For mainland college entrance examination candidates going to study in Hong Kong, have their "gears of destiny" started turning?
2024-08-26
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Highlights In the past two years, Hong Kong has been very popular among parents. So what is it like to study in a university in Hong Kong? Is it a better way out for mainland college entrance examination candidates? Three students who passed the college entrance examination and were admitted to different universities in Hong Kong shared their gains and experiences of studying abroad.
Text丨Young Jean Edited by丨Charlotte
In the past two years, Hong Kong has been very popular among parents. From primary and secondary school transfers to university education, Hong Kong identity has broadened the educational options.As the summer vacation draws to a close, Hong Kong universities have also recently concluded their independent enrollment of students from the mainland. According to the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po, the enrollment of students from the mainland in the new academic year 2024/25 is more popular than ever before.in,Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Baptist UniversityBoth schools received over 10,000 undergraduate applications from mainland China, with an average of over 45 applicants for one place in the former and 30 applicants for one place in the latter.Lingnan UniversityThe number of applicants also increased by more than 25%, and the number of admissions is expected to double.However, perhaps because Hong Kong is geographically close, many people underestimate the challenges of studying in Hong Kong, especially going to Hong Kong to study at university from the mainland.The Bund has received a lot of sharing:Some people find the language challenge huge, as they not only have to adapt to English-speaking classes, but also to a Cantonese-speaking environment;
Some people are torn between Hong Kong culture and mainland culture;
Some people were surprised by the peer pressure that far exceeded their expectations;
Some people have difficulty adapting to the workplace after graduation...
So, what is it like to study at a university in Hong Kong? Is it a better way out for mainland college entrance examination candidates?The Bund contacted three classmates who came from different provinces and were admitted to different universities in Hong Kong through the college entrance examination. Some of them continued their postgraduate studies after graduation, some had just graduated and were preparing to work, and some had been working for a year.Let’s take a look at their gains and experiences from studying abroad, and use their stories as different aspects of a prism to see how different people play the card of studying abroad, and how the saying that the wheel of fortune begins to turn can be better interpreted.From Lingnan undergraduate to top three postgraduate students in Hong Kong,Studying in Hong Kong is like overtaking othersFacing the camera, Yueyue smiled, spread out her right palm, and pointed at a nameplate next to her, which read "School of Humanities and Social Sciences". Behind her was a sculpture that looked like a flame, which was the logo of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology called "Red Bird Sundial"."Wheel of Time" is the design concept of this sculpture. Its flying posture reflects its artistic sense. The combination of function and beauty expresses the interweaving of history and the future.Back in 2019, Yueyue had just finished taking the Guangdong Provincial College Entrance Examination. The advice from her parents and relatives in Hong Kong changed the trajectory of her life.Undergraduate, Lingnan University, Hong KongarrivePostgraduate student at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Yueyue’s Hong Kong story has entered its fifth year.Time goes back to the three mock exams before the college entrance examination. From then on, her parents were thinking about how to maximize her scores. At first, her parents considered letting her go to UIC, a joint venture between Hong Kong Baptist University and Beijing Normal University, to experience a different education model. Later, a relative suggested that instead of staying in Zhuhai, it would be better to go directly to Hong Kong.Because of this opportunity, Yueyue learned for the first time that she could apply for admission to universities in Hong Kong with her college entrance examination scores. After receiving her college entrance examination scores, she immediately applied for interviews at Lingnan University and Hong Kong Shue Yan University.Lingnan University has offline interviews in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen in the Mainland.Yueyue went to Sun Yat-sen University for an offline interview. The interview did not require IELTS or TOEFL scores. "But I was interested inOn-site English performanceThis is very different from the English test-oriented education in the mainland.The interview mostly consists of non-professional questions, such as why you chose Lingnan University and how you would deal with certain problems."Yueyue, who scored 140 points (out of 150) in the college entrance examination English test, recalled.In addition to college entrance examination scores, if the applicant has participated in competitions or has outstanding hobbies, he or she can also win the favor of the interviewer.“Hong Kong schools place great emphasis on comprehensive abilities.Lingnan University generally admits students who are several dozen points higher than the first-tier score, but one student was admitted with a score of only the first-tier score because he was very strong in opera. "According to a report by Hong Kong Wen Wei Po in July this year, the upper limit of non-local students for undergraduate courses at eight subsidized universities in Hong Kong will double to 40% from the 2024/25 academic year. Students do not need to apply for scholarships at Lingnan University themselves. The university will clearly state the amount of scholarships provided when issuing admission letters to ensure that it can "grab" high-quality students.The moon isThe annual tuition fee for the Chinese Department is approximately HK$140,000. With accommodation and living expenses, it costs approximately HK$200,000-250,000 per year."Different majors are different. Business majors are more expensive." Chinese major was her second choice. Her first choice was business administration.Business administration is the most traditional major in Hong Kong. Later, I thought that my language performance was good and Lingnan’s Chinese department was the trump card, so I fought for another opportunity for myself. ”After the interview, the school called Yueyue and told her that based on her college entrance examination scores and interview performance, she was finally admitted to the Chinese Department.Unlike other majors that are taught in English, the Chinese Department is quite special in that its professional courses are taught in Cantonese and Mandarin, but other general education courses are still taught in English.Speaking of her class experience, Yueyue still remembers her first English class in her freshman year. "The teacher attaches great importance to interaction with students, such as inviting students to speak and listening to everyone's opinions. The teacher is also good at using multimedia equipment to make interactive games."Although from Guangzhou, Yueyue has only listened but not spoken since she was a child. In the first two years of university, she did not dare to speak like other mainland students. Later, she began to speak boldly without fear of making a fool of herself, and now she has no problem listening.While mastering Cantonese to better integrate into Hong Kong, Yueyue is also occasionally impacted by Hong Kong culture. The experience that left the deepest impression on her was seeing a doctor alone in Hong Kong.After returning to offline classes in her sophomore year, she tested positive. Feeling helpless, she felt the medical system was completely different from that in the mainland. "First of all, you have to wait in line for a long time in public hospitals. If you want to see a specialist, you can't go directly. You have to go to a small clinic first and get a recommendation letter before you can see a specialist. These things are something I have never come across in the mainland. This is a very shocking point for me." Yueyue said.Staying alone in Hong Kong and seeing a doctor alone during the pandemic was totally unbelievable to Yueyue, who went home every weekend during her freshman year. "At that time, I had not yet cut off my ties with the mainland and my parents psychologically," but the pandemic made her more independent and able to calm down and think alone.Things that she would not do alone before, she is no longer afraid of now, but enjoys instead. After the epidemic was lifted, she immediately applied for an exchange opportunity to South Korea. In a restaurant in Busan, South Korea, she took a selfie with herself and captioned, "Now I can comfortably enjoy being alone!"The screenshot is from Yueyue’s Xiaohongshu account @月月月个头In addition to being an exchange student, she also actively used school resources to enrich herself. "Hong Kong has so many resources that I wanted to do everything at the time, not because of utilitarianism, but because those activities were very attractive."During the holidays, she and her teacher conducted observational research on Hong Kong society;
I have done a marketing internship through internal recommendations from the school;
When she discovered that she was interested in business, she took a data science course in her junior year, laying the foundation for her graduate studies.
After graduating from Lingnan, she received offers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and finally chose the Global China Studies major in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.“This major will allow you to learn a lot of quantitative social research, and eventually you can get a master’s degree in science, which will be helpful for transitioning from liberal arts to science.” Yueyue summed up her choice in this way.She also has a clear understanding of Hong Kong identity:Hong Kong permanent residency is indeed very attractive, but before obtaining it, you need to consider which aspect of its benefits you hope to obtain.For example, if you want to live in Hong Kong in the future, it will definitely be beneficial to become a Hong Kong permanent resident; if you want to use Hong Kong identity as a springboard, such as to jump to the UK, Canada, or Australia, then Hong Kong identity will also have some advantages over mainland passports.
Photo taken by Yueyue during her internship at Swire GroupYueyue, who has completed her first year of graduate studies, has just finished her summer internship at Swire Group. She is attracted by the respect for women in the Hong Kong workplace and the concept of work-life balance. In the future, she will stay in Hong Kong to continue working.Got into HKU with 665 in the college entrance exam.I'm not a particularly successful person.“I don’t consider myself a particularly good representative.”Emily, who just graduated from the University of Hong Kong, introduced herself like this before meeting The Bund.Emily is a true science genius. She ranked among the top three in the first and second mock exams of the college entrance examination among key high schools in Hubei Province that year.In my senior year of high school, I got the principal’s recommendation for an interview spot into the University of Hong Kong’s Diversity and Excellence Admissions Program.This program recruits 300 students from non-international high schools across the country every year who take the normal college entrance examination.At the beginning of 2020, she went to Shenzhen to participate in an offline interview of about 2 hours. The interview was an unstructured group discussion in English.After the interview, she successfully got 15 extra points from the University of Hong Kong.If the applicant's college entrance examination scores meet the requirement that the total score of Chinese and mathematics is greater than 235 points, and the English score is above 140 points, 15 points can be added if he/she chooses the University of Hong Kong.A view of the University of Hong Kong“I didn’t talk much, but I raised a point that changed the discussion. Then an interviewer continued to ask questions based on my point. Maybe it was just luck.” Emily summed up her experience of getting admission to HKU.The original plan was to apply to mainland universities after the college entrance examination. Unexpectedly, a few months before the college entrance examination, Emily suffered from depression due to excessive stress. After taking medicine and adjusting her condition, her mentality became much more Buddhist. While everyone was doing a lot of exercises, she was "wasting time" reading famous books, and finally scored 665 points by "lying down".With this score, she could try to get into Zhejiang University at that time, but in the end, considering the prospects and development, she chose the University of Hong Kong, which offered her a 15-point bonus.According to Emily, HKU can apply for admission scholarships on its own, and HKU will actively provide scholarships to outstanding students at the top level during admission. During the interview, she told the examiner that she wanted to study finance, "because Hong Kong is a financial center and HKU is also famous for its finance."But in the end, after receiving Emily's college entrance examination results and admission application, the HKU teacher "probably thought that my scores in comprehensive science and mathematics were good, so he assigned me to the Faculty of Science, and I studied mathematics in my sophomore year." The tuition fee for this major is about 170,000 Hong Kong dollars a year, plus living expenses are about 250,000 Hong Kong dollars a year.A view of the University of Hong KongEmily joked that she doesn't have too high expectations for herself and that being happy is the most important thing. She said that no matter what is in the textbook or extracurricular exercises, as long as she studies hard, she will get good grades.“The introductory mathematics here is very simple, but it gets deeper and deeper as you learn, and it requires a lot of self-study.In addition to the professor's classes, the teaching assistants will have separate practice classes with about ten people in a group. In class, they will explain the questions, learn to expand knowledge, or take everyone to preview. Each teaching assistant has a different teaching style and content. "In terms of study materials, Emily observed that the textbooks used by HKU are all from famous foreign universities or well-known classic textbooks. The advantage is that they are closely connected with scientific and technological developments, and what is learned are the latest things, which is very helpful for engineering and technology majors.ChatGPT came out at the end of 2022. Before this wave of artificial intelligence large language models arrived in the mainland, ChatGPT had become one of the tools used by Emily and her classmates in their daily studies. However, the teachers at the University of Hong Kong also prohibited students from using it at the beginning, but later formulated rules to encourage students to use it dialectically."Hong Kong attaches great importance to academic integrity and originality. You need to manage your time well when submitting assignments, and the teachers are very strict in grading."Emily said.A view of the University of Hong KongAt the University of Hong Kong, where there are many talented people, everyone has different plans for the future.Some choose to continue their studies and focus on their GPA;
Some started career planning early and entered the society for internship;
Some relax themselves in college and participate in various social activities;
Some will pick up their sports dreams and continue to improve their football skills while studying...
When faced with stressful situations, Emily would choose to communicate more with friends, study offline together, or go out to explore stores. During college, she was also an athlete in her hall and organized volleyball games between dormitories, which enabled her to successfully obtain contribution points and live there until graduation.(Note: "Hall" is the name for dormitories in universities in Hong Kong; Hall culture: Undergraduates in universities in Hong Kong have different halls, and each hall has its own culture. Halls are application-based. Generally, undergraduates will have to look at their personal contribution scores to the hall after living there for one to two years. Only those with sufficient scores are eligible to continue living there (or apply). Contribution scores are mainly calculated based on the degree of enthusiasm for participating in hall activities and organizing activities.)
In Emily's opinion, local Hong Kong students can be roughly divided into two categories. One category is those who take DSE, the Hong Kong College Entrance Examination, and enter the University of Hong Kong, and the other category is those who apply to enter through international schools.
The former students are simple and hardworking, while the latter come from wealthy families, are good at English, and are mostly interested in sports. In general, students at HKU do not only study.
Emily applied to more than ten companies before graduation and received many interviews. "It's not difficult to find a job, but there is a lot of competition for good jobs. For different positions and companies, the required resume and coverlet need to be carefully adjusted, and the preparation for the interview should be as comprehensive as possible."After several rounds of interviews, Emily feltHong Kong companies attach great importance to students' practical working ability.A student's hard skills can be seen from internships, projects they have participated in, and school courses, followed by soft skills in various aspects, such as self-study ability, stress resistance, teamwork ability, and leadership.Finally, she chose one from the five offers. She wanted to work in the workplace for a few years first, and then go to graduate school after finding the direction she wanted to go deeper. "The future is still long, and I believe in my ability."University and work made me love Hong Kong first and then hate it."Question: Are you still working in the film and television industry?" Iris posted a message on WeChat Moments at 10 o'clock in the evening.recent Iris is considering finding her next job. She is not sure whether it will be related to film and television, but she still has one year to explore. After one year, she will successfully obtain Hong Kong permanent residency. This year may also determine her final experience and feelings about Hong Kong, and even whether she will stay in the future.Iris's story of coming to Hong Kong began six or seven years ago. At that time, she was still a sophomore in Guiyang No. 1 Middle School. Because of her Chinese teacher, she gradually became interested in film and television, "and of course my crush on my brother Leslie Cheung." She even signed up for an art exam training class, but later gave up at the last minute because she didn't like the atmosphere of the art exam.Later, her friend decided to apply to the University of Hong Kong, so she also did some research and finally set her sights on the only university in Hong Kong that offers a film major.Hong Kong Baptist University.Iris university graduation photoIris has lived on campus since high school and has an independent life. She also made her own decision on the subject of her major. In 2018, she decided to study film in Hong Kong with a college entrance examination score of 651, and her parents also supported her choice.When I first entered university, Iris did not find the new learning and living environment difficult. She participated in activities with her seniors from Cai Yuanpei Hall of Baptist University and made many friends. "It was also a great opportunity to practice Cantonese."Iris is also keen on "playing the banker"(Note: In Hong Kong universities, this means joining a club and becoming a core member of the club)"I also joined a photography club that was full of Hong Kong locals. I was the only mainlander in the club, but the Hong Kong people were all very nice."Iris quickly adapted to university life in Hong Kong, and her Hong Kong classmates were very friendly, which increased her love for the city of Hong Kong.In her sophomore year, Iris entered the School of Communication and studied film, which was more theoretical. She was not satisfied with what she learned in class and wanted to have more practical experience. She would go to the filming of the student crew of her seniors whenever she had the chance to learn from them. "These experiences are helpful for my filming and graduation thesis, because the whole crew needs to cooperate and coordinate on the scene. Only after following them a few times can I know what to do."Everything was going smoothly, but the changes in Hong Kong society in 2019 and the subsequent epidemic seemed to disrupt her university life.Firstly, the online classes due to the epidemic left her with even less opportunity to operate offline, and secondly, she had no idea about the shooting of the film for her graduation project. "For anyone who wants to make a movie, the graduation project may be the only finished film that is completely under his control." So, Iris made another big decision on her own - to take a gap year.During the gap year, Iris participated in an internship on a variety show in mainland China, which made her exclaim, "Although I often have to stay up late, I really learned a lot, and I was super excited when I finally saw the things I participated in presenting."After returning to her home in Guizhou after the internship, a friend from the Baptist Church approached her and wanted to work together to shoot a documentary about the Third Front construction.Documentary poster produced by Iris"My hometown is a representative of the Third Front Construction, and I also knew some grandparents in the local area who I could interview. It happened that I was a mainlander in Hong Kong at that time, and this group of elders from other cities finally stayed in Guizhou. Identity recognition is something we have experienced together, and it is also what we want to explore." In the end, they filmed this documentary called "Our Foreign Homeland.""I am fascinated by stories between people, and I want to record things between people through movies." With this idea in mind, Iris's graduation project "Lost Island" tells a story about individual self-salvation. She said it was related to some women's movements she saw at the time, but the name unexpectedly reflected her current state.Iris's graduation project for the film posterAfter graduating from university, Iris experienced her second experience of integrating into Hong Kong, or getting to know Hong Kong, at work. However, compared to the first time, this time she experienced more cruelty in reality.Instead of classmates who help each other, there are colleagues who blame others, brainwash others, and leaders who are emotionally unstable. On the one hand, there is work pressure and limited growth, and on the other hand, "the gap caused by culture and language is a dilemma."The latter, which Iris repeatedly mentioned, is the challenge of her current life.In my sixth year in Hong Kong, in addition to adapting to food, accommodation and transportation, the culture and language are more sharp. "The environment where I work is all Cantonese. Sometimes I want to express myself during communication, but it takes time to react and prepare. Some colleagues use this time difference to finish their talk, so there is often no communication but only execution."
Occasionally, when Iris reflects on what she has gained over the years, she thinks of two voices:
One was that a teacher in college advised her not to enter the industry after learning that her family background could not help her; the other was that a senior suggested that she should not make movies and pursue a career in academia as an option.
Iris now clearly realizes that the mainland film and television market is larger than Hong Kong, and there are relatively more opportunities, but she remains open to what she will encounter in the next year in Hong Kong. "Maybe I will find something more suitable for me, and my attitude towards Hong Kong will change positively. Or maybe I will still love film and television and return to the mainland for development."The Bund asked her whether she regretted her decision to study in Hong Kong, and she said she didn't regret it.In fact, they are all sieges. Life just takes a different experience. At that time, I had a filter for Hong Kong. Even if I didn’t come to study for my undergraduate degree, I would have come for my graduate degree. Life is always experienced first and then summarized.
The three former mainland college entrance examination candidates have now completed their undergraduate studies in Hong Kong. Yueyue successfully applied for postgraduate study at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, one of the top three universities in Hong Kong, through her own efforts. Emily has just finished her four years of university life at the University of Hong Kong and is about to enter the Hong Kong workplace. Iris will continue to explore her dream of film and television and will soon be able to obtain Hong Kong permanent residency.Perhaps the saying “the wheel of fortune starts turning” is never a completed summary, but rather the constant effort and change of life itself.The stories of these three women all have the youth part of carrying their ideals and traveling from the mainland to Hong Kong to explore and pursue their dreams. There is also the present that is ongoing, and there is a new chapter that is about to begin. The story is continuing, and the fate is still in everyone's own hands.Image provided by the intervieweeFollow Bund Education
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