Beijing Residents Receive Preference At Top Universities

Mengping Li, originally from a small town in Sichuan Province, was prepping for her college entrance exam when the disastrous earthquake of 2008 occurred. Although surrounded by misery, the testing went forward.  Mengping ended up being accepted at Chengdu University of Traditional Medicine. (See post one.) She soon discovered that this second-tier university did not have all she needed, and went about finding ways to make the experience better. (See post two.) The realization that she held the reins regarding her future lit a fire in her soul, and she began exploring as she never had before. (See post three.) She had thoughts about getting a higher degree, but decided instead to try to find a job. (See post four.) While she had heard it would be impossible to find a job, coming from a 2nd-tier university, she thought she'd test the waters during a holiday break. Through persistence, she found a position promoting VIP cards at a manicure/pedicure salon. (See post five.) While her colleagues were quick to judge customers and decide whether/not to engage, Mengping helped everyone. One impoverished-looking woman turned out to be quite wealthy and connected, and offered Mengping a job in an electronics company. Mengping turned this down.(See post six.) However, a year later, when she was graduating, she managed to snag a job with GE Healthcare, something this woman was also connected with. (See post seven.) She spent several years with G.E. before deciding she needed an MBA to get ahead. This time she was accepted into a "tier one" school. She also stepped outside her "farmer's mindset" and applied for an IT position with Microsoft. (See post eight.). Microsoft hired her. Rather than sit around and wait to graduate and join the company, though, she spent as much of her time as she could traveling the world. (See post nine.)

With Mengping at Stanford

I asked Mengping what challenges she saw facing the U.S. As she didn’t stay in the U.S. long (four months), she didn't have a strong opinion.

As for China, one of her big concerns--aside from the widely-held worry over pollution and corruption--was the severe competition in education. Getting into Beijing University is everyone’s priority.

 “If there is one student enrolled in Beijing University or Qinhua University from our county, the headmaster of the school and the head of that class will get a bonus.” But this is made almost impossible. Mengping’s best friend scored the highest on the college entrance exam in the entire county—but she still didn’t’ get into Beijing University.

"People who live in Beijing receive preference, and can get into the top universities with a lower admission score than students from outside the city. " (See article on subject by VOA.)

(To be continued. Next and final: Not Enough Opportunity for Graduates)