Tsinghua’s new set of admission requirements for foreign applicants is under fire as critics accuse the prestigious university of giving international students preferential treatment over local applicants, an article by China Daily reported.
In order to qualify for the university’s bachelor’s degree programs, foreign applicants must be under 25 years of age, with a high school diploma, and must be proficient in the Chinese language.
One thing that was scrapped from the set of requirements for international students, however, was an entrance examination, which was previously required for foreign applicants.
In addition, admissions at Tsinghua have not lowered the threshold for foreign applications.
“After foreign applicants submit their documents, Tsinghua will organize [a] group of experts to evaluate them, without knowing their names. Enrollment will be finalized after a strict process that includes interviews,” an admissions official told People’s Daily, according to China Daily.
“In recent years, increasing numbers of international students want to study at Tsinghua. With the new policy, we have actually expanded the scope of applications, thus making the process more competitive than before,” the official added.
Getting into Tsinghua University is a hard process for most applicants, and with the new set of requirements for foreign students, the university is being criticized for giving foreign applicants the special treatment. Some believe it will discourage Chinese applicants from trying to get into Tsinghua.
The official, however, clarified with People’s Daily that Chinese language proficiency is a requirement applicants from overseas must meet. This means foreign applicants must take the Band 5 level of the HSK language test. Furthermore, international admissions will have hardly any effect on Chinese students.
According to Xiong Bingqi, vice president of 21st Century Education Research Institute, a university’s global influence can be measured by its international student population. As a result, certain policies must be implemented to pull up Tsinghua’s current number.
“Currently, foreigners account for only 5.8 percent of Tsinghua students, which is lower than the 20 percent figure at universities such as Oxford and Harvard,” Xiong told China Daily.