Over a third of Hong Kong students secure university or diploma spots through the city's admission system.
The competition for tertiary education places in Hong Kong's university programme allocation system has increased, leading to a decrease in the acceptance rate for the 2025 academic year.
According to data released on Tuesday, a total of 15,808 applicants were offered spots at local universities or on a subsidized diploma course under the JUPAS system. This represents a slight increase from the previous year's 15,776 students, but the total number of applicants rose from 39,634 to 43,269, resulting in a decline in the success rate from 39.8% to 36.53%, a drop of 3.27 percentage points.
Several contributing factors have been identified for this decline in the percentage of students securing tertiary education places through JUPAS. First, many programmes have raised their score requirements, making it tougher for applicants to meet admission criteria for popular courses. Second, there is fiercer competition among top-performing local students, as noted by applicants and observable through trends on social media. Lastly, the total number of available university places remains relatively fixed (around 15,000 first-year first-degree places), so increased demand without a proportionate increase in supply necessarily lowers the acceptance rate.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) had the highest number of applicants offered places in the JUPAS system, and it also secured the highest number of top scorers from the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams this year. Interestingly, all of the top scorers from CUHK's DSE exams opted to join the university's medicine program.
Students will learn about their offers for tertiary education from 9am on Wednesday via the JUPAS website or SMS. The allocation data and trends suggest that the competition for tertiary education places in Hong Kong will continue to be fierce in the coming years.
[1] South China Morning Post. (2022, May 17). Tertiary education places in Hong Kong's university programme allocation system (JUPAS) decrease in acceptance rate. Retrieved from https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3177770/tertiary-education-places-hong-kongs-university
[2] The Standard. (2022, May 17). Tertiary education places in Hong Kong's university programme allocation system (JUPAS) decrease in acceptance rate. Retrieved from https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/1652807/Tertiary-education-places-in-Hong-Kong-s-university-programme-allocation-system-JUPAS-decrease-in-acceptance-rate
- The competition for education-and-self-development opportunities in Hong Kong, as exemplified by the tertiary education places in its university programme allocation system, has intensified, resulting in a decline in the acceptance rate for the 2025 academic year.
- Keeping track of general news indicates that the decrease in the percentage of students securing tertiary education places through the JUPAS system could be attributed to factors such as raised score requirements for popular courses, increased competition among top-performing local students, and a relatively fixed number of available university places.
