Kyle Spencer has a fascinating article about NYC’s first international boarding school, Leman Manhattan: Seeking College Edge, Chinese Pupils Arrive in New York Earlier
I have noted for the past two years the huge rise in demand amongst Chinese students to come to NYC to attend private school. Every few weeks, a Chinese consultant calls me seeking to set up an international alliance. While the consultants hope to send students to Trinity, Dalton, Brearley and Collegiate, the reality is that these elite schools don’t have room for large numbers of international students. Hence the opening for Leman (and soon Avenues) to educate these Chinese students as well as other wealthy, striving students from around the world.
Spencer writes:
According to the Department of Homeland Security, 638 Chinese students with visas attended high schools in the city in 2012, up from 114 five years earlier.
The influx has not been seamless. But the schools — particularly ones with lagging enrollment — have actively sought an international component and parents who can pay full tuition, even if that means accepting students who speak limited English. Chinese students and their parents have seen the schools as a way to gain an advantage on the thousands of students at home who apply to United States colleges every year. They are also availing themselves of a more well-rounded educational model than they find in China, including that decidedly American college application line-item: extracurricular activities.
There is huge money to be made here by enterprising schools. Look out for more international boarding schools opening in Manhattan.