Splashing out at least 10,000 yuan (US$1,393) on consultations for college applications for their children, parents’ anxieties are a reflection of prevalent social worries about education and employment. Since 2014, college applicants have been urged to prioritize their preferred major, instead of applying for certain colleges. This is supposed to nudge students toward learning what they love. But influenced by the unregulated college consultancy sector, combined with mounting employment pressure, applicants and their parents flock to popular courses, producing many graduates with the same knowledge, leading to a high labor surplus in some fields. To support students of marginalized majors, many universities offered joint degrees, only to find it increased study burdens. Today, more students from the Chinese mainland opt for universities in Hong Kong, although they find it hard to adapt to the independent study style there. Experts suggest that while responding to labor market demands, universities should look beyond merely supplying what they believe the labor market wants.
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