Bureaus Exclusive

Sichuan candidates sit for postgraduate exam

By Zhang Ao (China Daily Sichuan Bureau)
Updated: 2010-01-11 16:27

Yesterday was an especially important day for Xia Li, 25, a teacher at Dongruan Technological School in Chengdu, Sichuan province, who had spent two years preparing for her postgraduate exam.

Excited and nervous, she arrived at the exam venue about 7:15 am, an hour earlier than the admission time.

Xia was one of 48,562 Sichuan people who lined up to take the 2010 national postgraduate exam to compete with peers nationwide for 465,000 postgraduate openings.

The Sichuan applicants took the exam in 1,404 exam rooms 15 16 venues, according to the Sichuan Provincial Department of Education.

Those taking the test ranged from academic enthusiasts to those candidates who believe they will be offered better jobs and higher salaries after acquiring postgraduate diplomas.

"In Chengdu, a postgraduate generally earns 500 yuan to 1,000 yuan more than a graduate per month at the same job. In addition, companies offer them better accommodations," said Ding Xiang, a senior at Chengdu University of Technology.

Some students also take the exam as an opportunity to change their majors and then step into a new field. Li Mei, a senior at the Law School of Sichuan University, chose journalism as her future major.

Many exam-related businesses have been thriving during recent years. Apartment rents near the exam venues have doubled. "I rent an apartment near my exam site that cost me 100 yuan per night, doubling its normal cost of 50 yuan. All the apartments nearby have been booked, even one month before the exam," said postgraduate hopeful Yi Yezi.

Training classes on general subjects such as political theory, foreign language and mathematics are popular among candidates. About 95 percent of the candidates have taken training classes on political theory.

These general-knowledge classes, usually training more than 2,000 candidates at a time, cost a few yuan to hundreds of yuan.

VIP training classes, which mostly hire postgraduate students to give lectures, can cost more. The Hai Wen Postgraduate Examination Training Institution issues a "Diamond Card" that costs 22,020 yuan to provide VIP services.

However, these expensive classes haven’t attracted many exam sitters. "20,000 yuan is too much for me, and I also doubt its credibility," a candidate surnamed Wu told China Daily.