'Trinity' system combines multiple metrics to find the best

A trinity system for freshmen recruitment, first adopted by the South University of Science and Technology of China, has attracted hundreds of senior high school students to independent tests across the country.

At the Shenzhen-based university alone, a total of 11,774 senior high school students were given a chance to take the independent recruitment examination on June 15, which was held simultaneously in 22 provincial regions across the country.

The trinity system combines candidates' performance in high school evaluation tests with an independent recruitment test by the university and the national college entrance exam, or gaokao.

"As the national college entrance exam will no longer be the only assessment in recruiting freshmen, we are able to include more students with special skills and help them develop an interest in specific majors," said Ma Dongmei, a teacher at the university.

Performance on the gaokao, will account for 60 percent in the trinity recruitment system, with high school grades making up 10 percent and independent test scores accounting for the remaining 30 percent.

Since the country introduced the independent recruitment system in 2003, 90 universities have adopted it, allowing higher education authorities to pick excellent students in accordance with their interests.

"The system helped the university recruit freshmen who have a clear idea of their future majors and remain dedicated to them," Ma said.

It also increased the number of students who register online, showing that the trinity system "has become a comprehensive evaluation model in higher education reform", Ma said.

The university has been using the recruitment model for five years. According to Ma, 68 percent of last year's graduates continued their studies at internationally noted institutions. Sixty percent of this year's graduates received offers from well-known universities such as Oxford and Columbia.

"I like the test, which is quite different from the gaokao. I hope it will help me be recruited in a more open and innovation-driven university," said Li Liangqiu, a senior high school student from Guangzhou, Guangdong province.