As the summer comes to an end, new students in different colours of orientation camp T-shirts crop up on campus, ready to begin their university journeys. This year, through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS), CUHK has admitted 2,886 students who sat the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination. 99.5% of them have made CUHK their Band A choices. Among all candidates who achieved the highest level of 5** in five subjects or above in the HKDSE territory-wide, over 40% were admitted by CUHK, including three top-scorers with 5** in seven subjects, as well as 11 students with 5** in six subjects.
In terms of the median admission scores of the best five subjects, five out of the top 10 programmes among the JUPAS institutions in the territory are offered by CUHK, including Medicine (Global Physician-Leadership Stream), Global Business Studies, Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science, Medicine and International Business and Chinese Enterprise. Medicine (Global Physician-Leadership Stream) is the top programme with the highest median admission scores territory-wide for five consecutive years.
Six admittees were awarded the fourth 'Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship' under the auspices of the Home Affairs Bureau, and were offered sponsorships for their full tuition fee. Twenty-three students have been admitted to CUHK through the University's Sports Scholarship Scheme with their outstanding performances in sports, three of whom represent Hong Kong in their respective fields.
This year's freshmen represent a diverse and talented group of students and we can find many musicians, athletes and inventors among them.
Thomas Yuen, a top scorer clinching 5** in all seven subjects as well as a 5** for the mathematics extended module, got into the MBChB (Global Physician-Leadership Stream) programme. Through studying biology in secondary school, he learned that the coordination between different systems of the human body is as fascinating as that of the universe. So he wishes to know more by majoring in medicine. He aims to become an expert in administrative medicine to improve the healthcare system and to ease the burden on public services.
Luk Hei has been playing piano and harmonica since childhood and was a winner of the 2016 Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival. He also plays soccer and finds in sports and music much relief from exam stress. He attained 5** in seven subjects in the HKDSE and was admitted to the Global Business Studies programme, hoping to broaden his horizons and meet people from all walks of life.
Lam Yee-lok, a member of the Hong Kong Women's Table Tennis Team, was admitted to the Physical Education, Exercise Science and Health programme. In 2011, she won her first Girls' Singles in Poland. She has gathered many more awards over the years, but not without setbacks. She was once diagnosed with arthritis caused by intensive training. With the determination and perseverance developed in the sports field, she ultimately recovered. The experience reinforced her belief that one needs to go the extra mile for a brighter future.
Economics freshman Chan Ka-lung has been winning technology accolades since young. When he was in Secondary Five, he collaborated with two schoolmates to develop a 'signtranslate glove' that turns sign language from hand gesture into multi-lingual texts displayed on a smartphone. Utilizing Bluetooth technology, the device allows the deaf to communicate with foreigners. The design won the team a bronze medal in the International Sustainable World Project Olympiad.
This article was originally published in No. 522, Newsletter in Sep 2018.