This study investigates the student mobility choices at different stages in transnational education (TNE) and how their choices are shaped by varying level contexts. Combining survey and interview data collected at a US-China TNE programme, the authors found that majority of students did not intend to be mobile during the programme. Rather, they planned to pursue graduate degrees abroad. Further, the majority of students intended to work in China after the completion of their studies. Student mobility choices into, during and after transnational education, were heavily influenced by the macro-level (e.g., labour market, university admission policies) and meso-level (e.g., programme structures) contexts.