Postgraduate schools in the United States have seen a record-breaking number of Chinese applicants over the past year, a new survey showed.

The Council of Graduate Schools, a US organization dedicated to the advancement of graduate education and research, recently published a new survey that said Chinese applicants increased by 18 percent for the 2012 fall semester, marking the seventh successive year of double-digit growth in applications from China.

Applications from India increased by 2 percent, following an 8 percent increase in 2011. South Korea's 2 percent gain last year was followed by a decrease of 1 percent this year.