CUHK medical school snatches over half of DSE top scorers

Eunice Lam

Chinese University's medical school snatched half of the 10 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education super top scorers - as over 15,700 students will be offered places at nine local universities through the Joint University Programs Admissions System today.

These students either got an offer of bachelor's degree programs from the eight University Grants Committee-funded universities, or self-financed bachelor's degree programs at the Education University of Hong Kong.

Among them, 13,797 applicants, or 87 percent, had successfully admitted to their Band A choices - or the first three priorities of their applications.

Ahead of the DSE results announced on July 17, universities had been launching different scholarships to attract top scorers, with the CUHK offering a one-off HK$410,000 study and overseas exchange subsidy for "super top scorers" who scored the highest Level 5** in seven DSE subjects - on top of a full ride for their undergraduate program.

Eight of the 10 top scorers this year had previously said they would study medicine, and five chose CUHK's medicine school.

The University of Hong Kong admitted four top scorers getting 5** in six subjects and has also recruited two elite athletes to its medicine program, while the University of Science and Technology admitted one super top scorer studying its flagship program Bachelor of Business Administration in Global Business.

Meanwhile, City University recruited some 1,600 freshmen via JUPAS, while the Hong Kong Polytechnic University admitted some 2,000. Hong Kong Baptist University issued admission offers to nearly 1,100 JUPAS applicants this year, with the Education University of Hong Kong admitting some 900.

And Lingnan University said the university's enrollment situation is similar to that of last year.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com