Society

College candidates hesitate on choosing subjects

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-25 21:07

BEIJING - Millions of Chinese high-school students about to start college are uncertain about which subjects to take, after their scores for the national matriculation test were released by local authorities this week.

"My grand-daughter cannot make a decision since we know little about the colleges, nor the subjects provided by them," said a parent surnamed Tang in Nantong City of east China's Jiangsu province.

Every year, millions of the college candidates in China face the same dilemma when choosing academic majors and complain that information provided by the universities' publicity brochures or that posted online is inadequate.

"If the students fail to choose the right subjects, they may feel upset or even abandon their study after they enter the college," said Sun Xuece, an education expert.

"Before applying to schools, students and parents need to consult with professionals and volunteers," said Shao Long, head of a non-profit website offering consulting services to college candidates.

The website, namely, www.zs114.com, was launched in 2010 and has more than 100 experts who advise through it.

From this Saturday, 10,000 volunteers, mostly college students, will also offer online guidance via the website.

"As college students, familiar with the academic courses offered, we can show them a different perspective of the college and subjects offered," said Chang Yicun, a volunteer from Shandong University.

This year, more than 9 million of China's students took the world's largest standardized college entrance test, 70 percent of which may get the chance to attend college.