University and College Admission - Mainland China

Mainland China

In the People's Republic of China, the National College Entrance Examination (高考, gaokao) is given each summer and required for each student. The exam covers common school topics such as math, language, history, science, etc. Better institutions require higher scores for admittance. The required score also varies by province: students in more competitive provinces, like Jiangsu, need higher scores than students from less competitive areas such as Tibet. Conversely, wealthier cities have more universities per capita and hence lower university entrance standards than some poorer provinces. In 2006 for example, the minimum score to enter a key university for applicants from Beijing is 516 but the minimum score for applicants from Henan is 591.