Chinese - advice on British universities

[Chineselookingwest]

my Son would like to study at UK University. Many of his friends do but they only mix with fellow Chinese and international students and keep themselves to selves. This is not what my son wants - he wants to integrate properly with UK students. His English is fluent.

he does not want to go to a university where international students isolate. He has friends at Essex university and Guildford and Holloway London who do that. He will avoid those places. Where else should he avoid please.

@ValuePartnership op has said several times that her DS is looking to study ‘Economics with Spanish’.

I'm sorry to have missed that. It would make Sussex worth looking at closer, IMO.

@Oakbeam Seriously?

I wouldn't rule out London - as a previous poster says, it will still be very different from home!

I think the ideal is a cosmopolitan city where there will be cultural infrastructure to fall back on, rather than trying to find somewhere with no other Chinese.

My son goes to a London uni with a very big international crowd, and there is indeed a lack of integration on the whole, but much of this is in the hands of international students. (Nearly all his friends are internationals, I should clarify , but not many Chinese) He came from a school with a lot of international pupils and spent his first year in an expensive hall with, therefore, loads of Chinese kids. But on the whole, they simply wouldn't interact. In the early days he made many friends just by talking to people in the foyer or lifts but said that almost invariably if he said "hi mate" or similar teen greeting in the lift, male Chinese students would just utterly blank him - look him in the eye and blank him. So he stopped bothering. Girls were sometimes chattier, but if in a mixed group were told off. So his East Asian friends are all Hong Kong english educated.

I wonder as well if some of it is just different aims. A lot the Chinese crowd perhaps do just want to sit in their rooms, do their work and stay private. Then there is other set with vast amounts of money who are put up in amazing flats (not even private halls - just proper luxury apartments) and live as monied young people who just happen to do a bit do study on the side.

So it to a large degree would be in his hands. Does he want to join societies and go clubbing etc with other students? If so, just do it and he will make friends. The expensive large London halls are fine for this - he may not meet as many english people there but he will meet some, along with other pupils from around the world.

I am really unconvinced by the idea of trying to bury himself in the countryside.

@Oakbeam what is wrong with clarifying a point to help someone understand in their own language? Language is about communication.

I think that combination of studies, the cooking and the sport should stand him in good stead to mix happily! My sense from dc in halls with Chinese students is that the segregation isn’t driven by others rather that Chinese students choose to mix with compatriots. It would help him if he could be really realistic and honest with himself about how his working styles and practices are influenced by his experiences so far rather than what he needs to do to succeed here. That’s a long winded way of saying he doesn’t need to work as hard or long as he has been doing so far!

There's a lot of space between 'burying oneself in countryside' and a major city. Looks like the OP's son wants a campus uni, and the places she's listed do have a decent amount of stuff on offer for students.

I think OP your son will be fine - because the language bit of his degree isn't popular with Asian students, and he likes sports.

I went to a London uni (1/3rd Chinese students - that was just from China) and I found that while it was pretty international a lot of people just ended up with people like themselves. 'Asians' with Asians, 'Europeans' with europeans etc. It may as you said have been a difference in attitude too, as the Asians were usually going out to eat and study. Not particularly interested in partying.

I had a great time and more friends when I joined societies with diverse interests, but even then there weren't many 'UK' students. Living in London isn't really 'British' IMO, it's very cosmopolitan and unless you make local friends who take you back home you don't much get a sense of British (English, Scottish or otherwise) culture. I met people from all over the world, but I could as easily have been in New York.

I then moved to Manchester and went completely the other way.. now marrying a country boy 😂

The University of East Anglia is renowned for its intake of students from around the world, particularly in its postgraduate schemes.

Your son would easily find friends from his part of the world but would also find friends from many countries including USA, Canada, Europe as well. It attracts from all over the globe.

Just meeting 'British' students would be quite narrowing.

most important is that my son studies at university that is not full of fellow Chinese and international students.

There are no UK universities like that. They all have international students AND British students. There are no private, exclusive universities here.
Whether your son integrates is entirely up to him.

Why don't you consider Glasgow or Edinburgh? They are two highly regarded universities , ancient cities but not huge; and easy access to the rest of Scotland and all the culture, history, scenery and range of sporting activities (an excellent way to mee people and make friends) .. They have a strong local culture, international students, lots of UK students.

I agre with others that if you buy him the most expensive student accommodation that by itself, increases his exposure to other very wealthy students; who tend to be from overseas.

Culturally, most UK students expect their university years to be on a cheap and cheerful budget, to limit their student loans and debt.

It was just someone having a (not very accurate) ‘ everything is the British Colonists fault’ rant.

So much is up to him, choose the course he is interested in first and foremost. For halls he may be able to state not to share with international students

Can he go to another country besides the UK?

Have a look at Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana. Excellent economics and foreign language programs. Beautiful campus.

www.indiana.edu

Lots of Chinese students at Edinburgh and Glasgow, noticeably so compared to a few years ago.

Has he considered Southampton? It is possible to study economics with Spanish there: www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/customise-your-degree.page It does have quite a lot of Chinese students, but it is a large university, so the percentage isn't as high as some others.

Southampton is in the Russell Group and is only 70 minutes from London. It has excellent transport links and is on the coast, near to the New Forest.

Southampton has good sports facilities and there are plenty of local opponents (Solent Uni, Winchester, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Chichester etc).

Many of the Chinese students live in the private halls or own properties, so if he were to request Glen Eyre, he would probably be in a mixed flat.

If he’s prepared to risk the food quality, going for catered halls would mean there were very few, if any, other Chinese students in his halls.

Hi OP, I'm a Professor in a RG university. Your son sounds lovely and I hope he has a great time. As long as he's prepared to mix I don't think he'll have many problems doing an undergraduate degree here. In my experience the courses which are Chinese dominated are the one-year Masters programmes. Students on these really do study, live and socialise in Chinese only groups.

I do warn my tutees about this every year and advise them to join clubs in the students' union so that they make friends with people with whom they have to speak English, but this doesn't always happen.

Hopefully your son's sporting activities will mean that he mixes and his undergraduate course is likely to have very few Chinese students. I hope he makes great friends and has a positive experience in his time here. Good luck

I haven't read all the thread.

I live in Sheffield, studied at Sheffield University, taught at Sheffield University. SU is a Russell Group uni; we also have Sheffield Hallam uni, which,whilst not RG, is well thought of (I believe).

We appear have a LARGE number of Chinese and Singaporean students. I am told that some courses are now majority Chinese (don't know which, or if that's true). There has been a lot of Chinese money coming in to Sheffield Uni, and involved in building new student residences; some of these new residences are marketed specifically for the Chinese student community (I know this is true, the marketing literature is in Mandarin!) I know someone who is employed by the uni specifically to teach English to Chiese students who arrive a couple of months before their course starts, because some of them know so little English. There are signs in the university buildings in English/Cantonese/Mandarin advising new arrivals on how to cross the road safely, how to use English style toilets -

On the other hand, from the figures in the post above, the number of Chinese students is still less than 10% of the uni population. And I think that Spanish is a pretty unusual choice for these students (I have a Spanish degree). I think that studying Spanish will immediately mean that the OPs son will be mixing with more European students than on other STEM type courses.

And Sheffield is a multicultural city, with a (small) pre-existing Chinese population, and a choice of shops and restaurants for Chinese palates - you need to be able to cure homesickness at times!

OP, I wish your son good luck, he sounds a fortunate and interesting young man!

Russell group + means the BALLS universities

Bath
Lancaster
Loughborough
st andrews

All rank more highly than most russell group universities (obviously excluding Oxford and Cambridge).

It is very good of people to be keeping on posting. Very many helpful replies and we are feeling positive.

I have booked very lovely house on AirBnB near middle of UK - Liverpool - for 6 weeks in June and July. Me and my son will visit many universities you have said.

If it is OK and this thread still open then, I will give progress as we go to lots of cities.

Thank you very much for being very friendly and kind. My son so happy about accommodation advice and will ask for middle price flat with mixture of students. It is excellent that not so many Chinese do Economics with Spanish.

I will keep reading thread and show to my son.

@mauvish Thank you. My son is fortunate and he knows that. But he has humble manner and heart which is very important I think

Just to reiterate about not ‘most high end accommodation’ if he wants to mix. Few home students will choose it. Have you thought about Glasgow? Russell group, good transport links, 4 year course and friendly and diverse city.

@Chineselookingwest That’s a great idea. I would love to hear what your thoughts are when you travel around visiting the different universities.

OP,

I am in England but I can second that Glasgow is an excellent university in a good area of a fabulous, friendly city.

A mother and son trip to explore sounds brilliant. Let us know where you are going nearer the time. You will get recommendations of things to see and places to eat.