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South China Morning Post

Why some Chinese students are skipping elite universities amid job market fears

After underperforming in China's national college entrance exam in June, Lu Jie was accepted into a computer science and technology programme earlier this month at a lesser-known polytechnic university in central China's Hunan province. 'Good schools had too many applicants for this major, so I had to choose a lower-ranked one to pursue it,' Lu said. The results for the exam, better known as the gaokao , have been released over the past two weeks – marking a life-changing moment for students like Lu. Now more than ever, students are opting for majors with strong job prospects over prestigious universities. A focus on immediate employability and job security is eclipsing long-term aspirations and personal interests. Driving this trend is a growing oversupply of college graduates , intensifying competition in the job market amid a challenging economic climate. Computer science has long been a highly popular major, Lu said, but the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) – widely expected to create new job opportunities – has fuelled even greater demand over the past couple of years.