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HKU announces an increase in both JUPAS and non-JUPAS places in 2012

29 Oct 2011

At the Information Days to be held on October 29 and 30, 2011, Professor John Spinks, Chairman of the University Admissions Committee of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), will explain how HKU will be opening up more places for undergraduate applications this year compared with 2011. Here are the main points to be presented at the admission talks.

HKU applicants have a greater chance of admission in 2012

There will be an increased number of places for ALL of the following groups of applicants:

JUPAS ALE applicants,
JUPAS DSE applicants,
Non-JUPAS applicants,
Non-local students from Mainland China and
Non-local students from the rest of the world

Because of this increase in the number of places available, applicants from each group will stand a greater chance of admission in 2012 compared with previous years.

Professor Spinks says: "It is nice, in many ways, that this coincides with HKU's Centenary celebrations. The University has so many applications, over 42,500 last year, that it is very pleasing to note that we will be able to accept more of these. HKU has become increasingly difficult to gain admission to, as our reputation worldwide has increased, so, even though this will be for just 2012, it will be of some relief to both students and parents having to cope with the uncertainties of a new system.

This unique situation arises because of three factors, explains Professor Spinks. First, there will be no Early Admissions Scheme (EAS) in this coming year. As more EAS students chose to come to HKU than any other university in 2011, there are more additional places available for other students than is the case elsewhere. This is true of both the HKALE intake and the HKDSE intake.

The second factor is HKU's typically large numbers of non-JUPAS applications. As a result of this, HKU has traditionally accepted a large number of non-JUPAS applicants, even though this is still less than 1 in every 10 applications. For 2012, there is only one cohort of non-JUPAS applications, not two as in the HKALE and HKDSE cohorts. Even if the number of non-JUPAS applications increases in 2012, the resulting increased intake of non-JUPAS students can be spread across the 3 year curriculum and the 4 year curriculum. As a result, there will be more places left available for JUPAS applicants. Professor Spinks explains: "HKU benefits more than other institutions on this factor as well, because of our historically high number of both non-JUPAS applicants and non-JUPAS admissions. In the extreme counter-example, if an institution had no non-JUPAS students in 2011, then the number of JUPAS places in 2012 would be exactly the same as in 2011. Our situation is quite the opposite of this."

The third factor is that HKU has been given additional places by the UGC as a result of the Triennial Planning procedures, totaling over 100 undergraduate places.

All these three factors mean that the quotas for all groups of students will significantly increase, in some cases more than double the 2011 quotas.

The situation for non-local students is somewhat different, but HKU is able to admit more Mainland Chinese students and more overseas non-local students in 2012 compared with 2011.

The following graphic may help to explain the situation more clearly (see end).

In addition, HKU is hosting 7 new undergraduate degree programmes in 2012, so there are additional spaces for HKDSE students to apply for these programmes. These are:

B.Ed./B.Sc. double degree (5 year programme)
B.Ed./B.Soc.Sc. double degree (5 year programme)
B.Ed./B.A. Chinese Language double degree (5 year programme)
B.A. in Conservation Studies
B.A. in Urban Planning
B.Biomedical Sciences
B.Eng. (Engineering Science)

Professor Spinks will also provide more details about the selection of students under the new HKDSE scheme:

1. The scoring system to be adopted by HKU acknowledges outstanding results by giving extra points to 5* and 5** subjects. Professor Spinks explains, "HKU values excellence, hence we will be giving extra points to those students who can show this in individual HKDSE subjects."

Level	1	2	3	4	5	5*	5**
Score	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

In calculating the HKDSE scores, the University will count the results of the four core subjects and the best two electives when considering HKDSE candidates' applications. Some faculties/programmes may give slightly higher weighting to specific subjects in the selection formulae.

2. For 2012, HKU will rely primarily on DSE results to select students for admission. It will look at the results of the 4 core subjects and the 2 best electives. Professor Spinks says: "We wish to support the new academic structure as much as possible, particularly in the first year. This makes our selection very trustworthy and open."

3. It is likely that many students will have a similar HKDSE score, based on the above scoring system. HKU will therefore use a number of additional factors as "tie-breakers". These include, depending on the individual degree programme:

The Level achieved in a 3^rd elective
Interview scores
The Student Learning Profile
Other Experiences and Achievements
And/or, in the case of a few programmes, scores from an aptitude test.

4. HKU will interview a large number of applicants prior to their DSE examinations. Schools have been invited to nominate students who are considered to be of the standards of HKU. HKU will interview those whose academic background is excellent, over the period of the next few months. These interviews will be either faculty based (according to the student's first choice of programme) or university-wide, but the results of the interview will be made available to all programmes. The results will be used primarily for tie-breaking purposes. Students attending these interviews will also have the opportunity to meet up with some of the HKU professors, and to find out more about the programmes and requirements of HKU. It however should also be emphasized that not being invited to interview at this stage does not mean that the candidates will not be selected for admission. Not all candidates will be interviewed and some applicants will be interviewed at a later stage.

Note for non-JUPAS applicants

For non-JUPAS applications, the deadline for the Fast-Track application system will be extended from the present November 1 until November 8, 2011. Fast-Track enables some of the very top students to get an earlier offer from HKU than under the Main Round. It also enables a second group of students to be short-listed for a place, but a final offer will depend on the applications in the Main Round. Prof. Spinks says: "So far, the number of applications for Fast-Track has far exceeded our expectations. However, some students have not seen this option on the HKU website, and so we are allowing an extra week for applicants after Information Day."

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