40% of high-schoolers want overseas degree

More than 40 percent of students from Shanghai's key high schools are considering completing their university undergraduate educations overseas, according to a survey released over the weekend.

The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission polled 250 students from the city's 50 key high schools.

Forty-three percent of the students said they plan to study abroad as undergraduates, while 42 percent said they will study at domestic universities. Another 11 percent said they will defer to their parents on the issue.

According to the survey, the United States and Europe are the most popular overseas-school destinations because of the schools' strong faculty and high reputations. The survey found that 73 percent listed the US as a priority study destination, while 58 percent chose European countries.

Forty-seven percent said universities in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan also were on their wish list.

When talking about domestic higher education, 47.6 percent said that even the large investment in higher education cannot teach them what they need when they look for jobs, and 52.7 percent said there is a gap between the skills taught by domestic universities and the abilities demanded by employers.