Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the context of neoliberal globalization currently face fierce competition and enormous financial burdens. To address financial distress and generate revenue, more and more HEIs embrace market-like strategies to attract international students, extending academic capitalism to global higher education. For years, China has been a lucrative market for global HEIs, sending a flood of students into international education programs. Although past studies proved that Chinese international students failed to feel satisfied with their overseas education experiences, studying abroad is still a choice for millions of Chinese students. To understand the root reasons, the researcher reviewed the past literature and conducted a meta-synthesis study to elucidate why academic capitalism prevailed among Chinese students. To conduct this study, the researcher investigated what motivated Chinese students to study abroad, how Chinese students interacted with HEIs' marketized activities, whether students gained positive or negative experiences, and what factors led to Chinese students' negative experiences. This meta-study finally generated a theory by synthesizing the findings of 18 selected articles that inspected Chinese international students' decision-making process and analyzed this process via the lens of academic capitalism. This synthesized theory displayed that Confucianism, marketization, and consumerism were three prominently interrelated themes that stimulated the prosperity of academic capitalism among Chinese international students. Findings may guide Chinese students, HEIs, and the government to revisit their practices in higher education to effect positive changes in future years. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]