Students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have more opportunities to be admitted to top universities on the mainland, as more of the schools have started to enroll high school seniors without the national college entrance examination, or gaokao.

This year, students from Hong Kong can apply to 112 universities on the mainland without taking the gaokao first, under a special plan launched in 2012 that allows mainland universities to recruit Hong Kong applicants based on their performance in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education test, the Ministry of Education said.

Since 2012, the number of mainland institutions covered under the special plan nearly doubled, from 63 to 112, with the Central Academy of Music, Central Academy of Fine Arts and Central Academy of Drama among the 10 most recent additions, the ministry said.

Students from Macao can apply to 88 mainland universities this year without taking the gaokao, up from 67 last year and 57 in 2017, it said.

More than 15,000 students from Hong Kong and more than 5,700 from Macao have been admitted to mainland universities through alternate enrollment programs as of the end of 2017, according to the ministry.

High-school graduates from Taiwan can apply to universities in the mainland with fewer academic requirements this year. They are required to achieve at least an average grade on the island's college entry exam in one of three subjects - Chinese, math or English - before applying to a mainland university. In the past, students have been required to score a passing grade in all the subjects included in the island's college entrance exam.

An Fengshan, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said 336 mainland universities will be allowed to enroll students from Taiwan this year, 20 more than in 2018.

"It's a natural choice and an irresistible trend for Taiwan students to apply to mainland colleges," An said at a news conference on Wednesday. "They are simply looking for better opportunities to realize their dreams and develop their careers."

Chung Ho-yi, 20, from Hong Kong, was admitted to Beijing Normal University in 2016, majoring in journalism and communication.

"I chose to go to a mainland university because it offers affordable and quality education," she said.

More Hong Kong students have been opting for mainland universities to seek better career opportunities and broaden their vision, she said.

Annual tuition at mainland universities - roughly 5,000 yuan ($748) per year - are much more affordable than those in Hong Kong, which can cost around 30,000 yuan annually, she said.

Chan Pou Kuan, from Macao, is a senior at Beijing Normal University, majoring in bioscience.

"If I had stayed in Macao, I probably would have had to change my major because there are few universities offering classes in the subject," she said.

Zhang Yangfei contributed to this story.