5 ms·

The article's comparison to the SAT is misleading. Whereas the SAT is a reasoning test, the Gao Kao is a series of subject tests (think SAT Subject Tests or AP

The article's comparison to the SAT is misleading. Whereas the SAT is a reasoning test, the Gao Kao is a series of subject tests (think SAT Subject Tests or AP exams). The three mandatory subjects are Mathematics, Chinese, and a foreign language. In addition, students select one to three additional exams, and this choice depends on what they hope to study in college. Prospective science/engineering students will choose from Biology, Chemistry, and Physics; prospective arts/humanities students will choose from History, Geography, and Political Education.

3dFlatLander 17y ago
"In addition, students select one to three additional exams, and this choice depends on what they hope to study in college." Does that mean that a student must choose a major before they enter into college and stick with it throughout their education?
- andylei 17y ago
  students in China actually must apply to specific majors when they apply to college. for example, instead of applying to MIT, you'd apply for electrical engineering at MIT. it's also very difficult to change majors after you've been accepted into a particular one.
  - Maktab 17y ago
    Nor is this unique to China; the same is true in South Africa where you choose your major before applying to university and then apply specifically to that degree program, which has its own unique requirements, instead of applying to the university in general as you would in the US. And once you have started your degree you cannot (except in rare circumstances) take modules from other courses that aren't a part of your syllabus or jump easily between majors. To my knowledge this is actually the way higher education in most countries works, with the US being a bit of an exception.
  - GeneralMaximus 17y ago
    Same here in India. Oh, and the entrance test you take has nothing to do with the "major" you choose. I'm an IT student, and the entrance test to my university had 3 subjects: physics, chemistry and mathematics. Nothing else. And no, you cannot choose. You have a bunch of extra curriculars under your belt? Oh, so you contributed to FOSS? Well, nobody cares. Because, "academics are more important for your future, kids".
  - DrJokepu 17y ago
    That's pretty much true for any country outside the US. Even in England, you apply to a programme in a college and not to a college.
  - wallflower 17y ago
    As I heard this explained once, this leads to students studying biology who wanted to study computer science but could not because they did not score highly enough. I don't know if that is a flawed system because even in America - you don't always do what your major prepared you for. Still, is "Undecided" a uniquely American college aspect?
  - graphene 17y ago
    In Belgium, all engineering students are put together first for three semesters of general introductory courses, after which students choose a major and a minor out of the classical engineering disciplines.
  - taw 17y ago
    Same in Poland and Germany. Information that it's different in US surprises me greatly - how can you have any kind of meaningful entrance exams (or other criteria) for entire university that would work no matter what you want to study? Someone who would be good at electrical engineering might suck badly at gender studies. Occasionally for practical reasons entrance exams are shared between similar degrees - for example University of Wroclaw has a single entrance exam for mathematics and computer science degrees - but you need to decide before the first term anyway, and switching it later is complicated (but somewhat common, as is doing both degrees simultaneously).

3dFlatLander 17y ago

"In addition, students select one to three additional exams, and this choice depends on what they hope to study in college." Does that mean that a student must choose a major before they enter into college and stick with it throughout their education?

andylei 17y ago
students in China actually must apply to specific majors when they apply to college. for example, instead of applying to MIT, you'd apply for electrical engineering at MIT. it's also very difficult to change majors after you've been accepted into a particular one.
- Maktab 17y ago
  Nor is this unique to China; the same is true in South Africa where you choose your major before applying to university and then apply specifically to that degree program, which has its own unique requirements, instead of applying to the university in general as you would in the US. And once you have started your degree you cannot (except in rare circumstances) take modules from other courses that aren't a part of your syllabus or jump easily between majors. To my knowledge this is actually the way higher education in most countries works, with the US being a bit of an exception.
- GeneralMaximus 17y ago
  Same here in India. Oh, and the entrance test you take has nothing to do with the "major" you choose. I'm an IT student, and the entrance test to my university had 3 subjects: physics, chemistry and mathematics. Nothing else. And no, you cannot choose. You have a bunch of extra curriculars under your belt? Oh, so you contributed to FOSS? Well, nobody cares. Because, "academics are more important for your future, kids".
- DrJokepu 17y ago
  That's pretty much true for any country outside the US. Even in England, you apply to a programme in a college and not to a college.
- wallflower 17y ago
  As I heard this explained once, this leads to students studying biology who wanted to study computer science but could not because they did not score highly enough. I don't know if that is a flawed system because even in America - you don't always do what your major prepared you for. Still, is "Undecided" a uniquely American college aspect?
- graphene 17y ago
  In Belgium, all engineering students are put together first for three semesters of general introductory courses, after which students choose a major and a minor out of the classical engineering disciplines.
- taw 17y ago
  Same in Poland and Germany. Information that it's different in US surprises me greatly - how can you have any kind of meaningful entrance exams (or other criteria) for entire university that would work no matter what you want to study? Someone who would be good at electrical engineering might suck badly at gender studies. Occasionally for practical reasons entrance exams are shared between similar degrees - for example University of Wroclaw has a single entrance exam for mathematics and computer science degrees - but you need to decide before the first term anyway, and switching it later is complicated (but somewhat common, as is doing both degrees simultaneously).