Chinese international undergraduate students’ perceptions on the role social media played in their choice of university

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This dissertation explores the perceptions of Chinese students on the role social media marketing plays in the process of choosing their university, and the limitations of social media marketing. Due to limited existing research in China, this dissertation adopted a qualitative approach, gathering data through online semi-structured interviews with four middle-class Chinese undergraduate students of mixed genders who are currently studying in the UK, and who have the experiences of using social media platforms in their university selection process. Two are studying at University College London, and the other two are at King’s College London. The findings show that social media is widely used in the information search and evaluation stages in the decision-making process. However, social media plays a minor role in their university selection compared to other word-of-mouth sources such as from family and teachers. The study argues that the existing literature lacks explorations of the effects of the cultural context, social class, and the rise of education agents in students’ university decisions.