Orient Express

Just got back from another trip to China where we are trying to recruit students for the iSchool. There are 5 million students in China waiting to get into college, and no place for them to go. The existing facilities are all at capacity. Visited a school called Guangzhou Auto College that was started from the ground up in 2006. They already have 6,000 students (1,500 more than ACU, and it has been existence for 102 years!), with 10,000 expected next fall. In the last 4 months they have started 3 new dorms, and they are already just about finished. Four to six students per room (and we're not talking an American style apartment here!). Anyway, there are lots of Chinese students interested in an American education. I frequently hear griping in the US about the quality of our educational system; but in China they think it's great.

If you've read Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, you may know that he has a new book out called "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" (sort of in response to growing concerns about climate change). When you're in China, you definitely get a glimpse of his point, because there are so many people. On the other hand, you also come to appreciate first-hand what an economic dynamo China is. It's a pretty amazing place!

Hoping to have several more good Chinese students, both undergrad and grad students, join us in the iSchool next fall. The ones we interviewed are eager to come, appear to be able to afford it, and have great quantitative skills.