College Entrance Exams Cause Super Stress
9.5 million students competing for 5.7 million seats.
The Chinese college entrance exams can freeze the country…good practice for next year's Summer Olympics, except that will only freeze up Beijing.
It "is the culmination of years of studies. This test will decide the rest of their lives."
One test on one day taken by 18-year olds making the difference in their whole lives? Seems a bit dramatic but it's true.
China has a one factor sytems…no letters of recommendation, service
record….none of that nonsense, er, worthwhile consideration. Before taking the test the students list their top three choices and hope their test scores will get them in.
Those who don't make the cut this year can compete with next year's crowd.
Oh! So, it's NOT a once in a lifetime shot…nor should it be.
Good food, herbal medicine rubs, drugs to boost concentration, nearby hotels booked solid so students can sleep in, police on high alert so traffic jams don't delay students to test sites, stoppage at construction work sites, even changing of flight plans for commercial aircraft are some of the things that go on.
Is it reasonable to expect the one day performance of an 18-year old to have such an impact on the rest of their lives?
What do you think?


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