In 2026, there will be a sudden change in the study abroad policy in the United States.

The F-1 visa rejection rate is approaching 40%, and STEM fields have become a major disaster area. At the same time, the number of applicants from the United States has exceeded 1.42 million, setting a new historical high. The Hurun Report shows that 44% of Chinese high net worth households still prioritize the United States.

Raise the threshold without reducing the impact. Behind the contradiction lies a proposition that needs to be dismantled: what exactly did you buy by spending millions to study in the United States?

In early May, Mr. Zhang, who was on a tour to Silicon Valley in the United States, asked the same question in the lecture hall of Stanford University. The professor's answer is concise and powerful: "China's education cultivates executors, while top universities in the United States cultivate people who create the future

01. Two types of education, two ability curves

Domestic education excels in imparting knowledge but falls short in training thinking skills. Jiang Boju, an academician of the CAS Member, once said: "It is not others who block our necks, but our education that has trapped us." Qian Yonggang's observation was more direct: "Endless scribbling killed children's thirst for knowledge."

A multinational study conducted by Stanford University tracked over 30000 students from China, the United States, Russia, and India. Data shows that the critical thinking ability of Chinese freshmen majoring in computer science is two to three years ahead of their American peers. But after four years of college, the critical thinking ability of American students improved by 0.46 standard deviations, while that of Chinese students decreased by 0.48 standard deviations.

The starting point is high and the ending point is low. The peak is fixed at the moment when the college entrance examination ends.

The competition for recommendation programs among domestic 985 universities is fierce, and the admission rate of Ivy League universities is less than 8%. Both tracks are narrowing, but the paths of cultivating abilities are completely different. American universities do not teach standard answers, but train students to find their own judgments in unsolvable problems.

In the era of AI, what abilities are irreplaceable?

In January 2026, American employers laid off 108000 employees, the highest number since January 2009. The recruitment volume for full-time positions decreased by 16% year-on-year, while the number of applicants per position increased by 26%. AI is replacing programmable mental labor.

MIT professor Randall Davis' judgment in class is worth pondering: 'AI can give you answers, but cannot ask questions for you.'. ”The top universities in the United States have spent over a hundred years honing six abilities that AI cannot replicate.

Independent thinking. The professor presented a complex case, and the whole class discussed for two hours without a standard answer. What students grow is not knowledge, but judgment - under what conditions it holds and under what conditions it fails.

Critical thinking. Discussing the success of Apple, the professor asked in reverse, "Why might Apple fail in the future?" to train the ability to examine problems from multiple perspectives.

Logical expression. There is a consensus in the Silicon Valley investment community that "great entrepreneurs are first and foremost great storytellers." No matter how strong the technology is, if it cannot be explained clearly, no one will pay. Throughout four years, I have been practicing the art of transforming ideas into influence through presentations and presentations.

Quickly respond to challenges. In Stanford case teaching classes, professors may suddenly throw out crises: the company's cash flow is broken, competitors are reducing prices by 50%, and products fail to go public. Students must analyze, propose, accept questions, and make adjustments on the spot within a limited time. This training highly simulates the decision-making pressure of a real business battlefield. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have a fast pace of action, rooted in the countless "cornered" drills they have undergone in college.

Interdisciplinary integration. A research project at Stanford Robotics Laboratory involves computer science, mechanical engineering, materials science, and neuroscience. The future world will not allow complex problems to be solved solely by a single profession.

Leadership. Top universities in the United States do not ask 'what job do you want to find after graduation', but 'what problems do you hope to solve for the world'. The weight of this question determines the pattern of life.

The commonality of these abilities is that AI is irreplaceable and increasingly scarce during economic downturns.

03. The accounts of high net worth families are calculated for thirty years

Under the triple pressure of visa tightening, intense competition, and accelerated AI substitution, 44% of high net worth households still choose the United States. They don't know how to settle accounts?

It's not the starting salary after graduation, it's the position after ten, twenty, thirty years.

Domestic education teaches' remember standard answers', while American universities teach 'find your own path in a world without standard answers'. Different cultivation directions determine the ecological niche in future competition. The longer a person's independent thinking ability, cross-border integration ability, ability to challenge rules, and ability to only execute instructions, the greater the gap.

The return cycle of education investment is measured in units of ten years.

From August 9th to 17th, Huazhi International launched the "American AI Technology Innovation Deep Study Tour". 9 days and 7 nights, Boston and San Francisco. MIT and Harvard classrooms, MIT Media Lab and Stanford Robotics Lab live, MassRobotics' industrial ecosystem, and cutting-edge dialogues at Silicon Valley Investment Forum.

Instead of arguing about whether the value is worth it in the data,

Why not personally enter that classroom

That laboratory,

Face to face with people who change the world.

See you in the United States in August.