

Inside a Chinese Test-Prep Factory - GabrielF00
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/magazine/inside-a-chinese-test-prep-factory.html?ref=magazine

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austinz
That's real sad and all, but the root cause of the problem is far too much
demand for a limited number of seats at the most prestigious schools. Until
that underlying issue is solved (maybe through something akin to America's
land-grant colleges?), the problem won't go away. Changing the admissions
process will simply cause cram schools to be replaced by essay tutors,
interview schools, students taking on an insane number of extracurricular
activities, etc.

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jamariusThomas
I would argue the culture around education and what it takes to be successful
in China is more of the driving force around the enormous pressure students
face with the "gaokao". Although it is true there are way too many students
than available spots at top flight universities, the perceived notion of
success will never change in China unless success is redefined by something
other than either having a really good education or making tons of money.

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austinz
This definition of "success" is pretty widespread. In the US, a college
education is widely seen as a prerequisite to a middle-class lifestyle (never
mind skilled trades or trade schools). Highly prestigious employers
(especially in the financial or tech sectors) tend to show favoritism towards
students with degrees from prestigious universities. There are analogous
problems in Europe and India (e.g. the oversize social importance that IITs,
grandes ecoles, Cambridge/Oxford hold). Trying to convince people that success
should be defined by happiness or personal fulfillment, rather than social
standing or wealth, is a very difficult problem.

Another factor is that a lot of parents in China either experienced
significant material deprivation themselves, or are one generation away from
people who did. So to these parents "success" through wealth (and hence
security from poverty) takes on disproportionate importance. This sort of
dynamic can also be seen in a lot of first-generation Asian-American
households, often to the detriment of the relationship between the parents and
their children.

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johan_larson
My impression from reading the article is that the gap between the lifestyles
you can expect if you get into college or not is really wide in China. It
seemed to mark the difference between comfortable white-collar work or being a
laborer, with nothing much in between. If Chinese society were a hospital, it
would have surgeons and janitors and nothing else.

Perhaps the parents who were interviewed for the article overstated the
difference, but here in Canada the situation is a bit different for a couple
of reasons. First, we send so many students to college that getting into and
through the less prestigious colleges isn't particularly impressive. Second,
the jobs available to those who couldn't quite make it into college are still
pretty good. Electricians, mechanics, locksmiths, and paralegals don't come
cheap around here. So there's a lot less pressure all around.

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raincom
Just creating more schools is not going to solve any problem. The real problem
lies elsewhere: lack of opportunities if you don't go to top tier schools.

Look at similar test-prep crap going on in the states. It is very easy for a
california resident to get into a community college or a state university like
San Jose state, San Diego State, etc. It is even easy to get into UC Merced,
UC Irvine, etc.

Who are happy to send their kids to community colleges and state universities
in California? The kids of those who work in the service sector. Like
hispanics, african americans, etc. Esp those who did not go to college are
happy to see their kids at community college or state schools.

If you look at folks who work for tech companies in the silicon valley, you
see a different pattern: these parents want to send their kids to HYP
(harvard, yale, princeton), S(stanford), etc. And these parents don't want
their kids to become worker-bees (also known as engineers); they want them to
succeed (of course, financially).

What is financial success in the states? How many of valley engineers have
succeeded financially? Most of them end up with nothing after mortgages, day
care, 2 hours commute, etc. So, they look at those who have made it. Usually,
it is in finance and law; even here, we have to be selective: the local branch
manager at Bank of America is called VP, but without any financial rewards.
So, it boils down to jobs in PE (private equity firms like KKR, Blackstone),
HF (Hedge funds like the defunct SAC), IB (Investment banks, esp blue chip
ones like Goldman Sachs), etc. To get jobs in these elite companies, a normal
person (those without wealth or prior connections) can try to get there via
HYP undergrad, or HS business schools, HYS law schools. Many parents, if given
a chance, will try to push their kids there: if the kid is not doing well,
they can't push him that much.

Just go to collegeconfidential.com and see what American kinds are after. They
are just playing like the chinese kids: extra curriculars, well-roundedness,
sports, (fake) volunteering. If they get admitted to HYP, then they look for
ways to get top grades: buy note prepared by earlier students or take easy
courses.

I knew a girl who went to UC Irvine. ANd she wanted to get into one of HYS
(hardvard, yale, stanford) law schools. She got a nice LSAT score. Yet she
took one year off, went to India to work for some NGO there, only to boost her
chances of getting into top schools.

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IndianAstronaut
>The real problem lies elsewhere: lack of opportunities if you don't go to top
tier schools.

There are loads of blue collar skilled trades jobs which pay decent middle
class wages. Those jobs are also not going to be sent anywhere. Not everyone
needs to be a senior director.

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raincom
Sure, tell that to any Indian or Asian parent in the valley or in NYC.

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msie
You left out any parent. (See your prev. comment)

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revelation
It's hard to find any actual example questions from these tests. Now I realize
that my Google being biased to english sources and my inability to read or
understand mandarin has something to do with that, but still.

Pretty much the only questions you find are inane _essay_ tasks.

