Is Cambridge University Lowering Standards for Chinese Applicants?
Recent misunderstandings circulating on Weibo about admission to Cambridge University have shone a spotlight on the controversies surrounding the increasing numbers of Chinese youngsters studying in the US and the UK.
Weibo buzzed around an image being circulated from Cambridge University’s website, about their admission procedure. The (genuine) screenshot announced that Cambridge would accept the gaokao (China’s university entrance test) as a qualification. Less pleasing was the suggestion that applicants would need to score in the top 0.1 percent in their province.
Despite this, netizens rejoiced that they could apply for Cambridge with the Gaokao alone, without the need to take the IELTS test demonstrating their English language capability. There’s only one problem: this isn’t true.
Cambridge has been accepting the gaokao for many years; the Chinese test is recognized as one of the most academically rigorous in the world. However, applicants also need to score 6.0 or above on IELTS (or an equivalent test), with no less than 5.5 in each element. Even if Cambridge decided unilaterally to relax this criterion, it’s a legal requirement for a UK student visa.
Furthermore, Cambridge also assesses applicants on their wider interests and aptitudes, looking for students who have rounded personalities, possess skills of critical thinking, and will enhance the overall life of their college, whether through sports, arts, or other secondary activities. This is going to be a more challenging requirement for anyone who has spent years in the sort of intense tutoring many see as giving the best chance in the gaokao.
It’s not clear how the misunderstanding arose. China Daily suggests that it was triggered by a speech given in Beijing recently by Stephan Toope, vice-chancellor of Cambridge University. However, the idea that students, however academically brilliant, might be admitted to one of the world’s top universities without having to demonstrate aptitude in the language used for teaching, highlights differences in perception of the purpose and value of degree-level studies.
To read the remainder of this story, click through to the original article on our sister site beijingkids.
READ: US Universities to Begin Accepting Gaokao Scores
Photos: Diliff (via Wikimedia Commons), Weibo
