The number of Chinese students enrolling in public and private schools in the United States has increased rapidly over the past five years, according to recent statistics from Homeland Security.

The students, who ranged from Kindergarten up to Grade 12 level, rose approximately 290% from 8,857 students to 34,578 students with a goal of landing U.S. college admissions at prestigious universities.

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This data is based on the Student Exchange and Visitor Program, a Department of Homeland Security unit that traces foreigners holding student visas and where they attended school.

Out of the 60,815 students studying in United States' high schools, half of them now comprise Chinese students. This also applies to primary schools, where the Chinese population also makes up half of the 6,087 students.

However, this is just a tiny fraction of the total population.

The overall students' population is a total of 49.7 million, consisting both elementary and high school level for the school year 2013-2014. This is based from the recent data available, according to the National Center of Education Statistics, a subdivision of the Department of Education.

Yu Wei, a 15-year-old Chinese student from Chase Collegiate, expressed his preference to study in United States schools because Chinese schools encourage more memorization and never allows students to voice their opinions to exercise their minds.

"Chinese parents see American Education as the most valuable of commodities and are willing to make sacrifices to get it," said Clayton Dube, United States-China Institute Director, according to iSchool Guide.

David Guerrera, co-founder of Apex International Educational Partners, stated that most Chinese parents feel that if they sent their children to an American High School, this increases the chances for them to get enrolled into a prestigious American University.

Some public schools have welcomed this new surge of Chinese students into their institution because they are a key component in 'offsetting' the declining enrollment and state funding.

In California and Michigan, foreign students are charged a separate fee since they are non-residents. Chino Valley Unified District in Southern California charged $15,000 (RMB 9,724) per head for the 32 international students.

Chinese students have provided approximately $9.8 billion dollars (RMB 5 Billion) into the United States' economy through school fees in the 2014-2015 school year.

TagsChinese students, united states schools, k-12, Private Schools United States, Public Schools United States