Young person with phone Young person with phone

How Are Students Talking About Overseas Study, Now that Travel Restrictions Have Lifted?

With the end of China’s zero-COVID policy and China rebuilding travel and trade connections with the rest of the world, Chinese students too are thinking about their options for study abroad.

WE Red Bridge has been working with clients in the overseas education sector for over a decade, and has seen a significant evolution in terms of attitudes about study abroad, preferred destinations, application trends, and more.

What Did We Find?

Through a series of interviews conducted between December 2022 and January 2023, we identified three illuminating trends in their responses, which educators should keep in mind as they plan their marcomms and recruitment strategies into 2023:

  • MORE EAGER THAN EVER: A slowing economy in China and abroad has only a limited effect on the decision-making process for most students.
  • PRICE SENSITIVE – TO A POINT: a slowing economy in China and abroad has only a limited effect on the decision-making process for most students.
  • MULTI-COUNTRY APPLICATIONS THE NORM: most students considered university programs in multiple countries, a change from before the pandemic.