On August 14, 1097 young men and women joined as the final admitted students for Southern University of Science and Technology’s Class of 2024.

“Each year, the students who apply to join SUSTech’s newest class impress us all with their outstanding innovative skills, talent, and compassion,” says the admission team. “This year, even during these most unsettled times, we are thrilled to admit the newest members of our academic community. These transformative students exhibit fierce intellectual curiosity and a strong commitment to meaningful change that we need now more than ever.”

This year SUSTech received 43,000 applications for admission from 22 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across mainland China. The number of candidates has reached a new high.

For billions of people across the world, daily life may have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these challenges, SUSTech took a blended model to its admissions campaign. It focused on digital communication and virtual lectures to interact with potential candidates and parents. SUSTech also held its first virtual Open Day, attracting nearly 800,000 viewers across multiple digital platforms.

SUSTech offered 1,097 students admission through its ”631” comprehensive evaluation model. It considers the National College Entrance Examination (gaokao) results for 60% of its score. 30% comes from SUSTech’s unique enrollment test, and the remaining 10% is found from their high school performance.

SUSTech has recruited more students from the top thousand gaokao takers compared to 2019, as well as students who have won scientific Olympiad medals across different disciplines. Those candidates were attracted to the novel talent training models offered by SUSTech, such as our innovative elite mathematics master class and Turing computer science master class.

As 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of SUSTech, the Class of 2024 will be receiving the delicately designed admissions packages shortly. The packages have now all been sent out, and these students are expected to become engaged members of the vibrant SUSTech community.