework. It's not like a Lutheran sitting in on a Catholic class. It's a blank slate for these guys. It's a bit of a head scratcher," said John May, the director of international student programs at St. John's Jesuit High School and Academy in Ohio.
With the high rise of the population of Chinese students in U.S. specifically in Christian Schools, it was believed to be a blessing for both the schools and Chinese students.
"St. John's absolutely believes there has to be a synergistic benefit, it has to be good for the Chinese students, and it has to be good for our students. It increases the global competence of all these young men," said May.
