Take the Test to Get Into China's Top Universities
The grueling nine-hour gaokao is all that matters when applying for universities in China. No one has ever got full marks.
Students take the 2014 college entrance exam in China, in Rongan, southwest China's Guangxi province on June 7, 2014.
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During two days in June, 9 million Chinese high school graduates will take a college entrance test that will decide their future. Many will have spent their lives preparing for this moment.
Think of the gaokao—the word translates as “high test”—as the SAT on steroids. Nine hours long in total, it requires a mastery of Chinese history, English grammar, and complex calculus. Students seeking a future in science will be tested on physics, chemistry, and biology. Liberal arts students must show proficiency in political theory, history, and geology.