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City University of Hong Kong class of 2019

This thread is for all the CityU HK class of 2019 applicants!

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Reply 1
I'm currently deciding between UEA in Norwich and CityU in Hong Kong to study business - I've got unconditional offers from both. Any suggestions?
Original post by Gusty
I'm currently deciding between UEA in Norwich and CityU in Hong Kong to study business - I've got unconditional offers from both. Any suggestions?


hello ive got a conditional offer from cityu and im in a kind of dilemma too cause i dont know whether i should wait for the other hk unis to reply... what are your thoughts on cityu's reputation?
Reply 3
Original post by Monisha_cs
hello ive got a conditional offer from cityu and im in a kind of dilemma too cause i dont know whether i should wait for the other hk unis to reply... what are your thoughts on cityu's reputation?


I only heard good things about CityU. I heard that its not so stressful and overall unpleasant as is HKU or HKUST thanks to their emphasis on workload, which is good I guess.
Original post by Gusty
I only heard good things about CityU. I heard that its not so stressful and overall unpleasant as is HKU or HKUST thanks to their emphasis on workload, which is good I guess.


ohh i see thats nice... why do you think that people dont prefer choosing cityu over other universities? i mean being 108 in the world is pretty impressive right? but everyone is always all nooo ill keep cityu only as backup... :/
Reply 5
Original post by Monisha_cs
ohh i see thats nice... why do you think that people dont prefer choosing cityu over other universities? i mean being 108 in the world is pretty impressive right? but everyone is always all nooo ill keep cityu only as backup... :/


I think that people applying to a certain area want to apply to the statistically better schools first to see their chance of getting in, then have the statistically worse schools as backups. A very shallow theory tbh, every school has its own ups and downs and decisions shouldn't only be made on table ranking. Are you applying then?
This thread is pretty funny.

It's pretty obvious why hardly anyone would choose City University over HKU, HKUST, or CUHK. It's got a bad reputation in terms of its intake, teaching qualification, academic standards, and output. Among the ex-polis, Polytechnic University is the better one, and the only reason why CityU is higher on the tables was because they spent all their money to hire good researchers (who don't teach undergraduates) to produce lots and lots research. You won't be unemployed after CityU but that's just because Hong Kong's economy is great and there's a virtually non-existence unemployment rate, but you're definitely disadvantaged, especially in the business field, where people are likely to screen you out for not being from the 'Big Three', or for having graduated from a local university. In fact, they didn't even exist in Oxford's system for you to select which university you did your degree at.

Also, their students complain about the need to share space, in lecture and elsewhere on campus, with associate degree students all the time. Not to mention the constant (justified) shades they suffer for basically being a school in a mall.
Original post by Gusty
I think that people applying to a certain area want to apply to the statistically better schools first to see their chance of getting in, then have the statistically worse schools as backups. A very shallow theory tbh, every school has its own ups and downs and decisions shouldn't only be made on table ranking. Are you applying then?


yes ive applied and i got an offer but i want to wait for the rest to accept too but the deadline is approaching so... :s-smilie: im just gonna accept it
Original post by clh_hilary
This thread is pretty funny.

It's pretty obvious why hardly anyone would choose City University over HKU, HKUST, or CUHK. It's got a bad reputation in terms of its intake, teaching qualification, academic standards, and output. Among the ex-polis, Polytechnic University is the better one, and the only reason why CityU is higher on the tables was because they spent all their money to hire good researchers (who don't teach undergraduates) to produce lots and lots research. You won't be unemployed after CityU but that's just because Hong Kong's economy is great and there's a virtually non-existence unemployment rate, but you're definitely disadvantaged, especially in the business field, where people are likely to screen you out for not being from the 'Big Three', or for having graduated from a local university. In fact, they didn't even exist in Oxford's system for you to select which university you did your degree at.

Also, their students complain about the need to share space, in lecture and elsewhere on campus, with associate degree students all the time. Not to mention the constant (justified) shades they suffer for basically being a school in a mall.


wow so you mean to say cityu's teachers and lecturers are not very good?? thats a shame... and what do you think about studying in cityu and then applying for a job somewhere outside of hong kong? do you think cityu's reputation will come into play there too?
and what did you mean by "sharing space with associate degree students"?
Original post by Monisha_cs
wow so you mean to say cityu's teachers and lecturers are not very good?? thats a shame...


Never went there, can't comment.

It's commonly perceived that CityU graduates are of a lower quality, especially in terms of their proficiency in English, but this doesn't mean it's the lecturers' fault since their intake in lower than the Big Three.

They also have the disadvantage of not really having specialised courses or fields that they really excel in. Outside of the Big Three, we have Hong Kong Baptist University which is exceptional in journalism, Euro Study, and apparently history, with also good reputation in music (performance, though second to Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts); Hong Kong Polytechnic University is unique is having occupational therapy and physiotherapy, and their social work and nursing courses are considered one of, if not the best in Hong Kong; I heard philosophy is good at Lingnan University. Law is CityU is OK but with CUHK also doing law their uniqueness has been weakened especially when HKU dominates the field in every aspect to begin with.

Original post by Monisha_cs
and what do you think about studying in cityu and then applying for a job somewhere outside of hong kong?


No idea. Like everything else, it will depend on your field, your grade, the job you're going for, and your ability.

Though keep in mind city universities are always seen as crap because they are all ex-polies. If anything, probably CityU in HK is the best university with the word 'city' in it.

But if you're going for reputation, unless your employer likes the Hong Kong background in itself very much, I cannot see why they would hire you over anyone from the other HK universities just because of the name. Internationally, none of the HK universities are actually well known (not even HKU - tho HKU does have the advantage of being the University of Hong Kong and people do generally know of 'Hong Kong').

Original post by Monisha_cs
do you think cityu's reputation will come into play there too?


I think internationally it's very difficult to tell. The most likely scenario is that they have heard nothing of it, and may judge its quality purely based on either the league tables or the word 'city'.

Original post by Monisha_cs
and what did you mean by "sharing space with associate degree students"?


Apparently you have lectures with students reading for an associate degree (ie like a foundation degree), share the already-tiny library with them, and everything else.

They also had some controversies earlier as some of the lecturers lectured in Mandarin to cater to the mainland students.
Original post by clh_hilary
Never went there, can't comment.

It's commonly perceived that CityU graduates are of a lower quality, especially in terms of their proficiency in English, but this doesn't mean it's the lecturers' fault since their intake in lower than the Big Three.

They also have the disadvantage of not really having specialised courses or fields that they really excel in. Outside of the Big Three, we have Hong Kong Baptist University which is exceptional in journalism, Euro Study, and apparently history, with also good reputation in music (performance, though second to Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts); Hong Kong Polytechnic University is unique is having occupational therapy and physiotherapy, and their social work and nursing courses are considered one of, if not the best in Hong Kong; I heard philosophy is good at Lingnan University. Law is CityU is OK but with CUHK also doing law their uniqueness has been weakened especially when HKU dominates the field in every aspect to begin with.



No idea. Like everything else, it will depend on your field, your grade, the job you're going for, and your ability.

Though keep in mind city universities are always seen as crap because they are all ex-polies. If anything, probably CityU in HK is the best university with the word 'city' in it.

But if you're going for reputation, unless your employer likes the Hong Kong background in itself very much, I cannot see why they would hire you over anyone from the other HK universities just because of the name. Internationally, none of the HK universities are actually well known (not even HKU - tho HKU does have the advantage of being the University of Hong Kong and people do generally know of 'Hong Kong').



I think internationally it's very difficult to tell. The most likely scenario is that they have heard nothing of it, and may judge its quality purely based on either the league tables or the word 'city'.



Apparently you have lectures with students reading for an associate degree (ie like a foundation degree), share the already-tiny library with them, and everything else.

They also had some controversies earlier as some of the lecturers lectured in Mandarin to cater to the mainland students.


Well the local students that graduate from there might have a lower proficiency in English but being an international student who's first language is English i don't think that would be much of a problem as i can demonstrate my English speaking abilities to an employer through other means if they've got doubts...
i was always of the opinion that hk unis are very reputed and well known?? thousands of students graduate from there and apply for foreign jobs every year right...? so they cant be all that bad...
and as for some lectureres speaking in mandarin, i think thats appalling! dont the students complain to some authorities? its really unfair..
HKUST https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOUOPnLbjkI looks like an interesting place to study - does it rival top UK unis and how easy is it to get in as a UK applicant?
Original post by Monisha_cs
Well the local students that graduate from there might have a lower proficiency in English but being an international student who's first language is English i don't think that would be much of a problem as i can demonstrate my English speaking abilities to an employer through other means if they've got doubts...
i was always of the opinion that hk unis are very reputed and well known?? thousands of students graduate from there and apply for foreign jobs every year right...? so they cant be all that bad...
and as for some lectureres speaking in mandarin, i think thats appalling! dont the students complain to some authorities? its really unfair..


Probably not, but at the same time if you don't speak both Cantonese and Mandarin you may have a difficult time socialising with anyone there, and may even have trouble with lectures if you're in a course with lots of mainland students.

Hong Kong's universities probably have good reputation in general, but I don't think any of them is well known at all to the common person. In East Asia, only University of Tokyo and perhaps National University of Singapore are well known outside of the region, with possible Peking University and Tsinghua University also being known. HKU would rank above PKU and THU, with HKUST and probably CUHK following.

You can actually look at the Google search interests and see how the universities compare. I have never looked into CityU's data but even HKU is consistently behind NUS in terms of Google interests, and Tokyo has a lot more interests.

I really have no idea how much a HK degree is going to help overseas in terms of jobs. It will really come down to your field, your grade, the job, and the rest of your background. In HK, you shouldn't have troubles finding a job as I've said the economy is very good and the unemployment rate is non-existent. It doesn't mean it advantages you.
Original post by Patrick2810
HKUST https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOUOPnLbjkI looks like an interesting place to study - does it rival top UK unis


No.

Original post by Patrick2810
and how easy is it to get in as a UK applicant?


Depends. HK's universities often have higher conditions than Oxbridge give out because the whole of developed East Asia has very high grades.
Original post by clh_hilary
No.



Depends. HK's universities often have higher conditions than Oxbridge give out because the whole of developed East Asia has very high grades.


So it's worse than top UK unis but it has higher entry requirements, something doesn't seem very fair here! So the education systems are probably more demanding and thus produce better students than the UK education system ? could you explain a bit about this it's interesting.
Original post by clh_hilary
Probably not, but at the same time if you don't speak both Cantonese and Mandarin you may have a difficult time socialising with anyone there, and may even have trouble with lectures if you're in a course with lots of mainland students.

Hong Kong's universities probably have good reputation in general, but I don't think any of them is well known at all to the common person. In East Asia, only University of Tokyo and perhaps National University of Singapore are well known outside of the region, with possible Peking University and Tsinghua University also being known. HKU would rank above PKU and THU, with HKUST and probably CUHK following.

You can actually look at the Google search interests and see how the universities compare. I have never looked into CityU's data but even HKU is consistently behind NUS in terms of Google interests, and Tokyo has a lot more interests.

I really have no idea how much a HK degree is going to help overseas in terms of jobs. It will really come down to your field, your grade, the job, and the rest of your background. In HK, you shouldn't have troubles finding a job as I've said the economy is very good and the unemployment rate is non-existent. It doesn't mean it advantages you.


Ahh yes that is true... i was hoping i could take up courses in cantonese and mandarin along side my studies to make life a little easier... do you know if they offer such short language courses?
Ahh yes NUS is very well known along with Nanyang Tech University.. but obviously its not as famous as NUS...
Do you think it'll be easy to get a foreign post-graduate degree after doing a bacherlor's at cityu?
Original post by Patrick2810
So it's worse than top UK unis but it has higher entry requirements, something doesn't seem very fair here! So the education systems are probably more demanding and thus produce better students than the UK education system ? could you explain a bit about this it's interesting.


For example, I got into HKU with an equivalent of A*A*A in a-levels with my local qualification, and it was one of HKU's courses with the lowest admission scores, and I was exactly the 75 percentile in the class.

Oxford's normal requirement is AAA, Cambridge's is A*AA.

HKU, HKUST, and CUHK definitely have conditions that rival Oxbridge, if not higher than them, as you can see in the threads on HK universities' applicants. Not always, but it's common. In some cases, the conditions could be very low, if they really want you, but they are the exceptions not the rule.

It's not strange when to me, for example, it was a lot cheaper to study at HKU than at Oxbridge. (Of course I could still have been rejected with an unsatisfactory interview performance, though I do end up now at Oxford with an MSc.) Of course having an Oxbridge degree is better for the academic life and in terms of job prospects, but it's basically six times of the money, if not more. And it's not even that different if all along I'm going to work in Hong Kong - all HK universities have a virtually 100% employment rate for years.

So for locals like myself, there's no incentives to go elsewhere if we get an offer locally. In fact, people who don't get an offer (but are posh/middle class) go to good universities overseas. I have a friend at Australian National University and he's only there because he's got no offers locally.

Whether the students are 'better' is debatable. Having better grades don't mean the students are 'better' in any way; not to mention HK has a lot fewer university places compared to the UK, so obviously admission scores are going to be higher.
Original post by Monisha_cs
Ahh yes that is true... i was hoping i could take up courses in cantonese and mandarin along side my studies to make life a little easier... do you know if they offer such short language courses?


Yes. In fact, one of the former governors of Hong Kong did that at HKU back in his term of office.

You will need to work hard to learn the language though.

Original post by Monisha_cs
Ahh yes NUS is very well known along with Nanyang Tech University.. but obviously its not as famous as NUS...


Although the thing is though I think you're still likely to have better opportunities with a degree from a good British university compared to having one from NUS, despite NUS students probably having better a-levels.

Original post by Monisha_cs
Do you think it'll be easy to get a foreign post-graduate degree after doing a bacherlor's at cityu?


That's not really an issue. The university you attended does not matter much for postgraduate studies as long as it is an accredited university, and CityU is an accredited university. Whilst you cannot actually find CityU in Oxford's application system (it comes up as 'Hong Kong City Polytechnic University' which doesn't exist), I know at least one person who's doing his BCL here from CityU. I know a lot more HKU graduates, and some CUHK/HKUST ones, though. And as I've said law is City's best course.
Original post by clh_hilary
Yes. In fact, one of the former governors of Hong Kong did that at HKU back in his term of office.

You will need to work hard to learn the language though.



Although the thing is though I think you're still likely to have better opportunities with a degree from a good British university compared to having one from NUS, despite NUS students probably having better a-levels.



That's not really an issue. The university you attended does not matter much for postgraduate studies as long as it is an accredited university, and CityU is an accredited university. Whilst you cannot actually find CityU in Oxford's application system (it comes up as 'Hong Kong City Polytechnic University' which doesn't exist), I know at least one person who's doing his BCL here from CityU. I know a lot more HKU graduates, and some CUHK/HKUST ones, though. And as I've said law is City's best course.


I'm not from Britain! i live in India but i'm not completely Indian its kind of complicated haha that's not important... and yes! I'm willing to work as hard as i can to learn cantonese and mandarin not only because it'll make uni life easier but because it'll come in handy in the future too so...
Oh its so good to hear that the reputation of the uni isn't important for pg studies im so relieved. I'm actually really interested in Cityu's Bachelor of Electronic Engineering - Information Engineering course i find it very substantial and well - thought out.
Reply 19
Original post by clh_hilary
Probably not, but at the same time if you don't speak both Cantonese and Mandarin you may have a difficult time socialising with anyone there, and may even have trouble with lectures if you're in a course with lots of mainland students.


Thanks for your opinion - the first strong opinion I've read about CityU on here so far. Every university has its ups and downs and I think that CityU won't be any different. From what i've heard the university is working on expanding their international staff and an overall internationalization of the university. Also their curriculum includes a lot of group work, which might urge the mainland chinese community to mingle with international/exchange students and not just do their own thing. And I seriously doubt that any lecturer taught in mandarin if their wasn't consent of everyone in the class to understand fully. With the intake numbers of international full time and exchange students increasing every year I don't think that this will be an issue.

Original post by Monisha_cs
i was always of the opinion that hk unis are very reputed and well known?? thousands of students graduate from there and apply for foreign jobs every year right...? so they cant be all that bad...
and as for some lectureres speaking in mandarin, i think thats appalling! dont the students complain to some authorities? its really unfair..


Regarding job opportunities - I'm from the Czech Republic and I'm currently interning at a large scale consumer finance provider in India. I've been lucky to discuss universities face-to-face with many highly regarded executives and all of them seem to agree that school is just a small beginning, that most things are learnt on the job and that studying in a HK environment would already provide an advantage over a lot of graduates (from the UK for example, excluding oxbridge and a few top places) thanks to HK's place in the business world. That being said, I think that a degree from CityU would be very useful in HK and more so internationally. Arguably a little less than from HKU or HKUST, but nothing groundbreaking. And I think you should accept the offer :smile:
(edited 8 years ago)

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