By the end of 2010, more than 250,000 Chinese were at college in the United States and Chinese had overtaken Indians to become the largest group of overseas students in the country.

According to research conducted by the educational service agency EIC Group, the U.S. remains the most popular destination for Chinese students who want to study abroad, with 30 percent giving it as their preference. Other popular countries are the UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, France, Japan, German, Netherland and South Korea.

The preference for the U.S. may in part be due to scholarships and discounts offered by English Language testing organizations TOEFL and GRE, according to Zhang Chao, of EIC Group. Students must obtain pass grades in TOEFL or GRE tests to win a place at a US university.

The research reveals that over half the students who want to study abroad are university graduates, while just 20 percent are high school students. According to Zhang, last year saw a sharp increase in the number of high school students applying to study abroad. He predicted the number would continue to rise in 2011 and may soon match those applying for overseas postgraduate courses.

Researchers also found that more than half of the families with incomes less than 300,000 yuan (US$ 45,296) a year are considering sending their children to study abroad, buoyed by the rise of the RMB against the US dollar. Previously, the figure was as low as 2 percent.

Business studies and I.T. are no longer the only hot majors for Chinese students planning to study in the U.S., the report says. The Chinese seem to have become more thoughtful when selecting their majors, the researchers commented.