Navigating college admissions another challenge for students

China's grueling national college entrance exam, the gaokao, may have concluded, but the pressure is far from over.

As scores for the all-important exam become available nationwide, students and their parents find themselves facing a new source of tension — navigating the complex university application process.

The race for coveted university spots has fueled a booming market for college application advisory services.

Even before the exam concluded earlier this month, the high demand for application services was evident. A service priced at 17,999 yuan ($2,480) offered by Zhang Xuefeng, an influential online education adviser, sold out in three hours during a livestream. Anxious parents flooded the livestream with questions about applying to suitable majors and universities based on their children's preferences and performance.

According to iiMedia Research, the market for gaokao application services in China reached 880 million yuan in 2022 and around 950 million yuan last year. China has over 1,850 companies involved in "university application services", with 80.4 percent established in the past five years, according to database query platform TianYanCha.com.

A college application adviser in Henan province surnamed Xu, who spoke to the Yitiao social media platform, said that while advisers require few professional qualifications, they must have extensive knowledge of admission procedures and university plans.

Xu, an adviser with 10 years of experience, said he provides targeted suggestions based on exam performance and career preferences, rather than recommending specific majors, to help clients avoid pitfalls and irrational trends.

Even though they meet the needs of many students and parents, concerns have been raised about the quality of services provided by some institutions with limited educational expertise. The concerns include potentially unprofessional advice and misguided recommendations during a crucial decision-making period.

The Ministry of Education recently disclosed various fraudulent cases involving people posing as college application experts and conducting scams under the guise of consulting. Some institutions claimed "100 percent guaranteed admission" or promised to "not waste a point", but then encouraged students to apply to colleges or programs with lower cutoff scores to inflate their success rates.

Chen Jiankun, the founder of ChatEDU, an online education consultancy tool, advised students to be cautious and not blindly trust institutions or consultants. He emphasized the importance of understanding one's personality and career plans.

ChatEDU is a free AI-powered tool that provides tailored college application plans based on algorithms and data. Users input information such as their province, chosen subjects and gaokao scores. The tool then offers "high risk", "safe" and "guaranteed" recommendations for universities and majors, explaining the reasons behind each suggestion.

Users can also inquire about specific schools or majors and request recommendations within a particular region or field.

ChatEDU has reviewed all public undergraduate institutions and majors, focusing on regular universities and newly established majors to address students' concerns.

"Providing students with free college application consulting can bridge their information gap and help them find the most suitable universities and majors," Chen said, highlighting the importance of offering equal educational resources to students from disadvantaged families.

Wang Changbin, the father of an examinee in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, decided against using any agency for his daughter's college applications due to the high prices and varying quality of services.

"I don't think it's necessary to get involved in the anxiety raised by the competitive environment," he said. "There's enough time to make choices after gaokao scores come out."

On Monday night, his daughter Wang Ziyu checked her results, and they plan to fill out her college application using a free information service system launched by the Ministry of Education.

The system, accessible through the "Sunshine Gaokao" platform on the Smart Education of China website, integrates extensive data on university admissions and employment prospects. It aims to assist students by providing reliable and comprehensive resources for choosing their academic paths.

Wang Xiaoyu contributed to this story.