'The day I started university, a senior schoolmate told me to seize the opportunity to apply for grants,' recalls Li Qing, a third-year undergraduate at South China University of Technology.
'I was quite confused, because my family is totally capable of supporting my studies. But now, I understand why they suggested it.'
Every year around October, the talk among almost all the university students in Guangzhou is about grants.
The grants, 2,000 yuan (HK$2,450) to 3,000 yuan a year, were designed to help hard-working students who had trouble with living expenses.
But things have changed, and now the needy are not the only ones getting grants - you can get one by merely applying.
A grant-aided student who refused to give his name says: 'I just need to get a poverty certificate from my township government and hand it in with the application form and wait for the approval from the class approval group and the school authority. The poverty certificate is easy to get, whether you are poor or not.'
