text: HONG KONG — Every June, millions of high school seniors in China sit down for a grueling university entrance exam, knowing they may not get into a top school or any school at all. If their results are disappointing, finding another route to university can take a year or more. 
   
   Now they may have a faster option. 
   
   The University of New Hampshire says it will start accepting scores from the Chinese exam, making it the first flagship state school in the United States to evaluate Chinese applicants using the results from that test, known as the gaokao. 
   
   There are 377,000 Chinese students in the United States, representing more than one third of all international students, according to the federal government. Since they often pay full tuition, they are an important source of revenue for American universities, which have been intensifying their efforts to recruit Chinese students. 
   
   Erika Mantz, a spokeswoman for the University of New Hampshire, said the gaokao program was meant to attract “outstanding Chinese high school graduates” after they get their test results in late June, months after the deadline has passed under the regular admissions process. Most incoming freshmen would have been admitted by the time Chinese students take the gaokao test. ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Nearly 10 million people took the Gaokao exam in China last week 
   
   A US university will begin accepting the Chinese university entrance exam known as the Gaokao in an effort to attract more Chinese students. 
   
   The University of New Hampshire will be the first state university in the US to accept the standardised placement test. 
   
   China is the largest exporter of students to the US, with 377,000 currently enrolled in US universities, according to government data. 
   
   An estimated 10 million students took the nine-hour test in China last week. 
   
   The exam - which takes place over two days in June each year - is taken by nearly every Chinese pupil and plays a crucial role in determining a person's career and future prospects. 
   
   A 'life-defining' test 
   
   Howard Zhang, BBC Chinese Service Editor 
   
   Gaokao literally means High Exam. It refers to the annual National Higher Education Entrance Exam in China, similar in format to the SAT in the United States. 
   
   Millions of Chinese high school seniors who sit through this highly competitive multi-subject exams each year see it as a life-defining moment. 
   
   Graduates who make it into top universities often end up in top companies and with good careers. Those who fail to enter university are often condemned to a life with little prospects. 
   
   Almost 10 million students sat through this year's Gaokao; one out of four won't end up with a university place. 
   
   The Gaokao predates modern times, having its roots in imperial China. 
   
   The University of New Hampshire had 781 international undergraduate and graduate students on campus last fall, according to the Union Leader newspaper - double the figure from five years previous. 
   
   About half of those foreign students - 357 - came from China. 
   
   As part of the new initiative, the university has launched a recruiting website in Chinese and English. 
   
   "This initiative is part of UNH's commitment to attracting more and stronger applicants from around the world," said university spokeswoman Erika Mantz. 
   
   "This new programme will in no way limit access for New Hampshire students," she added. 
   
   Image copyright Reuters Image caption The students see huge public support during the Gaokao season - here some are being cheered on their way to sit the tests in Anhui 
   
   In addition to submitting their Gaokao results, students must also take an English test, participate in a video interview and send their high school transcripts before moving forward with the application process. 
   
   Ms Mantz added that the process was still being finalised, but that Chinese students may still need to take the American SAT or ACT exam. 
   
   Students who are accepted will be able to begin classes in Durham this January, allowing them to start a semester early. 
   
   Previously, students from China would have had to wait for a new application period to begin in the autumn, putting them behind the rest of the first-year class. 
   
   A similar programme at the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit college, allows Chinese students to bypass US standardised tests altogether and instead submit just their Gaokao score, grades, and English language interview. 
   
   Image copyright BBC/ Gaokao Image caption A maths question on the 2014 exam asks: "If A= {}, and B={}, then A I B = ( )" 
   
   Up to three percent of Chinese students bypass the Gaokao by paying to for an "international track" programme, which prepares them for standardised testing abroad. 
   
   International enrolment - in which students are required to pay full priced tuition - helps universities bolster revenue. 
   
   The University of New Hampshire charges $45,000 (£34,000) per academic year for tuition and housing costs. 
   
   Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chinese students explain why they came to the US - and how college life differs to home 
   
   Dozens of universities in Europe, Australia, and Canada already accept Gaokao results on applications. 
   
   The US university's decision comes amid a federal crackdown on Chinese student visas. 
   
   The Trump administration announced in March that it is considering limiting the visas as part of a broad package of measures against China, which the US accuses of violating American intellectual-property laws. 
   
   The goal, the White House says, is to reduce "economic theft by non-traditional intelligence collectors". 
   
   Details have not been officially announced, but students studying high tech manufacturing fields, such as aviation and robotics, are expected to now receive visas with shorter lengths of stay. 
   
   The Associated Press reported in late May that US consulates have been directed by the Department of State to now only issue Chinese students with one-year - rather than five-year - visas. ||||| Our Innovative Gaokao-based, Early Admission Program For Superlative Chinese Students 
   
   The University of San Francisco is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for our Admission By Gaokao Examination Program for the Fall 2018 Semester. 
   
   We started this innovative program to enable Chinese students who score well on the Gaokao taken in June to study in the United States as early as the coming Fall Semester (August 2018). 
   
   Students will be admitted to USF based on their Gaokao test scores, school record and a one-on-one English interview with USF Professors Via Zoom. There are no other admission requirements. 
   
   USF President Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. explained: 
   
   Many studies have shown that the SAT is not a very good predictor of how well students will do at university. We are aware of the many criticisms that have been made of the Gaokao, but it has the advantage of being what educational experts call a 'criterion-referenced' exam: It tests whether students are able to master a given body of knowledge, as well as their ability to work hard and consistently. 
   
   USF recognizes this and wants to give excellent Chinese students the opportunity to start their education in the USA, immediately—without spending an extra year preparing for IELTS, TOEFL or SAT tests. 
   
   Eligible student scores will be established after Gaokao results become available in the third week of June. The interviews will begin July 2 (Monday) and will be held via Zoom. 
   
   Successful candidates will be able to start their studies in America as soon as August of this year. 
   
   The admission process will be streamlined so that qualified students will receive formal admission letters within days of their successful personal interviews, enabling them to schedule visa appointments. This will allow them to arrive in time for the beginning of classes on Tuesday, August 21. 
   
   Unfortunately, space is limited. Interested Gaokao students and parents should contact USF immediately to register for the program. 
   
   Additional Information 
   
   INQUIRY/REGISTRATION FORM 
   
   APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION BY GAOKAO EXAMINATION 
   
   CERTIFICATION OF FINANCES 
   
   
   
   旧金山大学高考招生项目 
   
   ——为最优秀的中国学生而开设 
   
   旧金山大学很高兴宣布：我们现已开始接收2018年秋季学期的高考招生项目的申请了。 
   
   我们创办这个新型招生项目的目的是为那些在六月份高考中取得优异成绩的学生提供一个尽早赴美深造的机会（最早可早至2018年秋季学期，今年8月份开学）。 
   
   学生录取仅需两项条件：高考成绩、高中成绩和与旧金山大学教授的英文面试。此外无其他录取条件。 
   
   旧金山大学校长保罗▪ J ▪ 菲茨杰拉德解释道： 
   
   “多项研究显示SAT成绩并不能很好的预测学生进入大学后表现是否优异。尽管我们也意识到有很多针对中国高考的批评，但是它有一个被教育专家称为“标准参照”的优势：它能测试出学生是否熟练掌握一个特定知识体系，以及他们是否具备刻苦学习并坚持到底的品质。” 
   
   正是认识到高考的这一优势，旧金山大学希望能给优秀的中国学生一个尽早赴美留学的机会，而无需再多花一年的时间去准备雅思、托福或者SAT考试。 
   
   符合我们录取要求的高考分数线将在高考成绩公布以后，大约为六月份的第三周，向公众公布。面试活动将于7月2日开始，通过Zoom进行远程视频面试。 
   
   被我校成功录取的学生今年8月份即可赴美学习。 
   
   旧金山大学简化了申请流程，符合录取要求的学生面试后几天内就能拿到正式的入学通知书，这样他们就可以尽早申请签证，并且能在2018年8月21日（周二）开课前顺利抵美。 
   
   遗憾的是，我们的名额非常有限。因此感兴趣的高考学生和家长应尽快联系我们报名。 
   
   更多信息，请点击以下链接: 
   
   咨询/报名表 (INQUIRY/REGISTRATION FORM) 
   
   申请表 (APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION BY GAOKAO EXAMINATION) 
   
   财力证明 (CERTIFICATION OF FINANCES) 
   
   联系人信息 
   
   朱靓(Amy Zhu) 
   
   旧金山大学北京办公室 
   
   北京市朝阳区东三环北路甲19号嘉盛中心3708室，100027 
   
   联系电话: (010) 8446 4615 
   
   传真： (010) 8446 4650 
   
   邮箱： azhu3@usfca.edu 
   
   为什么选择旧金山大学？ ||||| BEIJING (Reuters) - Lu Mengqi showed up for the first day of China’s annual college entrance exam, known as the “gaokao”, in a black Nike T-shirt featuring the brand’s trademark swoosh logo. In red. 
   
   Students are checked with metal detectors as they enter the venue for the annual national college entrance examination, or "gaokao", in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer 
   
   “This is my lucky outfit,” said the 18-year-old. “I bought it specifically for gaokao because Nike is my favorite sports brand and the shirt has a big check on it.” 
   
   A high score in the exam, the culmination of 12 years in a notoriously stressful education system, is seen as opening the way to a prestigious university and a life of opportunity. 
   
   Foreign institutions are also getting into the act, with the University of New Hampshire this year wooing students with high exam scores for the first time. 
   
   Some Western clothing brands recognize the high stakes. 
   
   Nike is selling 299-yuan ($47) T-shirts emblazoned on the back with the Chinese characters for “full marks” and the prerequisite swoosh on the front. 
   
   “I know that outfit by Nike, but I haven’t seen it in the shopping mall,” Lu said. “If I had seen it, I would have considered buying it.” 
   
   Most students were in uniform outside five Beijing schools Reuters visited on Thursday, but many others, particularly male students, wore Nike T-shirts and sneakers. 
   
   Others favored Champion, owned by HanesBrand Inc, or Supreme, a U.S. brand in which Carlyle Group has invested. Adidas and Hollister, owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, were also in the mix. 
   
   Red, a color associated with good fortune in China, found favor among both students and parents. 
   
   An Weiling, 49, a teacher from Beijing Hepingjie No.1 Middle School, said all her colleagues were wearing red T-shirts. 
   
   Some mothers wore the traditional cheongsam, or qipao. 
   
   One mother, dressed in pink, said she would wear a different colored outfit for each day of the exam. 
   
   “As the saying goes, unfurl one’s flag and secure victory,” she said, outside Beijing No. 161 Middle School. “On the second day I’ll wear red, and on the third green.” 
   
   The government expects 9.75 million students to do the exam this year, the largest number in eight years, most of them “millennium babies” born in 2000, the Chinese year of the dragon.
target: – Although high school students in the US might view taking the SAT or ACT as an ordeal, those college entrance exams have nothing on China’s gaokao, a grueling two-day, nine-hour test that Chinese students spend years preparing for. This year, an estimated 9.75 million students will take the test, notes Reuters, and less than 1% will do well enough to earn a spot in one of China’s premier universities, reports the New York Times. Now, the University of New Hampshire plans to cull some of that talent. The school has announced that it will accept scores from the Chinese exam on entrance applications, making it the first "flagship" state school in the US to do so. But submitting the gaokao results will not be the only test criteria. Students will also be required to take an English test, participate in a video interview and send their high school transcripts, reports the BBC, and they may still need to take the SAT or ACT exam. If admitted they would pay out-of-state tuition and housing costs of more than $45,000 a year. A few private institutions in the US as well as dozens of universities in Europe, Australia, and Canada already accept gaokao results on applications. The University of San Francisco has an early admissions program that allows June test takers to enroll in the fall semester, based on their grades, gaokao score, and personal interview in English. Not everyone is a fan of the gaokao. Critics say the test emphasizes memorization over creativity, but University of San Francisco president Paul J. Fitzgerald notes that the gaokao can assess a student’s determination to work “hard and consistently.” (She called a Texas standardized test a "big baloney sandwich.")