FAQ
FAQ
https://med.cuhk.edu.hk/study/prospective-students/undergraduate-study/programme-and-admission/mbchb-and-gps/admissions/faq
- Students are interviewed individually by two panel members.
- Questions will be asked to explore the student's interest in medicine, general knowledge about health care, opinions about ethics and humanism, and teamwork, leadership, and communication.
- A typical interview is conducted in English for around 15 minutes by a panel of senior professors, outstanding alumni, or distinguished leaders in the community.
There are no restrictions based on colour blindness for both studying Medicine and for working as a doctor in Hong Kong.
All applicants of CUHK are expected to have attained an acceptable level of proficiency in the English and Chinese languages – please refer herefor more details.
- For non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students applying via JUPAS, please refer to FAQ no. 13 here.
- For Non-JUPAS applicants, waiver of the Chinese language admission requirement can be granted at the discretion of the Faculty Dean upon admissions. No separate application is required for Chinese waiver.
No, there are no separate interviews arranged for GPS applicants. Each applicant is only expected to attend our admission interview once.
- We set out to recruit the very best students from all categories. Our students are expected to be future leaders in the medical fields, who do not only have an excellent academic record, but also a keen interest in the medical discipline, with high ethical standards, leadership qualities as well as the ability to work in a team. More importantly, we expect our students to have a strong desire to care for people.
- While academic competence can be evaluated mainly by examination performance, the remaining qualities would be assessed during the admission interview.
- CUHK offers admission scholarships to both local and non-local new undergraduate students on the basis of their excellent academic or non-academic performance. There is no need for the students to apply for these scholarships. The University will identify qualified new students and inform the selected students of the scholarship offers.
- The value of each Admission Scholarship ranges from HK$5,000 to a full-tuition coverage plus additional living allowance. Many of the Admission Scholarships are renewable for the normative period of study programme subject to satisfactory academic progress. In addition to the university admission scholarship, Faculties and Colleges also offer prestigious admission scholarships to new students with outstanding entrance qualifications.
- Please refer to more details here.
- In general, applicants will only be considered for an admission interview upon meeting the expected minimum scores in their respective curriculum.
- While the admission threshold to our Medicine program varies from year to year, the table below demonstrates our admission threshold in recent years:
| Admission Threshold | |
|---|---|
| HKDSE | 34-35 out of 42 (total score of 6 graded subjects, excluding Citizenship and Social Development) |
| IB | 42-43 out of 45 (including bonus points; 3 Higher Level subjects including Chemistry and/ or Biology of grades 6,7,7) |
| GCEAL | 4A* with an average UMS of 95% (including Chemistry and/or Biology) |
*Holders of other qualifications are considered on a case-by-case basis. More details can be referred here.
- Since 2023 entry, our Medicine Programme has resumed 100% in-person panel interviews unless under special circumstances (e.g. COVID-related). Virtual interviews are no longer guaranteed. The Faculty will review and adjust arrangements whenever necessary.
- Shortlisted candidates are expected to dress formally for the interview. Secondary school candidates may wear their formal school uniforms.
- We publish our confirmed interview schedule at the beginning of every academic year – please refer to our latest interview schedule here. Kindly understand that the admission to our MBChB program is highly competitive (if not more so every year), we are thus unable to entertain all our eligible applicants individually. Applicants being interested in CU Medicine are expected to make themselves available accordingly.
- Having said that, upon being shortlisted for an interview, in case of any difficulties in attending the scheduled interview session/slot, shortlisted candidates would be given a chance to provide justification and we shall try to accommodate accordingly / offer alternatives. Rescheduling is NOT guaranteed.
Applicants can apply through EITHER JUPAS or Non-JUPAS scheme according to their academic qualifications but NOT both in the same academic year.
- For holders of Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), please submit your application via Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) here.
- For holders of qualifications other than HKDSE, please submit your application via Non-JUPAS System here.
- For mainland CHINESE students, who are current Gaokao candidates (应届高考生), please submit your application via the National Colleges and Universities Enrolment System (全国普通高校统一招生计划). More details can be referred here.
- We do not set specific quota for JUPAS and Non-JUPAS places, as we set out to recruit only the best students from all categories.
- Our admitted students are normally ranked within top 1% for HKDSE, or with equivalent standards for Non-JUPAS categories, with a good performance at the admission interview.
- All non-school candidates who apply for our MBChB programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and will be compared with the overall calibre of the school candidates and the number of school candidates that year. They are required to provide their CV and post-secondary academic credentials, e.g. transcript (if any), and are strongly advised to include these documents in the application profiles. The entire academic record of the candidates and any other documents which are further requested will be reviewed and considered during the admission process. Achieving the expected score in the first attempt / after repeated attempts does not guarantee interview and/or admission.
- Candidates with existing undergraduate enrolment or higher academic qualifications are advised to submit their applications via the Non-JUPAS System here.
“Level 2” obtained in Liberal Studies taken before 2024 can be used to fulfil the University Entrance Requirements from 2024 onwards, but the grade will NOT be counted in the calculation of total admission score.
- All students have to be interviewed before being considered for admission to our MBChB programme. Only students who have met the minimum requirements for each subject and for the overall examination would be eligible for an interview. Not all eligible applicants would be shortlisted for an interview.
- Due to intense competition, not all interviewed students will eventually be admitted. Students with better HKDSE grades and interview results will have a higher chance of admission.
Please refer to FAQ no. 10 here.
Each local candidate can only submit one application for admission through either JUPAS or Non-JUPAS in an admissions exercise. Applicants can apply through EITHER JUPAS or Non-JUPAS scheme according to their academic qualifications but NOT both in the same academic year.
10% penalty will be imposed on the total admission score for candidates with more than one sitting of the HKDSE.
- M1/M2 per se will not be considered as an Elective subject, but it will contribute to the total admission score if its attained level is higher than that of the worst one of the six or five graded subjects (excluding Citizenship and Social Development).
- For candidates who take six graded subjects (3C+3X) and M1/M2, calculation of the bonus points will be: (Score of M1/M2 + lowest level obtained in the six graded subjects) ÷ 2.
- For candidates who only take five graded subjects (3C+2X) and M1/M2, calculation of the bonus points will be: (Score of M1/M2) ÷ 2.
Yes. Eligible candidates will be invited to an interview in July/August, if they put MBChB or MBChB-GPS as a Band A choice only after the release of HKDSE results.
CU Medicine takes the highest attained qualification as the applicant’s main qualification. For undergraduates or degree holders, any public examination results (old or new ones) shall serve as supporting documents only. The admission committee considers all profiles holistically.
Based on our interview schedule, the admission committee usually starts to shortlist applicants one month in advance – shortlisted applicants for our interview shall be notified via email.
In the case that predicted grades and/or reference letters are considered as confidential and are therefore not disclosed to students, students are strongly advised to invite their schoolteacher/career master/school counsellor to act as online referees. Please:
- Log back into the application account
- Go to “Online Recommendation Form” at the bottom left
- Please make sure to type in the teacher/counsellor’s email address correctly
- Our system will generate an email to that particular email address and invite him/her to fill in a confidential reference at a separate counsellors-only portal
- Your academic reference letter and/or predicted grades can be submitted in this way
No. It is very common for applicants to apply for multiple programmes in CUHK. Nevertheless, kindly note that CUHK applicants can only hold one admission offer at the same time – accepting a new offer from one particular programme would mean rejecting your old offer (if any) from another programme.
Your year of entry shall be determined by the admission committee, upon successful admission. Please apply for “year1” first on the application platform.
- Kindly understand that the admission to our MBChB program is highly competitive (if not more so every year), we are thus unable to entertain all our eligible applicants individually.
- To allow early planning, the Faculty announces the confirmed interview schedule at the beginning of every academic year – applicants being interested in CU Medicine are expected to make themselves available accordingly.
- Having said that, upon being shortlisted for an interview, in case of any difficulties in attending the scheduled interview session/slot, shortlisted candidates would be given a chance to provide justification and we shall try to accommodate accordingly / offer alternatives. Rescheduling is NOT guaranteed.
For Non-JUPAS applicants, admission to GPS is by invitation after enrolment. Selection will be based on academic merits, interview performance and past record of achievements. You may refer to our minimum admission criteria for GPS here.
- Given the flexibility of the GCE/IAL system, to ensure fair judgement of our applicants’ academic competence, we expect our applicants to complete their GCE/IAL subjects within a “normal” time frame.
- Usually, our applicants would complete the whole GCE/IAL curriculum within 2 school years. We understand that some applicants might prefer taking some subjects/papers earlier – please make sure at least 3 AL grades would be obtained/cashed in within the same year. Some eligible (i.e. acceptable) examples can be found below:
| Exam Series (Cash-in for GCEAL) | Jan 2024/ Jun 2024 | Jun 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Subject 1 | A* | |
| Bio/Chem | A* | |
| Subject 3 | A* | |
| Subject 4 | A* |
| Exam Series (Cash-in for IAL) | Jun 2024 | Jun 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject 1 | Jan 2024 | Unit 1 | 100/100 | A* | |
| Jan 2024 | Unit 2 | 100/100 | |||
| Jan 2024 | Unit 3 | 100/100 | |||
| Jan/Jun 2024 | Unit 4 | 100/100 | |||
| Jan/Jun 2024 | Unit 5 | 100/100 | |||
| Jan/Jun 2024 | Unit 6 | 100/100 | |||
| Bio/Chem | Jun 2024 | Unit 1 | 100/100 | A* | |
| Jun 2024 | Unit 2 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2024 | Unit 3 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2025 | Unit 4 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2025 | Unit 5 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2025 | Unit 6 | 100/100 | |||
| Subject 3 | Jun 2024 | Unit 1 | 100/100 | A* | |
| Jun 2024 | Unit 2 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2024 | Unit 3 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2025 | Unit 4 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2025 | Unit 5 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2025 | Unit 6 | 100/100 | |||
| Subject 4 | Jun 2024 | Unit 1 | 100/100 | A* | |
| Jun 2024 | Unit 2 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2024 | Unit 3 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2025 | Unit 4 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2025 | Unit 5 | 100/100 | |||
| Jun 2025 | Unit 6 | 100/100 | |||
For CU Medicine, the 250-word personal statement would suffice. Should you be interested in applying to other CUHK programmes (each applicant has up to 3 programme choices), please dedicate your 2-page personal statement to the other CUHK programmes.
- In general, an offer batch comes after an interview round. Successful candidates shall be notified by email.
- The Faculty considers all applicants and issues offers on a rolling basis. For candidates who have attended the interview but have not yet received an offer, they will be considered again in the subsequent rounds of evaluation.
- Final admission decisions will be available on the application system by the end of August.
- Proficiency in Chinese/Cantonese does not affect our applicants’ chance for admission to our MBChB programme. For Non-JUPAS applicants, waiver of the Chinese language admission requirement can be granted at the discretion of the Faculty Dean upon admissions.
- Having said that, our students are to be future doctors and leaders in the medical field, serving the general public in Hong Kong. Students need to be aware of the necessity to pick up Cantonese during the 6-year medical education. In CUHK, we provide abundant language support to our students. The Yale-China Chinese Language Academy, in particular, offers free Cantonese courses to all CUHK students.
BMAT / GAMSAT / MCAT / UCAT is not mandatory for admission to our MBChB programme, however, due to the sheer number of highly competitive applicants, it is increasingly common for our applicants to provide these clinical aptitude test results, in order to increase the competitiveness of their applications.
Upon submitting your application (and settling the application fee), applicants are welcome to upload any extra supporting documents to the platform anytime throughout the whole admission period (Oct-Aug).
Due to the large number of applications received, we are unable to provide feedbacks to individual candidates.
- We consider all applicants on an equal basis, as we set out to recruit only the best students from all categories.
- Our admitted students are normally ranked within top 1% for HKDSE, or with equivalent standards for Non-JUPAS categories, with a good performance at the admission interview.
- The list of recognized qualifications at CUHK can be referred here.
- We consider all applicants on an equal basis, as we set out to recruit only the best students from all categories.
- Our admitted students are normally ranked within top 1% for HKDSE, or with equivalent standards for Non-JUPAS categories, with a good performance at the admission interview.
- Candidates who possess the same qualifications will be considered together. For example, GCEAL candidates will be assessed within the pool of GCEAL candidates while degree holders will be evaluated within the pool of degree holders.
Based on our interview schedule, the admission committee usually starts to shortlist applicants one month in advance – only applicants who have submitted all required documents would be considered for an interview.