Where to study? Students peruse university prospects after the big exam
About 15,000 local students and parents communicated face-to-face with admission staff from 78 universities across China on Sunday at an event hosted by Shanghai Jian Qiao University.
Most of the students finished their college entrance exams last weekend and now have to decide which universities they want to apply to.
Several trends emerged at the event. One is the increased interest in Sino-foreign universities that prepare the groundwork for possible study abroad. Another is the pragmatism of students seeking universities that offer majors in fields where jobs go begging. And a third is the increasing willingness of students to consider leaving home to study elsewhere in China.
Students and parents communicated face-to-face with university admission staff on Sunday at an event hosted by Shanghai Jian Qiao University.
One of the busiest booths at the event was Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.
An official surnamed Wang, who works at the university, told Shanghai Daily that the school plans to admit 60 students from Shanghai this year. Most students and parents who showed up at the university’s booth asked him about the threshold for college entrance exam results on admission chances, the school’s curricula, arrangements of studying in China and UK, and employment feedback on its graduates.
“I think that joint universities and programs are increasingly popular,” said Li Qingqing, a mother attending the event with her son. “For me, though my son is tall and strong, I don’t feel at ease with the thought of his studying abroad alone right now.”
Her son agreed: “I think it’s better to study in China first to get used to the international education system in a familiar environment before being fully immersed in an overseas environment. I can get better prepared.”
Not far away, a mother surnamed Xu and her daughter were asking about the Sino-British College and the Sino-German College at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.
The mother said two years spent studying in China at a Sino-foreign institute will be a transitional period for a child to get used to the international education system.
“Such programs are officially established and trustworthy, while it’s risky to turn to agencies for help in applying for overseas universities,” Xu added. “I’ve read many news reports about agencies directing Chinese students to uncertified schools.”
Some students and parents focused their attention on college degrees with the best prospects for jobs after graduation, such as pre-school education.
Shanghai Jian Qiao University said it plans to admit 100 students in its pre-school education for the first time because Shanghai has a serious shortage of kindergarten teachers after China loosened family planning rules and numbers of young children increased.
“We will focus more on cultivating teaching skills, unlike some universities that focus on theory and kindergarten management skills,” said Zhu Xia, an official from Jian Qiao. “Students will take internships in kindergartens from the second semester.”
“My daughter is interested in this major because she loves children, and we think it will be easy to find a job after graduation,” said a mother surnamed Guan.
Several university admission officials noted that Shanghai students seem more willing nowadays to consider studying elsewhere in China. Indeed, the number of out-of-town universities participating in the event this year has increased. Some 42 of the 78 participating universities were from outside of Shanghai.
“Shanghai students used to prefer local universities,” said a man surnamed Luo, who works in the admission office of Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications in southwestern China. “But now, many parents have studied in universities themselves and have more open minds about children leaving home to study and live independently.”
Luo said the university’s specialties are attractive to students.
“Many of our graduates are working in top telecommunications and information technology companies, like Huawei and Tencent,” Luo said. “This year alone, we have had 63 bachelor’s degree students recruited by Huawei.”
Luo pointed out that studying outside of Shanghai doesn’t sentence graduates to careers away from popular cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
“They come to study, but they have plenty of opportunities to work in first-tier cities or their hometowns after they graduate,” he said.
“My daughter loves hotpot, so I think she would like to study at a university in Chongqing or Chengdu, which are famous for hotpot,” said a father surnamed Zhang, with a laugh. “Although there are many universities in Shanghai, I believe that young people should go anywhere they want. An eagle should fly far from home, rather than staying as a chick in the nest.”
His daughter, still in high school, will begin applying to universities next year, he said.
