The admission results for students applying for 2017 entry to the University of Cambridge was emailed out yesterday, and I, as well as all CAM4 students and our predecessors, was beyond glad to hear the excellent results of the new batch of HKU-Cambridge Engineering Joint Scheme participants. This year, 10 out of 14 participants of the scheme made their way into one of the best universities on the Earth, yielding an admission rate of 71.4%, which is unparalleled among all the channels through which mainland China students get a chance to go to Cambridge, and the figure is extremely competitive worldwide.
Among the 10 successful candidates, three was admitted to Trinity College (presumably with the famous full ride bursary which is awarded to all mainland Chinese students), three to Christ’s College, and Churchill College, Selwyn College, Newnham College and Pembroke College all got one each. Some of these candidates did not, however, got admitted to their first choices, but the increasing diversity of colleges which have accepted HKU students (thanks to the Winter Pool) is certainly desirable and will widen the choices of further batches of CAM students in terms of colleges.
Last year, 8 out of 14 participants of the scheme succeeded in being admitted, and not a single one failed to meet their offer conditions. CAM1, CAM2 and CAM3 all had an admission rate around 50%, and it is clear that this rate is on the increase, given the fact that HKU-Cambridge students performed exceptionally in Tripos exams, obtaining top first every year and having remarkable achievements in other non-academic fields as well. It is also obvious that the conditions of our offers are getting less demanding, and unconditional offers first appeared in CAM4. It is a result of the increasing confidence of colleges on the HKU students and will be a great advantage for further batches.
There is absolutely no doubt that students on track of HKU-Cambridge Engineering Joint Scheme will keep performing our best, whether in Cambridge or in HKU, to pursue the highest standard of academic excellence. It has been our tradition and will run in our blood forever.
I strongly encourage talented and determined mainland China domestic students to participate in the HKU-Cambridge Scheme. For a Chinese version of a brief introduction of the scheme, please click here.