Early Admission Scheme
Students' feedback


By Cherry Chan

In 2002, the Early Admission Scheme was in effect at seven local uni-versities. It allows Form 6 students who have obtained outstanding results on the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination to enroll in a degree program.

The aim of this scheme is to encourage outstanding Form 6 students to stay in local universities rather than study abroad.

Among the seven universities in Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong recruited 220 out of 227 Form 6 students.

The Chinese University recruited 109 outstanding Form 6 students. Of those, 30 have become medical students, occupying about one-fifth of the Year 1 places in the faculty.

According to Prof. Tony Gin, chairman of the Admission Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, the faculty interviewed 74 applicants who met the requirements.

“In general, we look for students who are interested in medicine, willing to work hard, sympathetic to patients, communicative, and mature.

“We select students mainly on the basis of their results in the HKCEE. But their personalities and performance in non-academic aspects are also taken into account.”

Cynthia Yeung and Sally Ip, early admitted medical students, both find that such an identity bring them happiness and frustrations.

They were excited when they knew that their applications were successful. This is because they needed not to take further public examinations. They said they were especially fearful of the Hong Kong Advanced-level Examination.

However, problems arose after they entered the university.

First, they found that university life is totally different from secondary school life. For instance, the way to do assignments and to find professors after lectures were unknown to them.

“In fact, we lacked time to think thoroughly before becoming a university student,” said Ms. Yeung.

The second problem they encountered was the pressure of studying.

Unlike students admitted by the Joint University Programs Admission System, early admitted students have not finished the 2-year Form 6 courses, creating a larger gap between secondary and tertiary education.

At the Chinese University, the Departments of Physics and Chemistry, among others, provided extra courses for them.

However, the Faculty of Medicine did not.

Said Ms. Ip: “I was afraid of lagging behind the others in the first two months. I spent three to four hours on preparation and revision every day.”

Both Ms Yeung and Ms Ip said that they were under great pressure in the first semester. On several occasions, the two students broke into tears because of these strains.

“If I have stayed in Form 7, I would have been better prepared,” said Ms Ip.

On the other hand, the students who are admitted under JUPAS may think that their opportunities are reduced under the scheme.

Angela So, a JUPAS student, dislikes the scheme.

“As everybody knows how intense the competition for a degree place is, the scheme makes the competition more intense,” said she.

She does not support the scheme because there is value in preparing for and taking the A-level examinations.

The situation is not the same at the University of Science and Technology.

After selection, all 56 early admitted students at the university participated in a 6-week summer program.

During the program, students took general education courses, as well as courses tailor-made for their respective majors.

Edam So and May Kwong, early admitted students studying global business, both agreed that they benefited a lot from the summer program.

In fact, Mr. So and Ms. Kwong planned to study abroad. But the Early Admission Scheme gave them an alternative.

“Money is a big concern for me. It’s cheaper to study here.

“We think we have made a good choice,” said Mr. So.

However, he said that other students labeled early admitted students as privileged.

“Early admitted students are guaranteed a year hall while others are guaranteed only a semester. This certainly aroused anger.

“Luckily, the situation improved after we got a better understanding of each other,” said Mr. So.

Medical student Sally Ip.