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Hong Kong Universities

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HKU life is pretty alright. In the beginning, I did find making friends more difficult than anticipated because most of the students are local and a lot of them are from the same school, so they have known each other for quite a while. But it's all cool now, haha :smile:

All courses are taught in English. Unfortunately, the English proficiency of some of the lecturers and TAs can really be brought into question (in the social sciences faculty at least). A few of my professors struggle to find the right words when responding to questions raised by students. There's sometimes a lack of clarity in lectures due to the professor not being able to express what he/she wants to say in English. As for students, most group discussions, unless monitored by a teacher, are done in Cantonese. I have witnessed firsthand situations in which students refused to converse in English despite knowing that there are foreign students in their group who do not know Cantonese. Right... I should probably mention that it's not as bad as it sounds. Those instances above only happen once in a while. But when they do, it can be a bit frustrating.

Woah.. i didn't know that :P i'm not surprised though. most students (from what i see) really hate talking in english so they usually avoid it as much as they can. I would be frustrated too! i think i'd purposefully talk in english to them XP
Oh. Aren't accommodation rooms shared? :/ I always worry about that - i don't think i'd be comfortable sharing a room/shower room with other people v___v

Reply 101

dragon_knight

Original post by 21Grapes

well... it depends. if hku ppl know that u dont know how to speak chinese or are not fluent in chinese, they are happy to talk with u in english. hk is an international city so their english level is quite high. we just PREFER chinese than english since chinese is our mother tongue.

accommodation rooms depends on the "hall". firstly, u are not compulsory to enter any "hall" (which all provide accommodation). but if u decide to enter, u first need to interview. for accommodation, as far as i know, only st. john college in hku provide single-bed rooms. others provide doubles.

usually ppl dont select colleges because of their "single-bed" or "double-bed". ppl choose colleges by their culture. like sports, organizations, scholarships. st. john college and ricci hall are the most high-profile ones in hku and their are long-time rivalries, but they are very demanding. here, demanding means the interview is devastating and the applicant pool is so large.

also, in these colleges, u have to expect to sleep earliest at 3am every night, and u'll have 8.30am classes the next day. so usually ppl stuyding subjects like medicine will not enter such halls.

there are more than 10 halls in hku. since land is limited, no halls have private toilet or shower room. all of them are shared. sorry for that but it just gives more chance for ppl in the same hall to chat and have fun. it's part of the hall culture.

Reply 102

dragon_knight

sorry for the longlong response again. next time i'll try to keep it short :smile:

Reply 103

aTony123

I'm actually studying at HKU, also doing social sciences and from the UK. I'm in my first year and the workload is pretty intense. I have to agree with interpretation that some of the lecturers english proficiency isn't that great. Although you do get used to it.

Reply 104

Interpretation

Original post by 21Grapes

Dragon_knight gave a pretty detailed response already so I'll just elaborate on one thing - hall culture. I had completely mis-interpreted the definition of "hall culture" at HKU. Before I came, I had simply assumed that hall culture referred to miniscule details that hall residents pick at in order to distinguish their hall from another, thereby giving the hall an "identity". I thought it referred to those infrequent parties or movie outings that a hall might organize in order to strengthen the ties between hallmates. Or maybe, I thought perhaps hall culture described stereotypes that students place on certain halls, where some are more party-ish, others more stuck-up, etc.

As it turns out, hall culture here is much, much more important than that. You'd find that the primary reason most students choose to live in hall is not because they live far away from the campus (some of my hallmates live about 15 minutes away from the uni but still insist on living in hall), but because they like the hall culture. In order words, it would be wrong to label HKU halls as "accommodation", as the actual accommodation aspect of halls is arguably the least important thing. To illustrate that, there are currently two non-residential halls at HKU that do not provide accommodation. Depending on the hall, you might be required to join a certain number of sports and non-sport activities. Newer halls are known for placing less emphasis on these activities, while older and more traditional ones, more so. But what dragon_knight said about sleeping at 3am is pretty spot-on, because hall activities and meetings are generally held late at night to ensure that everyone could attend. Nevertheless, where hall activities coincide with lectures, I know people who would rather skip the lecture than to skip the activity - whether it is out of dedication or peer pressure is up to you to decide. My neighbor, for example, has been consistently skipping lectures for a certain course because of that. At my friend's hall, it used to be that skipping/arriving late to meetings without prior notice meant paying $1 for every minute that a he/she was not there. Thankfully, the office found out and put a stop to that practice - now I think instead of money compensation, they have to make dinner for other people on their floor or something.

Sorry for the wall of text, haha. I guess what I'm trying to say is that HKU halls is not everyone's cup of tea. Then again, most people tend to find hall life a pretty unique and enjoyable experience :smile:

Even as we speak, I can hear hall people cheering downstairs (it's past midnight here) in preparation for some sport event...

Original post by aTony123

Your post has reminded me that I should really stop procrastinating!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 105

ExplorerMF

Has anyone heard back from HKU yet??

Reply 106

dragon_knight

Original post by ExplorerMF

Has anyone heard back from HKU yet??

HKU is currently busy organizing interviews for the newly implemented HKDSE, so it may take a while for them to screen the non-JUPAS candidates.

Reply 107

ExplorerMF

Original post by dragon_knight

HKU is currently busy organizing interviews for the newly implemented HKDSE, so it may take a while for them to screen the non-JUPAS candidates.

Oh, alrighty! I'm just so impatient at the moment - I really want an interview!!! Haha. Thanks dragon_knight!

Reply 108

dragon_knight

Original post by ExplorerMF

Oh, alrighty! I'm just so impatient at the moment - I really want an interview!!! Haha. Thanks dragon_knight!

haha no problem :smile:

the interviews for HKDSE (in case u dont know, it's a newly implemented examination in HK in replacement of HKALE/HKCEE) top students on 19/11, so you might expect they answer you after 19th. there are hundreds of HKDSE students to be interviewed.

keep patience :biggrin:

btw are u applying using GCE results to i assume, as seen from your profile, medicine?

Reply 109

ExplorerMF

Original post by dragon_knight

haha no problem :smile:

btw are u applying using GCE results to i assume, as seen from your profile, medicine?

I had no idea what the HKDSE is so thanks for explaining! :smile:

I'm applying with Grade 12U results not sure what that equates to in HK. lol

Reply 110

dragon_knight

Original post by ExplorerMF

I had no idea what the HKDSE is so thanks for explaining! :smile:

I'm applying with Grade 12U results not sure what that equates to in HK. lol

sorry for the stupid question, what does grade 12U mean, like what does the "U" mean? are u studying in canada or the states?

Reply 111

ExplorerMF

Original post by dragon_knight

sorry for the stupid question, what does grade 12U mean, like what does the "U" mean? are u studying in canada or the states?

Haha, the "U" means University Preparation. I'm studying in Canada. :biggrin:

Reply 112

dragon_knight

Original post by ExplorerMF

Haha, the "U" means University Preparation. I'm studying in Canada. :biggrin:

ok... so basically grade 12U is equal to grade 12? if that's the case, it is about the level of form 6 in hong kong. then u are very likely to be allocated to the 4 year undergraduate program (6 years for medicine) if u are applying through non-JUPAS since the 3 year program is for those who have completed form 7 (i think equivalent to grade 13 in canada)

well actually i am also a canadian with a canada passport! where do u live?

Reply 113

ExplorerMF

Original post by dragon_knight

Yay - another Canadian! Are you in Canada right now or HK? Where abouts in Canada do you live? I live in Ontario so we don't have Grade 13, Grade 12 is the highest level in high school before going off to university. :P

Reply 114

dragon_knight

Original post by ExplorerMF

i am now living in hong kong and i go back to vancouver once per three years roughly :smile:

ic... still u are most likely to be allocated to the 4-year program in hk universities. hope u succeed :biggrin:

Reply 115

21Grapes

I'm confused as to how they allocate 3 year and 4 year programmes? Are you saying it depends on what year of current studies candidates are in? .___.

but anyway. application has been payed for and ready to send my supporting documents off now :biggrin:

hope postal service doesnt screw it up.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 116

ExplorerMF

Original post by dragon_knight

i am now living in hong kong and i go back to vancouver once per three years roughly :smile:

ic... still u are most likely to be allocated to the 4-year program in hk universities. hope u succeed :biggrin:

Ah cool! And thanks!! :biggrin:

Are you studying at HKU right now or are you applying?

Reply 117

dragon_knight

Original post by ExplorerMF

Ah cool! And thanks!! :biggrin:

Are you studying at HKU right now or are you applying?

well actually i'm just an applicant just like u :smile:

Original post by 21Grapes

hope postal service doesnt screw it up.

up till now, the universities have not decided the criteria of allocating non-JUPAS applicants into 3-year or 4-year program. but according to some professors, there will be 2 criteria: length and qualification of your secondary school study and your grades.

that is, usually if u are applying using IB or GCE, u'll normally be in the 3 year stream. for those applying using other 6-year-secondary-school qualifications, u'll normally be in the 4 year stream. but if u got super grades in your 6-year-quali, u may be considered into 3 year stream. if u get not outstanding grades in IB/ GCE while the university would still want to admit u, u may be allocated into 4 year stream.

hope this answers your question :biggrin:

Reply 118

ExplorerMF

Original post by dragon_knight

well actually i'm just an applicant just like u :smile:

So what are you applying for? :tongue:

Reply 119

dragon_knight

Original post by ExplorerMF

So what are you applying for? :tongue:

i'm mainly applying for medicine and healthcare-related ones like physiotherapy and speech and hearing. also applying for a business course. like JUPAS gives us 20 choices and it is quite hard to not include courses of different nautre. how about u? :smile: