University of Hong Kong or Peking University? It's a painful decision for any high school graduate, but Lin Qian, a Beijing student who came in first in this year's college entrance exams in science, has made it clear she will stay in her hometown.

Lin Qian is seen during an interview with sina.com, a Chinese news portal. [sina.com]

Lin, who scored 709 points out of a total 750 in the exam, revealed in her blog at sina.com that she has chosen the School of Mathematics Science at Peking University for her bachelor's degree, giving up the opportunity to study at the University of Hong Kong, reported Beijing Times.

"Peking University has always been my dream. The School of Mathematics Science has a huge group of elite academics and is the pride of Chinese mathematic circles. I am very keen to study there and strive to become one of its excellent students," Lin wrote in her blog.

Admission officials at Peking University welcomed Lin's decision, saying the university provides the best undergraduate education for its students. In fact, Lin had been recommended to Peking University prior to the exam.

In earlier reports, after learning Lin had won first place in the exam, the University of Hong Kong promised her an annual scholarship of HK$140,000 (136,000 yuan) if she chose to study there. This is a large amount compared to the maximum scholarship of 4,000 yuan per year Lin is likely to get at Peking University, according to the university's scholarship regulations.

Since 2006, when the Ministry of Education allowed some Hong Kong universities to recruit mainland Chinese students, more of them are choosing to finish their undergraduate studies in Hong Kong.

Last year, the University of Hong Kong, which has a mainland enrolment of 300, received more than 12,000 applications from mainland students this year; and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), which accepts 160 from the mainland, attracted more than 6,000 applicants.

In 2006, both of Beijing's top students, Yang Huixin in science and He Xuan in arts, entered the Business School of HKUST, even though they were also admitted to Peking University.