“U.S. prep schools push to recruit foreign students”

[jody]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/AR2010032903514.html

Universities and some boarding schools long have drawn heavily from overseas, but aggressive international efforts are becoming more common for other U.S. prep schools eager to recruit from among rising numbers of East Asian students capable of paying full fare. More private schools are posting ads in foreign newspapers, redesigning their Web sites in multiple languages and taking part in recruiting fairs, where they promise to provide language training and the right mix of course work and extracurricular activities to enhance college applications.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

At a time when many "Made in the USA" products struggle in the global marketplace, American diplomas are more coveted than ever. More than 650,000 international students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities in 2009, fueling a nearly $18 billion international education industry. Federal government data show that 35,000 foreign students attend primary or secondary schools in the United States, not including one-year cultural exchange programs or short-term language courses.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fiercely competitive education systems in East Asia are helping stoke a culture of study abroad. The number of families looking overseas for an alternate way up the career ladder has dropped in Korea recently but grown in Vietnam and boomed in China, where such students are called "xiao liu xue sheng," or "little exchange students." In the United States, they have been called "parachute kids," coming here alone to pursue their degrees.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The school, which charges $14,400 for tuition, plus thousands more for transportation and lodging, largely caters to Asian industrialist families, said director Jo Thoburn. Her Advanced Placement economics class last year had 23 students whose parents owned 35 factories in Asia. "This is not your typical group," she said.

[stray cat]

1. Why not recruit good students who can pay? Its not like they are public schools

[jody]

2. Makes sense and it shows how powerful the Far East will be in the 21st Century. n/t