say there’s a growing awareness of the liberal arts as an alternative to big universities—spreading in large part on social media and websites. Chinese students at small liberal arts colleges in America are taking to the Internet to fill in high schoolers back home. “At least my generation, when we’re applying we see this kind of stuff,” said Ronghan “Michelle” Wang ’16, a Presidential Scholar from Shenyang. The “stuff” includes reports from Chinese students who chose what is still seen by many in China as an unconventional path for their education—and are glad they did. Close relationships with professors, small classes, and opportunities to branch out academically and in extracurricular activities are being touted as alternatives to typical experiences at big-name universities. “Different people have different needs,” said Zhicheng “Jacob” Zhang ’16. Zhang said he would definitely recommend Colby to Chinese students who “have a hard decision like mine.” For Zhang, from Nanjing, the decision was whether to pursue his interest in chemistry or art history. At a university he would have to pick one, but at Colby he is able to study
“Because I’m here, the most important thing I’ve learned is that I can think for myself. I learned how to challenge myself.” —Meng “Maggie” Zhao ’16 both, he said, and he is considering a double major. Other Chinese first-years are doing the same. Wang wants to major in psychology and French. Xueqing “Quincy” Qiao ’16, from Beijing, wants to major in mathematics with a music minor (she sings in the Colby Chorale and an a cappella group). Zhou came to Colby because of its strong Environmental Studies Program, but she wants to add a second major in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She will be an orientation leader for incoming first-years next semester. Meng “Maggie” Zhao ’16, from Tianjin, is studying psychology but is also interested in theater and this semester was stage manager for a production of Henry IV. “Because I’m here, the most important thing I’ve learned is that I can think for myself,” Zhao said. “I learned how to challenge myself.” All of these students are extremely well-prepared academically (Wang and Qiao are Presidential Scholars), according to Bui. But they chose the American liberal arts route over the Chinese university system, which they say is more rigid. Qiao, the math major, said she had spoken to a friend studying math at prestigious Peking University. “He has five math classes a semester,” she said. “And I’m a math major and I have one or two.” She told her friend how much she enjoyed a philosophy course first semester and he said, “Philosophy? Why are you studying philosophy?” Qiao said. “I don’t want to do math my whole life. I really want to try different things.” But there were considerable obstacles to taking the liberal arts path, the students said.
Xueqing “Quincy” Qiao ’16 during a rehearsal of the Colby Chorale. The math major and music minor explores a variety of academic interests. The word “college” roughly translates to a word that means community college in China, so some think a college in America is the equivalent, they said. Also, high schools in China are measured by how many students they place in prestigious Chinese universities. “If they lose their best students to the U.S., they’re not getting the prestige for the school or the principal,” Bui said. The biggest challenge for recruiters still is the lack of name recognition most American liberal arts colleges have in job-conscious China. Big-name American universities provide a better entrée to a job in China if Chinese students return home with only an undergraduate degree, they said. But in recent years, the Colby students said, students and parents have begun to realize that an undergraduate degree from a college like Colby can lead to a prestigious American graduate school, which translates easily back home. For Chinese students, as for their American counterparts, the transition to a small liberal arts college isn’t always smooth. Zhang said he felt his English skills held him back at first. And some said they missed the Asian food and shopping malls they enjoyed back home. The long Maine winters, they said, are warmer than winters in parts of China. Zhou said Chinese high school students admitted to begin next year had begun asking what they should bring to Colby. “Clothes,” she tells them, “but don’t bring the warm ones. Just get them in Maine. We have L.L. Bean.” COLBY / SPRING 2013 43