CUHK to increase scholarships, totaling HK$36 mn this year

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) plans to increase various scholarships, with an expected total of HK$ 36 million to be awarded this year, an 87% increase from last year. 

The proportion of students from low-income families at CUHK is the highest among the three major universities. The number of students receiving financial aid has also increased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The university aims to increase scholarships to alleviate the financial burden on new students, said Wong Ka-chat, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at CUHK, in an interview with a newspaper.

Starting next year, the subsidized tuition fee for bachelor's degrees will increase from HK$ 42,100 to HK$ 49,500 by 2027, a 17.6% increase over three years. Regarding the proposal by some education sector representatives to charge tuition based on specific disciplines, Wong believes this will be difficult to implement because some credits include mandatory courses such as general education or languages, making it hard to calculate the education cost for each student accurately. He also worries that higher-cost subjects will burden lower-income families financially.

With DSE results being released next Wednesday, Wong discussed CUHK's admission criteria, and said that the median score for CUHK admissions, based on the best five DSE subjects, is around 25 points, depending on the requirements of individual programs.

He estimated that admission scores across all institutions in Hong Kong will slightly decrease in the next academic year, and CUHK will focus on applicants' best five subjects. CUHK also has a "flexible admission" policy to admit students who do not meet the standards in core subjects but excel in other areas. About nine students were admitted through this route this academic year, generally with weaker Chinese language scores, he added.