Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education

by Yingyi Ma

Over the past decade, a wave of Chinese international undergraduate students―mostly self-funded―has swept across American higher education. From 2005 to 2015, undergraduate enrollment from China rose from under 10,000 to over 135,000. This privileged yet diverse group of young people from a changing China must navigate the complications and confusions of their formative years while bridging the two most powerful countries in the world. How do these students come to study in the United States? What does this experience mean to them? What does American higher education need to know and do in order to continue attracting these students and to provide sufficient support for them?

In Ambitious and Anxious , the sociologist Yingyi Ma offers a multifaceted analysis of this new wave of Chinese students based on research in both Chinese high schools and American higher-education institutions. Ma argues that these students’ experiences embody the duality of ambition and anxiety that arises from transformative social changes in China. These students and their families have the ambition to navigate two very different educational systems and societies. Yet the intricacy and pressure of these systems generate a great deal of anxiety, from applying to colleges before arriving, to studying and socializing on campus, and to looking ahead upon graduation. Ambitious and Anxious also considers policy implications for American colleges and universities, including recruitment, student experiences, faculty support, and career services.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, China

312 pages, Hardcover

Published February 18, 2020

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for everyone interested in American higher education, Chinese youth and US-China Relations. The author's mastery of subject is remarkable and provides much nuance and insight into the rapidly increasing population in American colleges and universities.

[Cordelicacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This academic yet accessible book is about the experience of students from China who have chosen to do their undergraduate studies in the United States.

The book uses evidence from a study that was carried out using the results of a survey as well as follow-up interviews with individual students. I found it quite interesting that one of the key questions in the survey was how many American friends a person had, and that in general, Chinese students were very eager to have American friends. I was also interested in finding out that lots of Chinese students take two (or three) majors, often taking “one for themselves, one for their parents.”

The concept of brain circulation was also interesting, and before COVID, it would have been a realistic goal for a Chinese student to go back and forth between China and the United States over the course of their career. With travel between China and the US being such a hassle right now, I wonder if students are back to choosing between whether they should establish themselves in the United States or build their lives in China.

The use of rankings for much of the decision-making as well as the efforts to upgrade to higher ranked colleges for graduate school was also enlightening, if not a bit depressing. Overall, this book made a lot of intuitive sense and provided some evidence and a framework for an understanding of this interesting and large group of students.

[Renee Hong · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I was skimming an AAPI month book list, I saw the title of this book, and I immediately stopped. Despite not being a fan of nonfiction, I knew I had to read this. Not only would I learn about the American and Chinese education systems(which I was really interested in), I would also be able to learn about my parents, who had both been students in China that came to the U.S. for college.

As you might've guessed, this book did not disappoint. I learned about Chinese culture(vs. American culture), the challenges Chinese students face when applying to and studying at American colleges, and how the difference in culture is often the cause of these struggles. I also learned about how much some Chinese parents sacrifice-selling their houses and often working multiple jobs-just for their children to study in the U.S. This really made me realize how privileged I am and how valuable education is and that I shouldn't just take it for granted.

To conclude this review, I thought this book was amazing and seriously taught me so much. I would definitely recommend this book if you like sociology or want to learn about the experiences of Chinese students who study abroad as well as Chinese culture and the education system.

[Aanchal Manuja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book puts a lot of phenomenon I have observed in my classrooms into cultural and sociohistorical context. It cuts across class and region in the Chinese society to understand the different experiences of undergraduates in American institutions. Ma's analysis of cultural differences between Chinese and American educational systems moves beyond simplistic stereotypes to explore nuanced paradoxes. While Chinese students often praise American emphasis on creativity and critical thinking, they also value their own system's technical foundation. Ma highlights contrasting attitudes towards effort versus talent, and how these play out unexpectedly in both cultures. This nuanced view explains various phenomena, from American anxiety about Chinese dominance in sciences to the diverse experiences of Chinese students in the US, ultimately demonstrating the complexity of cross-cultural educational exchanges.

I do wish they would have interviewed more American educators. What would be interesting extended research of this book is to interview White Americans who hang out with mostly international students / choose not to hang out with other native Whites.

[RYAN PHAM · Rating 5 out of 5]

An updated version of why Chinese nationals study in America, why they come, stay and depart

[JaneAustin'sPetticoat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book covering Chinese undergraduate experiences. Fascinating comparisons of US vs Chinese educational systems and academic philosophies.

[Reading]

《留学的孩子》（中）马颖毅。

[Weiwei · Rating 4 out of 5]

离岸爱国给我看笑了

[Carolyn Kost · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well worth reading, even for those of us who have worked with Chinese students for decades.

Contents:
1. Ambitious and Anxious: Chinese Undergraduates in the United States
2. A Love for Separation: Study Abroad as the New Education Gospel in Urban China
3. “From Hello to Harvard”: The Pathways to American Higher Education
4. Navigating and Comparing Chinese and American Education Systems
5. Protective Segregation: Chinese Students Hanging Out Among Themselves
6. College Major Choices, Rationales, and Dilemmas
7. Think Before Speak: A Real Conundrum for Classroom Participation?
8. Changes and Reflections
9. Stay vs. Return: That Is the Question
10. What American Higher Education Needs to Know About Chinese Undergraduates
Appendix on Methodology

A respectable summary and review is attached.
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The continuation of (5) reads thus: "...competition in China and the current anti-immigrant environment in the United States. The ultimate question that drives their anxiety is whether studying in the United States is really worth it."

Counselors and mentors can help students not only with the admission process, but with navigation of the issues posited here, like classroom participation and social networking with U.S. students. University as transaction rather than transformation is perhaps more ubiquitous than ever, as outlined in this article by a Harvard student about how little he and his peers engage with academics.