The number, including 384,000 senior college students who are to receive bachelor's degrees, is up 27.7 percent on last year's total of 624,000.

The planned recruitment of postgraduate students this year is 217,000, up 33 percent from last year, the ministry said.

Master of Business Administration (MBA) studies, law and computer science are the top three subjects preferred by applicants.

Large numbers have also picked subjects like enterprise management, finance and communications, and information systems, said the ministry.

MBAs, computer science and law have become popular in China since the 1990s, driven by a rising demand for high-level professionals in these subjects.

Peking University, Shanghai-based Fudan University and Wuhan University in Central China's Hubei Province are the three most sought-after destinations of applicants.

The prestigious Peking University, which always receives the largest number of candidates, received 18,000 applications this year.

Sheng Yuhai, a graduate school enrolment official, said the majority of students were becoming more rational in choosing their major and have mapped out detailed plans for their future.

"In their telephone queries, the students were more interested in the teaching and research capacity of institutions, the configuration of curricula, and career development potential," Sheng said.

In the past, most students simply asked how many vacancies were available, and what the bottom line was for their admission, he added.

In Shanghai, official figures suggest a drop of nearly 600 applicants for MBA programs this year -- the first ever decline since China launched its annual nationwide MBA admission test in the mid-1990s.

Analysts say the decline is the result of easier access to MBA education at home and abroad, both full-time and part-time. The increasing popularity of other programs, such as master of public administration and master of engineering, also plays a key role.

Intense competition in the job market has led many students to pin their hopes on graduate schools, where they expect to learn more and become better prepared for the job market in two or three years' time.

Some people have even given up well-paid jobs in order to further their education.

One of them is Xiang, a resident of Northeast China's Liaoning Province, who has been working in a white-collar job at a joint venture in Shenyang since she graduated from college in 1996.

"The pay is quite good. After all, not everyone can earn 4,000 yuan (US$480) a month in Shenyang," she said

(China Daily January 17, 2003)