In the Chinese education system, half is full of bookworms, and the other half is rotten to the core.

When Americans talk about Chinese students, it almost invariably centers on their focus and hard work. Chinese students put in long hours at school, and when they come home they continue to study. Chinese students are coming to American universities in waves, which is leading to friction. Having worked for almost two years as a teacher in Chinese schools, I have had a chance to see and instruct these so-called elite students who are on the track to American or foreign colleges. The reality is this: regardless of their ability, there is an entire system set up to lie, cheat, or steal in order to ensure these students make it into foreign universities. Recently, I was working at the international department of a Beijing high school, teaching TOEFL reading as well as assisting with college application essays. I was giving advice to one student, and it seemed like no matter which way I tried to explain my ideas to him, he wasnt getting it. Finally, he said, R helped me write the paper. Light bulb. No wonder he didnt understand my advice, he hadnt written this paper! It emerged from the other students and a member of the staff who coordinated with me that R was often writing the papers for the students in Chinese, who then translated it themselves into English. By the way, R is the head of the program, andas I understand itworks for a very well-known multinational education company. By the way, I said the students would translate Chinese papers into English, but sometimes they werent even that proactive. My jaw hit the floor when one of my students casually said she was just going to pay someone 100 yuan$15to translate an essay into English instead of doing it herself. At least one other student did this as well. I tried guilt-tripping them; I told them that the level of writing required of these essays was the bare minimum required in college, and I asked if they were going to just pay for essays then, too. It clearly didnt have much of an impact, as the other day I received a frantic 11pm phone call from one of the students. She had paid for an essay to be written for her, and when she received it and showed it to one of the Chinese teachers. When that teacher said the essay was horrible, she asked me if I could fix it by the end of the day. This isnt even the most egregious example Ive found. When working as a U.S. history teacher at a different high school last year, I heard that one of my students told the twelfth grade literature teacher that two students had bought answers to the TOEFL. The whistleblower was furious because he got a 104 and these two students bought their way to a 103. Two sets of parents decided that their money was best spent buying test results for their children, instead of putting it towards a tutor or something else that would allow the students to develop the skills necessary to do well at the college level. Furthermore, an article I found recently stated that companies will charge up to 10,000 yuan per person$1500!to write the application essays and handle the admissions process for Chinese students. This makes a mockery of the meritocratic system that China supposedly espouses. A 2010 report by Zinch China, estimates that 90% of recommendation letters are faked, 70% of essays are not written by the students themselves, and 50% of transcripts are falsified in some fashion. This explains why many Chinese students in American universities struggle to develop not just proficient

English language skills, but also the critical thinking skills and knowledge base expected of college graduates. Socially, Chinese students are often incredibly insular, thus missing out on the networking that helps lead to career and social opportunities. If Chinese parents are hoping the money they throw at admissions companies and American universities will make their children grow into well-rounded people capable of competing on a global level, most will be disappointed. However, broad knowledge and an advanced skill set probably arent what most Chinese parents are looking for from American universities. They just want their kids to have a piece of paper with the seal of a high-ranked university on it, and rich parents are willing to throw boatloads of money at companies in order to get their children into these schools. In the West, education is supposed to be about making better people, and empowering people to be leaders and civic participants. In China education is simply a means to an end, in this case money and power. This raises a very important issue: On one hand, Chinese students get to see the outside world and be exposed to American culture. On the other hand, because they effectively are purchasing their college admission and not earning it through merit, none of the advanced academic skills, broad worldviews, and cultural values instilled by Western universities will be absorbed. Creativity, hard work and passion are no match for money, connections, and a rigged system.