Shanghai Real Estate News

SHANGHAI: More and more students in China are choosing not to sit for the tough local university entrance examinations or "gaokao".

There's been a 1.4 million reduction in the number of candidates over the past four years.

This corresponds with the growing number of Chinese students who choose to study overseas.

Zhang Haoqi, 17, is attending a two-week tuition class before she heads to Hong Kong to take her SAT.

The SAT is a widely used college entrance examination in the United States.

This is her third attempt in six months.

Previous she scored 1600 and 1760, and is aiming for a score of above 1900 this time round - in the hopes it will enable her to apply to better universities in the United States.

Ms Zhang said: "The first time I took the SAT test I wasn't at my best because my health wasn't too good and I had a stomachache. The second time was a second chance at it. This time round should be the third and the last attempt."

Unlike the local university entrance examination, which is sometimes viewed as the one and only chance to advance to Chinese universities, students are allowed to take the SAT up to six times a year and apply using the highest score.

With other alternatives, the number of students taking the local national college entrance exams fell by about 2 per cent this year compared to a year ago.

Mr Sun Tao, General Manager of Shanghai Vision Overseas Consulting, said: "Around 2005 and 2006, in good schools there were about one or two students in each class who would try to take the SAT. In 2011 and 2012, in good schools in Shanghai and Beijing, there could be as many as half of each class going for the SAT instead of the local exams."

To cater to the demand, there are 70 to 80 agencies providing SAT training in Shanghai alone.

Course fees vary. A two-week preparation class prior to the test cost US$3,200.

After you pass the test, there's also payment of between US$4,000 and US$10,000 for the service of education agencies which help with the admission applications.

Then there is the cost of studying overseas itself.

But there's no lack of customers.

Ms Lauren Liu, General Manager of EIC Group Shanghai Office, said: "For example, it's no longer very difficult to find families which have prepared US$30,000 to US$50,000 a year for the child's education. This way overseas study is no longer as inaccessible as it was in the past."

Chinese students are also heading abroad younger.

In the past, most Chinese went overseas for post-graduate studies. Now, an increasing number is choosing to go for basic degrees.

According to statistics, there are currently 1.27 million Chinese students studying in overseas universities, making China the biggest source of overseas students in the world.

More than 40 per cent choose to study in the US.

A relative lack of premium education destinations in China means students have a better chance of entering top universities if they choose to go abroad. For instance, the US has over 30 universities in the top 100 world ranking, whereas mainland China has only three, namely Peking University, Tsinghua University and Shanghai's Fudan University. Education experts have called for a reform of the Chinese education system to stem the loss of brilliant students.

- CNA/de