Economic growth

The increase of Chinese students in the States "represents the growing income of Chinese citizens and their ability to send their children overseas", says Frank Whitaker, minister counselor for public affairs at the US embassy in Beijing.

And there's good reason they're selecting the US, says Education USA network's regional educational advising coordinator Christina Chandler.

"The families are more interested in the education of the child and the best opportunities available," she says.

Many Chinese families can afford to send their children to US undergraduate programs and then enroll them in graduate schools, she says.

Beijing No 80 Middle School college counselor Sun Mingfang says: "We had two international classes to prepare students to study abroad two years ago. We have five today. More parents want their children to receive education that offers cultural diversity, English-language proficiency and broadens their horizon."

And parents tend to be more practical in selecting schools, rather than spending their life savings on top universities like Harvard, Yale and Princeton as they did previously, she says.

"They not only consider multiple factors, such as rank, location and job prospects, but also are more likely to respect their children's choices."