Palm said | In the past week, whether it is a group chat or a private message, many parents are inquiring about the heavy news of a study abroad circle:
Hear about the UK's top private students,
Put the ox sword and don't read,
Running to apply to the American Cattle School?
You heard it right, in mid-August, the British Times and the Daily Mail reported the news: about 1/5 of private school students this year gave up applying for Niu Jian and applied for the American Rattan School.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ original source is The Times
According to EtonHouse, more than 75 Etonkid students in the 2021-22 application season chose to apply to American institutions or the United Kingdom and the United States, of which about 50 students were admitted to top universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Yale and Columbia.
Palm Jun pinched his finger, and the success rate of Eaton students's "climbing vine" was as high as 66.7%. (Data is for reference only)
Originally it was a "private matter" for British students and American universities, but Chinese parents could not sit still when they saw this amazing admission rate:
Don't panic, Palm Jun has been collecting relevant information these days, and the latest "intelligence" and interpretation will be shared with everyone for the first time!
Why do British private school students "escape from the bull sword"?
Palm Jun reviewed the relevant news of British universities in 2020-22 and finally found the two major reasons behind this news:
First of all, it is related to the epidemic
Since 2020, British entrance examinations such as A-Level have been frequently cancelled due to the epidemic, and most candidates who cannot participate in the examination have successfully entered British universities with the estimated scores scored by their teachers.
The loss of examination screening, the tradition of British universities over-issuing Conditional Offers was broken. The continuous over-admissions make it difficult for UK universities to "squeeze" more new students. In 2022, about 28,000 A-Level test takers face the dilemma of not having access to school.
Source: https://erudera.com/news/
Second, Niu Jian adjusted the admission ratio to be fair
A 2018 study by the Sutton Trust showed that only 8 institutions in the UK (6 of which are private) have more admissions in Oxbridge than the other 2900 secondary schools in the UK combined, causing great dissatisfaction across the UK.
To ensure educational equity, Oxford and Cambridge have both pledged to adjust the proportion of students admitted to the "richest and poorest" regions.
By 2025, Oxford expects this ratio to be gradually adjusted to 8:1 from the previous 15:1. Therefore, the number of students admitted by Niu Jian to private schools has been declining in recent years, and the admission rate has almost dropped to the average level.
Source: https://www.ft.com/content/bbb7fe58-0908-4f8e-bb1a-081a42a045b7
On the one hand, the reform of the British admission fairness system, on the other hand, the new student quota caused by the epidemic is crowded, and a large number of British private school families choose to "flee the battlefield" and aim at the United States, which is also in the leading position in education.
So the question is – if this trend may intensify in the future, will Chinese students who are also in the international student pool be affected?
Elite student mobility
The "butterfly effect" that comes with it
If you want to feel the real impact of this incident, you must analyze it from two angles and four aspects:
1. How competitive are UK private schools?
Just yesterday, the Hong Kong Institute of Educational Information HKPEP released the first list of the top 100 international schools in the world, and Palm Jun sorted out the top 30 lineup and found that the international competitiveness of British private schools is very strong.
Among the top 30 international schools in the world, UK private schools occupy 9 places. Among them, Westminster College and Eton College even rushed into the top 5 of international schools. It is foreseeable that students from these schools will join the International Student War Bureau and will inevitably have very good admission results.
In addition, some PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE UK are rushing to hire U.S. consultants, such as St. Paul's College and Wellington College, to meet the needs of their students, and have even set up their own internal departments to process applications, not only providing half-semester trips to Ivy League campuses, but also helping students prepare for related exams.
2. Why are British private school students "favored"?
First of all, the acceptance rate of well-known public schools is very low.
For example, if you want to apply for Admission to Year 9 at Westminster College, you will have to take the "pre-test" in Year 6 and register three years in advance. After rigorous screening, these private school students are among the best in the UK in their own right.
Secondly, the ELITE education in the UK is more in line with the needs of the Top 30.
Britain was one of the first countries to carry out "aristocratic education". From elementary school to high school, students will learn a lot of practical and creative courses; At the same time, elite education students have stricter requirements for health, physical fitness, speech and behavior.
In addition to generally excellent grades, children in private schools participate in rehearsals and performances in orchestras, choirs, theater troupes, etc. in the After School Club, as well as in sports such as hockey, equestrianism and fencing; There are also study tours during the holidays, such as skiing in Europe, sailing and rowing boating at the seaside, and so on.
The school also organizes community activities for students. For example, menoring on campus, library volunteers, and funding activities on different topics.
Academics, specialties, and social contributions are all "enough homework", and naturally they can get the favor of top Meiben. But regarding the concerns of British students and Chinese students "grabbing places", Palm Jun believes that there may be an impact, but there is no need to be too anxious. There are two reasons for this -
From the application data & admissions process
College anxiety can be put aside
1. Number of international students in 2025-26,
Only small fluctuations
Recently, many top universities have released data on the enrollment of new students in the class of 2026, and only two of them mention the source of international students:
University of Pennsylvania: Approximately 16% of the class of 2026 are international students, with common sources of international students being Canada, the United Kingdom, China, India and Brazil.
Brown University: The countries with the largest number of international students in the class of 2026 are China, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Singapore and Ukraine. Compared with last year, the proportion of international students in the Uk surpassed India and rose to the second place, but it was still inferior to China.
These two sets of data also coincide with the intention of students in private schools in the United Kingdom. In the Times interview, most of the british private school students' application and admission institutions are concentrated in Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford and other top 10 universities with strong influence in the world.
In addition, the proportion of british international students in the past two years at some of the top 20 universities that have published data is actually very low.
For example, Rice University, which ranks 17th in the United States, has only 4 British students enrolled as international students in the class of 2025, while the number of new students studying in China in the same year was as high as 67.
The data on the official website of the Common Application also supports this: the number of applications from British students in 2019-22 has increased for two consecutive years, but it still does not rank in the top five countries of origin.
2019-21 CA System Applicant Source Countries (Top 5 Only Available in 2022)
2. Admissions Officer's Perspective: Diversity will be considered for admission
Business Insider has interviewed former admissions officers from 7 top universities at Yale, Brown, Stanford, the University of Chicago, MIT, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Natalia Ostrowski, assistant admissions director at the University of Chicago, mentioned that from the beginning of reading the student's application letter to the final decision on admission, every decision of the admissions officer is not just to recruit better people, but also to build a collaborative, balanced school and establish a comprehensive new student class.
In 2020, Yale University said in response to the U.S. Department of Justice's allegations of "racial discrimination" that the racial factor is one of many factors in measuring admissions, and insisted that "Diversity is a mark of its excellence."
Source: https://president.yale.edu/president/statements/
International students from the UK, China or other different countries are all part of the "diversity" of the campus, so there does not seem to be an intolerable competition between Chinese and British students in the admissions process.
However, while everyone is focusing on the changes in the US application, a small number of prospective study abroad families have turned around and begun to analyze the opportunities of UK universities.
Chinese students rush to British universities
Has the opportunity come?
Don't get too excited too soon!
Although in the past two years, the news of Niu Jian and G5 expanding the enrollment of international students has been heard by everyone, in 2022, the number of applications for Chinese mainland to stay in the UK has once again achieved a 10% increase, reaching a staggering 31,400.
After Brexit, American high school students have also begun to apply for British universities, and the number of people has soared by nearly 50%, which is unprecedented.
Giving international students more offers also means a more competitive environment and higher admission requirements. Therefore, everyone should rationally look at this "opportunity".
If you want to win in the "stability" of the application season, you must listen to it at the same time.
Here, Palm Jun simply takes stock of the four differences between British universities and American universities for small partners who want to apply for the United Kingdom, or the United Kingdom and the United States, so that everyone can know each other when applying in the future.
UK vs US, homologous but different system!
(1) Academic system and sub-system:
The academic system in the UK is three years for undergraduates and one year for masters; The U.S. is usually four years for undergraduates and two years for master's degrees. So to complete the study from undergraduate to master's, the UK spends much less time and money.
At the same time, there are also great differences in the scoring system between British universities and American universities. Palm Jun has compiled the classification conversion table of the University of the United States and Britain for your reference:
| Meiben GPA | English-based division | UK degree |
| 4.0 | 70+ | First Class Honors |
| 3.7 | 65-69 | Grade II A 2.1 |
| 3.3 | 60-64 | Grade II A 2.1 |
| 3 | 55-59 | Grade II B 2.2 |
| 2.7 | 50-54 | Grade II B 2.2 |
| 2.3 | 45-49 | Third Class Honor |
| 2 | 40-44 | Third Class Honor |
| 1 | 35-39 | Normal/Uncategorized |
| 35- | Normal/Uncategorized |
The conversion method comes from the network
(2) Educational style:
Most of the courses in British universities are personally hosted by professors or lecturers, while some comprehensive universities in the United States will occasionally have graduate or doctoral students teaching assistants.
However, students can participate in a wide range of research resources of American universities, such as lectures, academic conferences and exchange activities, so the overall experience and vision of students may be broader.
(3) Professional choice and degree of freedom:
The educational philosophy of British universities is pragmatic, focusing on cultivating students' professional knowledge and ability in a specific field, and rarely changing majors; The top universities in the United States advocate liberal arts education and all-round development, and students' transfer and professional transfer are relatively free.
(4) Admission process and standards:
To apply to a UK university, students need to submit through the UCAS system, and a Personal Statement (personal statement) is sent to the 5 schools that fill in the report, and the school mainly reviews the student's professional ability and potential.
To apply to a U.S. university, students need to submit different application materials to different schools, and the school focuses on the student's personal experience and overall development in addition to academic ability.
All in all, although the "escape from local elite schools" of British private school students is a small-scale event, it reflects the flow of top academic talents between international universities.
Regardless of race, geography, and high school, what kind of students are top universities looking for?
Samina Khan, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Oxford University, said: "We want to choose the person with the strongest academic ability, a candidate who is really strong, not a candidate who is at a good level but well prepared.
Peter Salovey, Yale's 23rd president, said: "When we select admissions from thousands of highly qualified applicants, we will look at the whole person. We will continue to focus on what our students achieve and want to contribute to Yale and the world.
In the face of this challenge, Chinese prospective students need to be more unfazed than worried about competition, understand the strengths and advantages of global competitors and use them for their own use, and grow into international talents that both British and American universities are eager for.
Believe that school is not the threshold, not the end, but the beginning of a person's achievement and lifelong learning.