<p>Hi, here is a good news for me!
I just got a conditional acceptance from HKU engineering… (with entrance scholarship for every non-jupas i guess… it does not cover that much at all…)
but the bad news is that…
Having the two identical conditional offers from HKU and HKUST,
Now I wonder where i should go…
Hm Hm</p>
<p>Hey congrats rubichino!</p>
<p>I can’t help you decide but I think you should visit both of them if possible.
Can you please tell me how you received the decision notification?</p>
<p>@ rubin : HKU’s engineering 1st year is a fundamental year. Which means you can still wait till your 2nd year to choose your major. Its a plus point.</p>
<p>@rubichino: Congrats! Make sure you meet the offer though! Try contacting current students and if possible, pay a visit 
It seems that dqbonafide has flagged up a very valid point though</p>
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<p>I think what really happens is CUHK may be more protective of the locals and want to be more fair in admission. HKU does’t care about that and aggressively recruit internationals. HKU know they are giving unfair advantage to internationals but they don’t care. In HKU’s defense, a diverse student body does benefit everyone and enrich the educational experience. On the other hand, no other schoool at the undergrad level gives such high percentage of its most popular/competitive program’s slots to non-residents. It’s almost like a reverse discrimination against the locals. Some people may not think it’s justified considering HKU is mostly funded by the HK government. If this were in the US, it could already draw a lot of criticism.</p>
<p>SDG1,
Check this out:
<a href=“Robert Half : accounting, finance and banking jobs”>Robert Half : accounting, finance and banking jobs;
<p>In many cases, HK salaries for finance/accounting professions are comparable or even higher than US BEFORE TAX. After tax, HK salaries can be significantly higher. Also, keep in mind that the labor intensive jobs in HK are indeed lower-pay than in the US. Some blue-collar jobs like dockworker in the US can be paid pretty well, which I think it’s ridiculous. US also has minimum wages. So with all that, HK average salary is still comparable to US once tax is taken into account; I am pretty sure for accounting/finance jobs (the types that you are probably interested in), you can easily see more money actually going into your pocket (after tax) in HK.</p>
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<p>That’s really not much different from 18K/month in HK after income tax is taken into account.</p>
<p>@Sam Lee:</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. But I think that it is not very conclusive, since that ppl that study oversea usually get paid more in HK, which is not taken into account.
In terms of looking for jobs in HK’s business field, how highly do employers value HKU grads? What US school is comparable w/ HKU? </p>
<p>@michelleger: But are you planning to go back to US after college though? I forgot, but what was the conditional offer for you? Do they require high avg ? avg for the entire year, or just the 2nd term?</p>
<p>@ysbera: Actually 18k is median for hku grads.</p>
<p>@thegrand- lol, guess im getting a little too dreamy about things =P the idea of being in HK is such a happy thought to me its sort of like vacation like that saying “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” or something like that…but im being naive, ive never been there before =P</p>
<p>@SDG1-well, its a possibility, i am not sure what ill do after just yet =P their offer to me was 1.)get high school diploma and final grades for the entire year of 85% and above in five 12th grade courses for the year. and 2.) Three scores of 4 or above on three separate AP exams OR SAT score of 1880 with essay subscore of no less than 8. this was for the bachelor of science program. this seems to be a very reasonable condition compared to what some of you guys are getting, no?</p>
<p>@carmen- i couldnt find one with IBGM '11, but i saw one for HKU '11 and i think it was the only one…</p>
<p>@michelleger: so 85 total avg is not required, i guess? But what if there are some courses that are only 1 semester long, instead of 1-year long? Does that count as one of the 5 courses? If you are thinking to go back, I am not sure if US companies realize how good is HKU is tho. And yea, I am considering the next 3 yrs as a vacation as well, haha.</p>
<p>SDG1
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<p>Where does the salary guide say those are salaries “for people that study overseas”??? And where do you get the idea that “people that study overseas usually get paid more in HK”? Not if you went to some no-name college.</p>
<p>@michelleger: Haha, it probably will not be as dreamy as what you described, but it would surely be quite an adventure for you. And yes HKU '11 is Carmen’s fb account.</p>
<p>@SDG1: I would agree with Sam that it is incorrect to generalise that people who study abroad for college gets higher pay. The process of getting a competitive job now in Hong Kong is extremely rigorous. For a decent job, you have to do standardised testings (verbal and math) which is very common, an individual interview, a group discussion and sometimes much more than that. I know this for a fact since my brother is going through all this. Hence, this process will weed out the weaker and less competitive ones, so regardless of where you get your degree from, its the individual’s ability to excel in all these processes who will ultimately get the high pay job.</p>
<p>@SGD1/SamLee: On another note, I think HKU is doing a very good job in trying to recruit internationals. I honestly do know that HKU has lower admission standards for internationals in order to reach their “20% internationals” goal and increase its diversity - but again, perspectives from different people with different cultural and social values is definitely a gain for all. I wouldn’t call this reverse discrimination but somewhat “affirmative action” for international students. This I believe, this the first step that HKU must take before it becomes a global tertiary education institution. Moreover, some international students who are admitted to these program (with comparatively less qualified academics) will have to work twice as hard to match the standards of its cohort - hence I think the standard of classes will not be detracted in such a case. *If CUHK does not do something to change their admission policy, their reputation from the World will really fall behind UST very soon (if not, already).</p>
<p>@dqbonafide: That is really sth… I know I chose mechanical engineering for UST because mechanics was fun in HS. But I do take into account that the university level of mechanics would possibly make me regret… Are you an admitted engineering student as well?</p>
<p>@yesbra: through e-mail… They even sent me two pdf copies of the conditional offer documents+scholarship… Oh, plus visa matter document… which we USUALLY receive via air mail… They must be running out of their budget or sth? lol</p>
<p>Are there any web sites i can contact to HK people to get some advice for choosing between UST and HKU for engineering? Seems like some of you know each university’s fb address??</p>
<p>PS: thx for those who congrad me… :)</p>
<p>The easiest way would be to search on facebook, type in University of Hong Kong or HKU/UST- or look under engineering. Join the group and leave your messages in the group. You might also want to message individual personally explaining your situation. :)</p>
<p>@rubichino : Yes I got electronic for UST. I am not in a position to decide for you but choose the major that you like. Don’t spend 3 years regretting what you chose. If you are worried of prospects, I can assure you engineers are versatile no matter what major you undertook. UST mechanical isn’t bad , for research it is one of the top for Mechanical engineering in the world. Doctorate program for mechanical is also available in UST. Not too sure about HKU but I am sure it is equally good. Ask seniors or people already in it.</p>
<p>@SDG1- technically, i guess my cumulative average could be below 85% since its not in the conditions. But the 85% scores have to be from five majors, so the classes are the full year and everyday(mine are calc, eng, physics, bio, and personal finance, 3 are AP’s, one is a super easy cake major, and another is honors). my school doesnt go by semesters, we have four marking periods and minors and majors offered. although, for my average to be 85% or below id have to seriously bomb my senior year, lol…so that would probably mean id fail the conditions of the 85% in five 12th grade majors. i hope that isnt confusing, in a bit of a crunch right now =P and yes, i considered the fact of US employers and schools not recognizing HKU well but i will take that chance =)</p>
<p>@michelleger: Thanks for clearing things up. But if HKU doesn’t give out offer till May or even later, how do the applicants know whether they should do well on school or AP exams?</p>
<p>Sorry to butt into your conversation here, but I’ve never seen people so excited about going to HK unis 
I used to live in HK and I honestly can’t imagine going to uni there, lol. (I have big issues with humid weather and crowds) So I’m just being nosy here - are you guys all Chinese? Do you live in HK or are you like ABCs who just want to get outta the country?
This is a pretty interesting thread, I never knew HK could be so big on the CC radar.</p>
<p>@SDG1- gosh, i dont know, thats a good point you bring up…mmm, all i could suggest is email them, phone them, or if youre in contact with someone who attends HKU ask them? im sure if you gave them a quick call they could answer your question.</p>
<p>@spongebodge- i think most everyone stumbled onto the thread thru chance and google. i was googling something about hku and this thread popped up everywhere, lol. someone i know who is interested in applying in a couple years found it on google, and asked if my username was me, haha. you could classify me as an ABC(well, technically im only half) who really wants to get out of the country, experience new culture, learn the language, and get reallllyy far away from my parents. i also did not expect this thread to get as many hits as it has, but im glad it did!</p>
<p>HK Chinese here But um. haven’t exactly spent the last few years there.</p>
<p>Anyway, I am really looking forward to my big envelope from HKU :D</p>
<p>I’m coming to HKUST next year for exchange. Would their engineering courses be very rigorous compared to the US? How about the competition? How do you think grades will be?</p>