HK ranks lower than Singapore in Oxbridge admissions, says study
But experts say acceptance rate not indication of poor academic results, calling for more resources to help students prepare for admissions process
Hong Kong-based applicants to two of the top UK universities fared worse than those from Singapore, a study has found, with education consultants calling for more resources in schools to aid students, and better preparation bythem.
The study, conducted by education consultancy Norton House and commissioned by the International Chinese Academy Education Foundation, which conducts education research, looked at the admission acceptance rates of students in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and South Korea to the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford over five years.
While the average acceptance rate to Cambridge for Hong Kong students from 2011 to 2015 –16.12 per cent – is higher than the non-EU average of 11.56 per cent, it ranks below that of Singapore, whose rate is 17.39 per cent. But the Hong Kong average is higher than that of China (13.94 per cent) and South Korea (12.34 per cent).
With an admission acceptance rate of 12.7 per cent to Oxford, Hong Kong’s ranking slips further down to third, behind Singapore at 15.6 per cent and mainland China at 12.96 per cent. But the city’s students still fared better than the non-EU average of 9.54 per cent.
Dr Aaron Lau Kam-yin, head of admission coaching at Norton House, said the city’s performance was “not ideal”, considering “Hong Kong has one of the best education standards in the world”.
But he ruled out academic results as a factor, instead attributing Hong Kong’s relatively poorer performance to the lack of support from schools and insufficient preparation by students for the admission process.