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PHBS Attracts Many Outstanding Students
2015-06-02 17:31:46
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Being first prize winner of a mathematics competition in Hebei province and gaining guaranteed admission into the renowned Yuanpei School of Peking University, Jia Jingjian has always been among the top students. AT PKU he earned two bachelor degrees, one in mathematics and the other in computer software. During his third year in college, he started to consider pursuing a master’s degree in finance after graduation. He decided that Peking University HSBC Business

School (PHBS) was the best choice because coursework is in English, the school is highly international, and the three-year length was the right amount of time for a student good at math but with little knowledge of finance, like himself. Besides, having lived in Beijing for four years, he wanted a new environment. Shenzhen provided that change, being a young and energetic city. He likes it here a lot.

Jia participates in the PHBS finance and Chinese University Hong Kong (CUHK) economics double degree program. He is among 67 students within the 259-member 2013 class who studied at PKU Beijing and chose PHBS for their graduate study. The 2013 class also includes eight students from Tsinghua University. (In China, Peking University and Tsinghua University are considered the top two universities.)

“Many students in my class come from famous universities and get along very well in the PHBS family,” said Jia. “Students here excel in many aspects. Some possess strong learning capacity, and others are good at leadershipI feel so lucky being here. It has exceeded my expectation.”

He is truly lucky, because if you consider the enrollment situation now at PHBS, you will find out that even for an excellent student it takes great effort to get in. In 2010, there were 746 applicants; in 2011 there were 804; the number in 2012 was 1,077; applicants in 2013 numbered 1,300; and in 2014 there were 1,431 applicants.

On the other hand, students admitted ranged from 210 to 216. About one-third hold degrees from PKU and Tsinghua University.

“Enrollment work has become quite intense in recent years,” said Wang Yi, who oversees admissions. She has witnessed the growing interest in PHBS since joining the PKU staff in 2010 after earning her master’s degree at PKU. She said that every March after announcing admission results, she is swamped with phone calls from candidates who fail to be admitted. One candidate got a score of above 400 and ranked second in his major but performed poorly in the interview session. Wang spent a long time comforting him to accept the results. 

Dean Hai Wen also has had to deal with the disappointed. Many parents have managed to reach him and even tried to visit him in Shenzhen from thousands of miles away to try to change the fate of the unadmitted student. Hai sympathizes with those outstanding students who failed to be admitted, but he also takes pride in the growing reputation and popularity of the school. When teaching “Principles of Economics” at PKU Beijing, he never forgot to promote PHBS.

Many students at PKU Beijing chose PHBS due to Hai’s course. Wang Yanyan was one of them. She majored in journalism and communication and had economics as a second degree in which “Principle of Economics” was one of the required courses. After listening to Hai’s lecture, she knew more about PHBS and became a fan of Hai. So she decided to go to apply at PHBS for graduate study.

Students can choose from among three fields of graduate study at PHBS including finance, economics, and management, and the school also has several double degree programs in co-operation with universities abroad. In addition, PHBS has an MBA program for full-time and part-time students. Like other schools in China, the enrollment process includes either an exam-free recommendation or taking an examination. And for the former, PHBS has created an opportunity for prospective students to make their way toward PHBS. Dean Hai created the annual

“Economics and Finance Forum for Nationwide Outstanding Students” where excellent students gain the chance for attention. Participants not only must have excellent academic records but also must submit an academic paper written in English. The forum helps PHBS select students with excellent learning and research ability, and also encourages academic discussion and idea exchange.

The 2014 forum was held for three days in early July. According to Wang, the event received 605 applications from students around the country, and only 123 of them were invited to participate. Focusing on only five topics covering international trade and finance, corporate governance and management, the micro financial market, and so on, participants were divided into groups with each making a 20-minute presentation. Twenty-five professors also took part in the forum. Other activities included a campus tour, formal dinner, and outings affording students to enlarge their social experience and make new friends.

Translator: Yuxin Zheng