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Everyone is familiar with "unfinished buildings".But recently, a new term has unexpectedly become popular on the Internet - "luanweiwa".

According to netizens’ explanation, “"Unfinished kids" refers to children who study hard for more than ten years and whose parents spend millions of dollars on them, only to find their children unemployed upon graduation, and end up like unfinished buildings, with no idea where their future will go.

Many parents realized that this term would be more appropriate when used in the international arena.

In today's era, it seems that many families' investment in international education has not been rewarded as expected, the results are not satisfactory, and a lot of "unfinished children" have been created.

Recently, many famous overseas universities have announced their tuition fees for 2024-2025. Not surprisingly, this year's tuition fees have continued to increase based on last year's.

Tuition fees at Ivy League schools and top 10 universities generally increased by 4%-5%. The annual tuition fees at the top 30 universities basically exceeded the $60,000 mark, and the total cost exceeded $80,000.

If all fees are taken into account, the total cost of studying at the University of Southern California and New York University, two universities that Chinese students like to apply to, is around 90,000 to 100,000 US dollars per year.

Assume that the increase and exchange rate are ignored, taking the University of Southern California as an example，The cost of four years of undergraduate study in the United States is more than 2.77 million RMB.

If you choose to study abroad after high school, then the expenses for studying abroad will be a bottomless pit with no upper limit.

Judging from the current economic situation, it is not difficult to imagine that news of overseas study funding shortages will continue to occur in the next few years. The probability of international education failing is too high.

This kind of bad ending belongs to "Forced to stop work due to lack of funds"There is another kind of bad ending, which is "unemployment upon graduation".

In the United States, layoffs in the technology industry continue.Layoffs.fyi data shows that a total of 366 companies laid off 107,370 employees in 2024.

Mainstream high-paying industries in the United States and the United Kingdom, such as investment banking, consulting, finance, etc.The situation is not optimistic either.

The emergence of artificial intelligence has put many jobs at risk of being replaced, so companies will inevitably adjust their employment needs and reduce the number of jobs.Some companies have even canceled this year's fall recruitment, and some have reduced the number of campus recruitment places.

In China, there will be 11.79 million college graduates in 2024, an increase of 210,000 year-on-year, setting a new historical high.

The employment situation is becoming increasingly severe. It is difficult for local students to find jobs, and elite returnees also face setbacks in finding jobs. Many companies even give priority to hiring local undergraduates in order to save costs.

Even if you find a job, the salary offered by the company is a drop in the bucket compared to the high cost of studying abroad.

Some time ago, a netizen said that he spent 4 million yuan studying abroad, but his monthly salary after returning to China was only 4,000 yuan.

A full scholarship master's student at Yale University submitted 800 resumes but was still rejected. There are many examples of people who spent 5 million studying abroad, graduated from a top art school, and returned to China with a salary of 7,000.

It is more difficult for overseas returnees to find employment in China than imagined, so taking the civil service exam has become a promising career path.

Spend millions studying abroad, return to China to take the civil service exam,The cost of studying abroad is really something you can’t earn back even if you work your whole life, and the plan of spending money to raise a child has finally come to an end.

On the one hand, the cost of studying abroad is rising, and on the other hand, there is uncertainty about employment after graduation.More and more parents and classmates are beginning to doubtThe value of studying abroad.

However, while some parents are worried about the costs and returns of studying abroad, other parents have already taken action to re-plan their international plans.

The cost of studying abroad continues to rise, and the first to be affected may not be the universities, but the international departments and international schools.

There have been obvious new changes in international admissions this year.

According to the practice in previous years, after the results of the high school entrance examination were released, the first-tier international departments in Beijing were quickly filled. But this year, the situation is different.

The first-tier international department still has vacancies after the first day of the high school entrance examination results release.It was reported online that a student from the Experimental International Department of Beijing Normal University "killed his parents", gave up his place in the International Department, and returned to the regular high school system.

The second-tier international departments even lowered the admission score by 10 points, and some international departments directly lowered it to 600 points.

Just imagine the terrible mushroom chart of the Beijing high school entrance examination. The number of people is concentrated at the top, with hundreds of people in each section. If 10 points are reduced at one time, you can imagine how many people are shortlisted.

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In order to recruit students, schools have cast a wider and wider net, leaving even fewer outstanding students for the third tier, and the difficulty of recruiting students has increased again.

In fact, there were signs that the international department was not popular long ago, and many parents reported thatThis year, the number of people attending the open days of popular international departments such as the No. 11 School and Beijing Middle School was much lower than in previous years.

In addition to Beijing, cities with strong international education competitiveness such as Shanghai and Nanjing have also shown a trend of "abandoning international departments/international schools."    

In May this year, the autumn recruitment exams of Shanghai International School should have been in full swing, but the actual situation was shocking.The number of students taking the exam from top schools was only half of that in previous years.

International schools in the second and third tiers only have one-quarter or one-fifth of the number of participants in previous years.Although some people speculated that it was because of the overlap with the physics and chemistry experiments or English listening and speaking exams for the high school entrance examination.

However, in previous years, many students directly gave up the high school entrance examination in order to attend international schools. Now it seems that the number of people willing to firmly choose the international route has decreased.

In Nanjing, this year's international classes almost suffered a complete failure.

For example, the admission score for the Sino-Canadian International Class of Nanjing Foreign Languages ​​School this year is 586, ranking 19143, while last year it was 603, ranking 13000;

The admission score for the International Baccalaureate Organization curriculum at Nanjing Normal University Affiliated High School is 613, ranking 9480. Last year it was 615, ranking 8404.

The scores and rankings of most international classes have dropped significantly, and the lower-ranked international classes have even stopped recruiting students.

International schools and international departments are facing a cold reception in terms of enrollment. These phenomena seem to indicate that:The international circuit is being abandoned.

Is this really true?

It is biased to conclude that international education has failed because of the cold reception of the international department. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but the most critical reason is:Study abroad options are more diverse.

In recent years, international schools have been closing down while expanding rapidly. Shenzhen is building international schools like crazy, and BASIS Beijing is about to be completed.    

The admission results of international schools are getting better and better.Some parents give up on public international departments and switch to international schools.

Some parents, for long-term considerations, prefer to send their children to international schools early on to receive holistic education, because this way their children can better integrate into life in British and American universities in the future.

However, in recent years, there have been endless news reports about international schools going bankrupt, cutting leeks, and foreign teachers fleeing, and many parents have doubts about the teaching in international schools.

Therefore, they prefer to send their children directly to private schools in the UK and the US to receive a more authentic elite education, and they will also be more competitive in future applications to study abroad.

Of course, the above are all study abroad choices made by wealthy families for their children. Parents who pursue cost-effectiveness in studying abroad also have their own planning paths.

For example, walking on two legs.Don't give up on both institutional and international education. Even if you encounter sudden family financial problems, you can keep your student status in the system.

In addition to studying abroad at the undergraduate level,Many families studying abroad are beginning to consider Sino-foreign joint ventures, you can enjoy top international educational resources in China, and the cost is cheaper than studying abroad.

Most Sino-foreign joint ventures use English as the medium of instruction, and students do not have to decide on their majors during their first year of study. It seems that studying is actually no different from studying in foreign universities.

andSino-foreign joint ventures can obtain degree certificates recognized by overseas schools, and also have great advantages in applying for further studies.

For example, there are 224 people in the Class of 2023 at NYU Shanghai. Among the Chinese graduates who pursue further studies, 114 of them went to study at universities ranked in the top 50 by USNEWS, accounting for 64% of the total number of Chinese graduates pursuing further studies.

NYU Shanghai Class of 2023

Even if you completely follow the institutionalized college entrance examination route, it is not impossible to take the international education route.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the City University of Hong Kong have been included in the mainland's "early admission" enrollment plan.Mainland college entrance examination candidates only need to fill in their application forms and will be admitted based on their college entrance examination scores. There is no interview or assessment process.

More than 40 British universities, including the University of Cambridge, Durham University, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Glasgow, recognize the college entrance examination scores.Students who achieve 70%-85% of the total college entrance examination score have the opportunity to apply for a British undergraduate degree.

Cambridge University official website

In general, the international track is not unpopular, but is flourishing. Families with overseas students are no longer blind in their education planning, but are returning to rationality.

Studying abroad can also be a very cost-effective way.Regardless of the economic level of the family, everyone can choose an international education path that suits them.      

Although we often say that studying abroad nowadays can no longer make back the money,But it is precisely because of the consideration of "not expecting to make a profit" that international education returns to its original intention.

The significance of international education lies not only in getting a golden rice bowl in the future, but also in the experience you get in a foreign country.

During your study abroad, you have seen and disenchanted, you have believed and doubted. Ultimately, these experiences will allow you to develop a strong spiritual force and take root in life.

This is where tuition fees ultimately go, and this is also the charm of international education.

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