Yingyi Ma, "Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education" (Columbia UP, 2020)

In this episode of New Books in Education, host Gene George-Ell interviews Mai Yingyi, professor of sociology at Syracuse University, about her book 'Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education.' The discussion explores the dramatic rise of Chinese undergraduate students in the U.S. since the 2000s—growing from under 10,000 in 2005 to nearly 150,000 by 2015, and peaking at around 330,000 in 2019 before a post-pandemic decline. Yingyi uses interviews, survey data, and fieldwork in both China and the U.S. to examine the diverse socioeconomic backgrounds of these students, challenging the stereotype of them as uniformly wealthy. She introduces the concept of a 'new education gospel,' where studying abroad—especially in the U.S.—is seen as an alternative to China’s high-pressure Gaokao system, offering a path to success even for those who didn’t excel in the domestic system. The book highlights how students’ pathways—ranging from public schools to elite international schools and boarding schools—shape their academic and social integration. A central theme is the tension between ambition and anxiety, particularly in classroom participation, driven not just by language barriers but by deep-seated cultural conditioning to fear making mistakes in a test-oriented system. Students often choose pragmatic majors like STEM and business due to 'pragmatic collectivism,' a cultural framework shaped by family expectations and market demands. Over time, many students undergo identity transformations, leading to complex decisions about returning to China, staying in the U.S., or pursuing circular mobility across countries. Yingyi concludes with practical advice for American universities: move beyond ranking-based recruitment, build direct partnerships with Chinese schools, and recognize the cultural and systemic differences students bring. Her upcoming book, 'Driven but Adrift,' will explore the post-graduation trajectories of these students, particularly their evolving gender and family dynamics in the context of low fertility and shifting social norms in China. Key takeaways include: (1) Chinese students are far more socioeconomically diverse than media portrayals suggest; (2) the 'new education gospel' offers a powerful alternative to Gaokao, but comes with intense pressure; (3) classroom participation is hindered not just by language but by internalized fear of error from test-driven education; (4) pragmatic major choices reflect cultural collectivism, not just privilege; (5) post-graduation decisions are increasingly non-binary, with students embracing flexible, transnational citizenship; and (6) U.S. institutions must build authentic relationships with Chinese schools to recruit effectively and ethically.