Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    OVER the last two days, about 1,000 applicants sat the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen (CUHKSZ) test, competing for only 100 enrollment spaces.

    CUHKSZ has been shaking up Shenzhen’s higher education community since enrolling its first batch of students in August 2014.

    Unlike other universities on the Chinese mainland, it set up its own entrance test. Most universities on the mainland only look at a student’s gaokao scores.

    The exam is made of two parts: a morning exam in both Chinese and English (this year’s English essay is about “tiger mom” parenting) and bilingual interviews with professors in the afternoon.

    Approximately 1,000 students from various cities in Guangdong Province registered online for the test and sat the exam Tuesday and yesterday.

    The president of CUHKSZ said that the enrollment exam this year focused on writing skills, communication skills and comprehension ability in both English and Chinese.

    He said the exam gives candidates a chance to share their views about China’s place in the world.

    The names of students who pass the school’s entrance exam will be released June 22, but passing the university’s exam doesn’t mean the student has a place at the university.

    Student’s gaokao scores also must be higher than the lowest scoring student admitted to first-tier universities in Guangdong.

    This year CUHKSZ began accepting a limited number of students based on gaokao scores alone, although only 20 spaces are reserved for students who only took the gaokao.