Based on responses from 2043 Chinese and 1669 Chilean undergraduate students, this study compared Chinese and Chilean students' approaches to studying and perceptions of the learning context. The results show that Chinese students and male students were generally in a more unfavorable situation in terms of their approaches to studying and course experiences than their Chilean and female counterparts, and that students who were pursuing majors in science and engineering performed worse than students who were pursuing majors in the humanities and social sciences. Although the results regarding the relationship between approaches to studying and course experiences were largely consistent with previous findings, we highlight the different roles of good teaching and appropriate workload in the two samples. In our opinion, these findings reflect the characteristics of student learning in these two higher education systems and may relate to the cultural traditions of learning in China and Chile.