4,155 students attended the three-day undergraduate admission examination of the University of Macau (UM) from 12 April to 14 April, hitting a new high. Some students said that English teaching and residential colleges were the major reasons why they applied to UM, while others said they consider UM their top choice because it is the best university in Macao.

Each day during the three-day period, the corridors outside the exam classrooms were swamped with people one hour before the exam began. Many students arrived in advance to go through the key points one last time or discuss with their fellow students about what questions were likely to appear in the exam paper. After a taxing two-hour exam, some walked out of the classroom beaming, some discussed urgently with other examinees about how they answered a particular question, while some left alone with a worried expression. A student from the Sacred Heart Canossian College English Section said she had applied to several universities but she considers UM her top choice because she believes UM will offer many opportunities for further studies and career development. She added that she hopes she could be accepted by the Department of Finance and Business Economics and she looks forward to starting a new page of her life on the new UM campus. A student from the Colegio de Santa Rosa de Lima (SC) also said that she considers UM her top choice and she definitely wants to join one of the residential colleges so she can live a more colourful campus life. Another student who applied to the Faculty of Law said that the high-quality teaching staff and the fact that UM’s qualifications are recognised by many universities around the world are the major attractions for him. A student from Kao Yip Middle School said that English teaching and good quality education were what drew him to UM.

In recent years UM is stepping up efforts to reform undergraduate curriculum, and has launched numerous measures in an attempt to attract more local students. As a result, numbers of applicants have repeatedly hit new highs. Measures concerning undergraduate curriculum reform include (1) implementing a “4-in-1” mode of education that consists of discipline-specific education, general education, research and internship education, and community and peer education, to meet the students’ different needs during the different stages of their growth, (2) introducing a system of residential colleges modelled upon the residential college system implemented at world-class universities to facilitate whole-person education, (3) establishing Macao’s first-ever Honours College to concentrate resources to educate outstanding leaders for the Macao society; (4) launching new general education courses to equip students with multi-disciplinary knowledge so they can become well-rounded graduates with international competitiveness; (5) implementing an undergraduate research internship programme to create opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in high-end research projects; (6) strengthening student counselling service to give students a head start for future career development.

Should you have any enquiries about the information, please feel free to contact the Information Executives Ms.Lei or Ms Fok at（853）8397 4325 or  prs.media@um.edu.mo or visit UM webpage www.umac.mo.