Ohio State University held a welcome party Saturday in Shanghai for its incoming Chinese students, in order to help better prepare them for life in their new environment after school starts.

Volunteers from the university used both English and Chinese to introduce school life in the United States to the Chinese students, providing suggestions for them to prepare for the new term.

To help international students adapt to the US education system, many universities hold welcome parties for them after they arrive at the university. This year, Ohio State University broke the tradition by scheduling parties in the students’ own country before they leave.

The university is hosting welcome parties in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Shanghai is home to the most students among the three cities. The party was attended by about 100 people, which included students and their parents.

In recent years, overseas Chinese students are on the rise, due to the overall increase of Chinese students. Among them, students going to the US outnumber those studying in other countries.

Without full preparation for going overseas to study, some students can feel huge pressure in foreign countries, which can affect their academic performance. While most people think that academic life is the main obstacle, investigations found that cultural differences, personal relationships and education systems have a deeper influence on the students.