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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) admitted, through JUPAS, 3,066 students who sat for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE). The intake this year is impressive, with over 99% of them being Band A students. Nearly half of the students who achieved Level 5** in six subjects or above were admitted to CUHK, including one of them having 5** in eight subjects and three of them having 5** in seven subjects being admitted to Medicine (Global Physician-Leadership Stream). Another 8 students with 5** in six subjects were admitted to Medicine (Global Physician-Leadership Stream) and Global Business Studies, and of all candidates who achieved Level 5** in one subject or above in Hong Kong, around 40% were admitted to CUHK.

In terms of the median admission scores of the best five subjects, four out of the top ten programmes/streams among the JUPAS institutions in the territory are CUHK programmes, including Medicine (Global Physician-Leadership Stream), Medicine, Global Business Studies, and Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science. Medicine (Global Physician-Leadership Stream), which admitted 33 students this year, is the top programme with the highest median admission scores territory-wide for eight consecutive years.

Choice Institution for Students with Diverse Talents and Interests

As a cradle for the development of all-round talents in students, CUHK provides a wide selection of undergraduate programmes to nurture students with diverse talents and interests. This year, 17 CUHK programmes admitted top students with a score of 33 or above in their best five HKDSE subjects. These are History, Global Business Studies, Quantitative Finance, Interdisciplinary Major Programme in Global Economics and Finance, Bachelor of Business Administration (Integrated BBA Programme) and Juris Doctor Double Degree Programme, Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science, Mathematics and Mathematics Education, Artificial Intelligence: Systems and Technologies, Bachelor of Laws, Medicine (Global Physician-Leadership Stream), Medicine, Pharmacy, Biomedical Sciences, Enrichment Mathematics, Enrichment Stream in Theoretical Physics, Social Science, and Global Communication.

Journey from the Past to Present: A History Major’s Search

The Faculty of Arts, one of the Faculties with the longest history in CUHK, has admitted six new students with Level 5** in three or more HKDSE subjects, including a student who achieved Level 5** in four subjects admitted to read History, four students achieving Level 5** in three subjects to read Chinese Language and Literature, and one student with Level 5** in three subjects to read Philosophy.

LEE Ching Nga, with four subjects in Level 5** and a score of 33 in the best five subjects, has been admitted to read History. Diligent and outgoing, she was always a top student in Chinese, Chinese Literature and World History at school, and actively engaged in experiential programmes to broaden her horizons. Particularly drawn to history, she is a staunch believer in drawing lessons from the past to deepen our understanding of world civilisations. Ching Nga’s experience of once joining the Young Friends of Heritage Scheme organised by the Antiquities and Monuments Office greatly impressed her. She was also fascinated by learning about archaeology and joining field trips during the scheme. Meanwhile, she also got the chance to mingle with high school students from the Mainland and Japan, and learned a lot from those of different cultures and origins, which inspired her to think from multiple perspectives – a habit that has had a lasting impact on her studies in history and writing. Ching Nga later found herself in a Chinese history study programme, where she was asked to consolidate and analyse a huge amount of literature for essay writing. The training she had in those seemingly unrelated programmes came in handy and led her to a bronze medal in the territory-wide secondary school category. Ching Nga cares for her community through participating in social services that support ethnic minority children and taking up leadership positions in school societies. She plans to deepen her history knowledge and, by doing so, to discover possibilities that will help the world improve.

Ode to Physics and Music from a Budding Physicist

Admitted to Enrichment Stream in Theoretical Physics, NG Chi Nok, who achieved Level 5** in four subjects and Level 5* in another two, is an aspiring young scientist with an exceptional knack for sciences and music, boasting at once the composure of the rational-minded and a passion for artistic expression. For Chi Nok, the unending search for new knowledge is almost like an art itself. He is immensely grateful to his physics teacher, who, instead of spoon-feeding him with cold textbook answers, has inspired him to acquire the all-important skill in “learning to learn” and encouraged him to look for answers from the literature, which has in turn led him to an understanding of the spirit commonly shared by scientists in their relentless search for the truth. Preparations for the HKDSE did not prevent Chi Nok from exploring beyond the school curriculum. He found himself engrossed in The Feynman Lectures on Physics. He enjoys the process of solving the mysteries in science, which brings new concepts and the spark that fuels his quest into the unknown. Music also accompanied him in his formative years, alongside academics. He understands well the essential role of perseverance in both academic and musical endeavours, and lives up to that understanding as an accomplished pianist and clarinettist, being awarded Licentiateship (LTCL) for the former and Associateship (ATCL) for the latter. He was showered with accolades, including a Bronze Award and a Merit respectively from two robotics competitions, ROBOFEST and RoboSTEAM Hong Kong Open in 2019, and a Silver Medal and a certificate of excellence respectively from Hong Kong Inter-School Choral Festival and Hong Kong Open Music Competition (Piano) in 2020.

Each year, the “Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship” launched by the HKSAR Home Affairs Bureau awards local high school students full-tuition fee scholarships to study a bachelor degree in recognition of their outstanding achievements in non-academic areas such as sports, arts, and community service. CUHK has admitted 15 scholarship recipients this year. Programmes admitting them include Fine Arts, History, Music, Physical Education, Exercise Science and Health, Engineering, Medicine, Nursing, Architectural Studies, and Social Work.

Of Shots and Steps: Dancing with Archery

Caleb TONG, one of the recipients of the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship, is a polished athlete and ballerino admitted to the Engineering programme with Level 5** in two subjects. Being a holder of three Hong Kong records in archery and a member of the Hong Kong Youth Archery Squad, he sets “reaching for the limit and beyond” as his life’s motto. Entering the world of archery at the age of twelve, Caleb rose through the ranks from an amateur to a professional athlete in the Youth Squad with remarkable determination. He has represented Hong Kong in national and international youth competitions, and achieved 1st runner-up with his team in the National Archery U17, U15, U13 (Key School) Championship in 2018. Caleb has also developed a deep connection with ballet. Attracted to the beauty of its steps when he was in primary school, he has become a ballerino since then. As one of the few male learners in the class, he has been true to himself and his passion for the art of ballet, breaking new limits along the way and preparing himself well psychologically for his later quest in archery. In 2018, Caleb received distinctive results in the Royal Academy of Dance examination which dovetailed with his feats in archery of the same year.

Of East and West: Delivering Beyond Cantonese Opera

TAM Ching, who has developed a strong bond with music and arts since he was a child, and also plays a wide range of musical instruments, has been admitted to read Music as another recipient of the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship. His musical journey began with Cantonese opera when he attended performances with his family and received formal training in Sing Fai Cantonese Opera Promotion Association; he started performing excerpts when he was three. Devoted to his art and motivated by his enthusiastic audience, Tam endured demanding rehearsals despite growing pressure from his studies, and was appointed Cantonese Opera ambassador by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to perform worldwide, including Canada, the mainland of China, Singapore and the United States. A frequent contestant in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, he won four times in the Cantonese Opera category. Tam was also drawn to traditional Chinese music, and plays a range of instruments, including zhongruan, yangqin, pipa and more for the school’s Chinese orchestra. He also achieved grade eight in piano. Tam resolves to promote the intangible cultural heritage of Cantonese opera, bringing to bear his exceptional exposure to music in the East and the West.

Twenty-two students were admitted this year via the “Sports Scholarship Scheme” with outstanding achievements in sports, including athletics, badminton, basketball, cross-country race, fencing, handball, rugby, soccer, softball, swimming, table-tennis, taekwondo, tennis, and volleyball. Four of these athletes are members of teams that represent Hong Kong officially. Fifteen of them are from the Hong Kong Junior Squad and three are members of the Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation.

This year, 139 students were admitted to CUHK through the “School Principal’s Nominations Scheme”. They were recognised for achievements in and outside of their respective schools and communities.