Chinese University Admissions: A Gaokao Bidding Process
Quick Look
- Chinese university admissions function as a Gaokao result bidding process, where students choose programs based on historical marks and future employment market predictions.
- Over half of graduates hold STEM degrees, significantly more than in industrialized nations.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Chinese university admissions involve students matching Gaokao results to programs, with historical marks as guidance and educated guesses about future employment. The system is described as a sequence of auctions based on expected odds.
It is a sorting mechanism. Candidates need to find the right match by choosing programmes their gaokao results can gain them entry to. Historical admission marks only serve as indicative guidance. And parents have to make educated guesses as to what the employment market will be like four years hence.
As preferences fluctuate, so do the required admission marks for majors at targeted universities. Candidates essentially commit to a sequence of auctions based on expected odds, with their gaokao results as bids.
More than half of Chinese university graduates have a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degree and roughly one in three bachelor degrees are in engineering. This compares to about 21-23 per cent in industrialised economies such as South Korea and Germany.
Open Questions
- How does this system impact graduate career satisfaction?
- What are the long-term economic consequences of this STEM focus?
