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Studying for a Master's degree has become a popular option for many undergraduates¹, who face tough job prospects² in an increasing competitive³ job market. This is forcing many under grads to focus their efforts not so much on studying their major, as on preparing for the exam that will lead to their Master's.

Graduating from university with a bachelor’s degree used to be difficult enough. Nowadays many undergrads are looking into their future and concentrating their efforts on passing one final exam: a graduate-school entrance exam.

"We’re told to prepare for the graduate school entrance exam in the first year of colleges, as there is no jobs for someone with a bachelor’s in chemistry, there’s no other choice but grad school." Senior student of Xinyang Normal Univ.,’s Dept. of Chemistry, said.

Many students in lower level universities are focused on getting into a key school for their Masters. They think it’s the only way their years' of study will have reasonable credibility on the job market. They belong to a frustrated⁴ group of students that they do as well enough as they had hoped on their college entrance exam, which is taken by almost ten million high school graduates nationwide every year.

“Half of the students in our department missed their first choice of university by only one or two points in the college entrance exam... So now they’re fighting for a second chance to get into the school of their choice.” Student from Qufu Normal Univ. said.

While China’s education system continues to focus on the results of a one-off exam, rather than a record of academic achievement, most under grads simply coast through their current courses.

“Usually we don’t have class, if we do, we skip them. We’re only focused on the exam...” Senior student of Xinyang Normal Univ.,’s Dept. of Physics, said.

That exam will also be fiercely competitive: Nationwide nearly 1.7 million under graduates are expected to take the graduate-school exam this year and only about third will pass. The second-tier universities that offer intensive⁵ exam-prep say half of the students who take their courses will go on graduate school.