A total of 2,568 students from Hong Kong applied for admission in mainland universities in 2017 through a recruitment plan without taking China’s National College Entrance Examination, Xinhuanet.com reported on July 13, citing China’s Education Exchange (Hong Kong) Centre.

Statistics show that 3.9 per cent of students in Hong Kong chose mainland universities for further studies in 2016, and the figure rose to more than 4 per cent this year. A total of 1,391 Hong Kong students were enrolled in mainland universities in 2016.

Sun Yat-sen University, followed by Jinan University and Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, are most favored by the applicants. Medical science, Economic Management and Linguistics, are their favorite majors.

The admission center pointed out that the students made the decision because there were no majors of their choice in Hong Kong. Moreover, they wish to establish interpersonal relationships in advance of their future careers on Chinese mainland.

The plan was launched in 2012 involving 90 mainland universities that recruit Hong Kong applicants according to their performance in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education.