{"id":18977,"date":"2021-04-20T11:57:10","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T03:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=18977"},"modified":"2021-05-26T16:16:27","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T08:16:27","slug":"university-dropouts-lost-the-way-or-found-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2021\/04\/university-dropouts-lost-the-way-or-found-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"University Dropouts: Lost the way or Found the way?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hong Kong sees an uptick in withdrawals from university in recent years, leading to concerns over the city\u2019s education and future planning system for students.<\/strong>
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By Felicia Lam<\/strong>
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Studying at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a dream to many, but Hugo Wu Ho-kong quitted and retook the university entrance exam in 2020. 
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Hoping to study Chinese language and literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), he withdrew from taking a Bachelor of Arts at HKU in June 2020. 
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\u201cBeing a Chinese teacher is my dream. I know that the employability and training of Chinese major graduates from CUHK are better than HKU,\u201d the 19-year-old student says. 
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 \u201cAlthough my learning experience in HKU was pleasant, I heard from my friends that the curriculum design of CUHK is better for preparing myself to be a Chinese teacher,\u201d he says. 
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Wu withdrew from HKU and retook the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) in 2020 under huge pressure. 
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\u201cI must withdraw from HKU in order to be eligible to apply for university place allocation in 2020. (But) if my examination results were not better than my first try, I could not be admitted to my favourite degree programme,\u201d he says. 
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\u201cAlso, my parents did not understand nor support my decision. They were afraid that I could not get into CUHK this year and would end up sacrificing the HKU degree for nothing,\u201d he adds.
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Wu\u2019s dream came true in August 2020. He is now studying Chinese language and literature at CUHK.
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\u201cThe year in HKU reassured my interest in Chinese language. It is totally worth it (to drop out of HKU) when I think about my dreams,\u201d Wu says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe year in HKU reassured my interest in Chinese language. It is totally worth it (to drop out of HKU) when I think about my dreams.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Withdraw to Take a Mental Break<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Wu, Monica Chan Hiu-man also left higher education to find her passion.
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The former HKU medicine major student is now a second-year veterinary medicine student at the City University of Hong Kong. 
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Monica Chan Hiu-man is a second-year veterinary medicine student at CityU. (Photo courtesy of Monica Chan Hiu-man)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chan took a gap semester in December 2018 due to emotional problems brought by inability to adapt to university life.
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She then went on a trip to France alone and decided to drop out of HKU a few months later. 
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\u201cComing to the decision was a struggle. My secondary school teachers did not agree with my decision as they wanted to use my achievements for promotion and student recruitment,\u201d the 21-year-old student says.
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Chan is an animal lover, but she did not think of studying veterinary medicine in university before. 
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\u201cI only followed my teacher\u2019s advice when I filled in a form for my university programme choices. I did not know much about other majors,\u201d she says. 
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She started to think of studying veterinary medicine when volunteering in an animal shelter in Hong Kong after her withdrawal. She enjoys interacting with animals. 
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\u201cWhen I look back, (withdrawing from university) is just a small matter in my life. Studying something I like makes me feel happier,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Withdraw to Explore the Workplace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some university dropouts choose to retake public examinations or take a rest, some join the workforce after their withdrawal and return to campus after a while. 
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Loras Lam Long-hin, 21, was admitted to HKU to study accounting and finance in 2017. But he withdrew from the university in November 2018. 
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Loras Lam Long-hin is now a second-year student majoring in journalism and communication at CUHK. (Photo courtesy of Loras Lam Long-hin)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing an accountant was my childhood dream. I was very happy at first to be admitted to my dream programme,\u201d he says. 
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\u201cBut after I joined different activities in university, I realised that I do not want to work with numbers for the rest of my life. Instead, I found my interest in marketing and design,\u201d he says. 
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Lam\u2019s parents supported his withdrawal from HKU to explore his interests. After that, he worked as a sales assistant at Manner Production, a video production company, for eight months. 
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\u201cI learnt a lot during my work and even had a chance to take part in their video production as an actor,\u201d he adds.
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Loras Lam Long-hin participated in a talent quest of Manner Production during their 6th<\/sup> anniversary celebration in 2019. (Photo courtesy of Loras Lam Long-hin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lam was admitted to journalism and communication major at CUHK in 2019.  
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\u201cMy working experience strengthened my critical thinking skills. I found my passion in advertising and creative media after working in the video production company,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lack of Future Planning Knowledge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 2018-19 academic year, a total of 1,474 undergraduate students withdrew from Hong Kong\u2019s eight publicly-funded universities. In 2019-20, the figure rose up by 22 per cent to 1,804, according to data released by the University Grants Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source: University Grants Committee
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While the city sees a surge in university dropouts in recent years, the main causes of student withdrawals remain unclear.
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Ng Po-shing, a student guidance consultant from Hok Yau Club, a student counselling group, thinks that the major reason for students to withdraw from university is students do not know where their passion lies. 
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Ng Po-shing, student guidance consultant at Hok Yau Club. (Photo courtesy of Hok Yau Club)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSecondary schools focus on training students to sit for public examinations rather than telling students about university majors and future planning,\u201d he says. 
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He also thinks that students\u2019 habit to search for information online affects their decision-making process.
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\u201cSome online content on university majors is misleading. The algorithm pushes similar content and reinforces wrong ideas of different majors,\u201d he says.  
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Ng points out that parents and teachers\u2019 influence on students\u2019 values also plays a key role when students think about what to study at universities.
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\u201cSome online content on university majors is misleading. The algorithm pushes similar content and reinforces wrong ideas of different majors.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey tell students that they must choose a major with a promising career prospect. Students may blindly follow their advice and pick a subject that they do not know much about or a major that they do not like,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact of Withdrawal on Job Hunting <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a bachelor\u2019s degree is a proxy for competence, dropping out of university launches a different signal to employers. 
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Steven Lui-wang, co-founder of HKCareers, a career training platform, thinks that withdrawing from university may affect student\u2019s employability.
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Steven Lui-wang, co-founder and career coach at HKCareers, hosts career workshops for university students. (Photo courtesy of HKCareers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEmployers always ask students why they withdrew from universities as it is uncommon. They often think that students are immature and have made a mistake when choosing their major,\u201d Lui, who is a career coach, says.
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\u201cBut if students explain well like saying that the withdrawal reconfirms his or her passion, they may impress the employer and become more likely to be employed instead. But it is hard to explain well,\u201d he adds.
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Lui also points out that students who have been admitted to a new programme often keep their old mindset when doing career planning, which gives them a hard time during job hunting. 
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\u201cBut if students explain well like saying that the withdrawal reconfirms his or her passion, they may impress the employer and become more likely to be employed instead.\u201d <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf students still keep their previously planned career paths in mind when they are in their new major, they will have a higher chance to encounter problems when finding jobs,\u201d says Lui. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Savoki Zhang<\/em>
Sub-edited by Patricia Ricafort<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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