headingsouth

I am a sophomore at Tulane University, and I am considering studying abroad at HKUST for business/finance in Spring 2013. I am an American-born Chinese, and speak (relatively rusty) conversational mandarin, although I need to work on my vocabulary. I was hoping you guys could tell me a bit about the school- its social life, academic difficulty in comparison to top American universities, the surroundings, etc.

I understand that HKUST uses a bell-curve for all of its classes; this is something I am extremely concerned about. I have a 3.8 GPA and I fear that I will not be prepared for the level of competition in a prestigious Hong Kong university. My father always told me about how when he went to college in China, he never set down the books except to eat or sleep. Going to school in the US my whole life, this is not a workload that I'm used to, particularly since I intend to see the city. I don't mean to come off as a slacker; I work hard, but I also drink and enjoy my downtime- and I've seen the PISA reports that rank HK the most educated in the world, with the US ranking in the 20's. Will getting A's be a feasible possibility? It's all just very intimidating.


Also, my understanding is that while Hong Kong does speak English, it is not entirely fluent/clear as Americans would hope. This is another factor I fear for in regards to my grades and spot on the bell curve.

Thanks a lot!

theasiansadness

Most HK students get a GPA of 2.5/6, and its considered good
From that info you should be able to tell how intense it is
And no doubt there is a huge difference between HKUST and Tulane....I am really not sure if you can pick up the pace

headingsouth

Are you a student at HKUST? Could you please elaborate on the classes?

I'm told the average grades for Tulane exchange students is a high B, with very few students getting C's- but with 12 credits worth of B's for a semester that would definitely take a toll on the GPA.

theasiansadness

I am from Hong Kong, but currently a senior in US high school
from what i've heard....the competitiveness of hk colleges is just something that average US schools cannot compare with
Thats all I know...so be ready!