Talent no guarantee of uni place
0 
Rise and fall
While a student at Xi'an Gaoxin No.1 High School, Sun, 18, showed great potential in Chinese cultural studies. Professors at Fudan University supported his application to study there through a letter encouraging the Xi'an admissions office to admit Sun in June. But the office rejected Sun's application based on his gaokao score, Beijing-based China Youth Daily reported last week.
"My parents and I are disappointed. The office staff are afraid students like me will disrupt their system," Sun said.
Sun received an admission letter from Shanxi University's School of Law this month, which he has accepted, but said he would prefer to study Chinese literature and history.
"I'm not interested in law. I'll apply to switch to Chinese literature or history after I get there," he said.
A Shanxi University's vice president surnamed Xing said the school would choose an appropriate major for Sun when its new semester starts on September 11, according to the Xi'an Evening News on Friday.
A special 'talent'
Born into an ordinary family in Xi'an, Sun has been fascinated with traditional culture since he was 8 years old. He was inspired by a collection of Chinese classics left to him by his great grandfather.
Last year, Sun was the only high school student to reach the final of a nationwide CCTV cultural talent competition, Learning Traditional Chinese Culture Happily, after qualifying through 14 rounds. Kang Zhen, a professor at the Beijing Normal University School of Chinese Language & Literature and a member of the CCTV contest panel, said Sun's talent was "one in a million."
He Jie, Sun's student advisor said, "Sun's understanding of China and its history is way ahead of his classmates. But his English and mathematics are not so good."
Encouraged on hearing of other such talented students, with similar shortcomings, being admitted by China's leading universities, Sun applied to do the independent enrollment exam at Fudan University and passed the written exam and through two rounds of interviews earlier this year.
"He is one of a few students with huge potential for Chinese traditional culture, which was the consensus reached by all eight professors who interviewed him," said Zhang Qing, a history professor at Fudan University, quoted in the China Youth Daily.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments