China's Graduate Study Applicants Hit Record High
January 23, 2002
People's Daily

The number of applicants for graduate study has hit a record high in China this year, totaling 624,000 people, up by 35.6 percent over last year.

The number of applicants for graduate study has hit a record high in China this year, totaling 624,000 people, up by 35.6 percent over last year.

According to statistics released Tuesday by China's Ministry of Education, undergraduate applicants reached 273,000, accountingfor 43.7 percent of the total, or 72,000 more than last year.

Applicants who have bachelor's degrees totaled 541,000, which is 86.7 percent of the total. Applicants under the age of 35 totaled 612,000, accounting for 98.1 percent of the total.

Top professions attracting applicants include business administration, law, computer application, finance, surgery, telecommunications, medicine, accounting and software.

According to the Ministry of Education, the number of applicants from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan reached 1,828, up 71.5percent over the corresponding period of last year. Taiwan applicants totaled 1,369, double the figure for last year.

China plans to enroll 196,550 people for graduate study this year, up 22.8 percent over last year.

The first-round of graduate entrance examinations has been scheduled for January 26-28. Applicants in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan will take the exam April 13-14.