CUHK to interview all applicants

All students applying to Chinese University for the 2013-14 academic year will have to undergo interviews.

Currently only a fraction of study programmes, including medicine and education, ask to meet their candidates during the selection process. But starting from 2013, the practice will be extended to all departments.

University provost Benjamin Wah Wan-sang hopes the new procedure will help teachers and students get to know each other.

'The practice can help candidates recognise their career paths and match them up with the perfect programmes,' Wah says. 'It can also prevent students wasting time on a subject they do not enjoy.'

Under a four-year curriculum, first-year students have to complete a year-long foundation course, such as liberal studies or a language, before selecting their major. This should give them sufficient time to pin down their choices, Wah said.

The university will also launch a mentorship programme next year. An academic adviser will keep track of each student's academic performance and school life.

Wah said the pair-up would help students taking the '3+3+4' curriculum get used to university life as they would be one year younger when starting university studies.