With more students going abroad for university, increasing numbers of affluent families are "opting out" of the conventional public school system, which is heavily oriented towards preparing for the Chinese college admissions test. These families, who can afford tuition at a foreign university and may prefer a more "western" education for their children, are sending their children to private schools, special programs within Chinese public schools, or schools abroad. Some of the prestige of American higher education is the result of weaknesses in the PRC's education system, which stifles creativity in favor of rote memorization.