Gaokao (China National College Entrance) 2026: Exam Pattern, Eligibility & Study Plan

GAOKAO (高考, Hanyu Pinyin: Gāokǎo, literally "High School Exam") is China's national university entrance examination — one of the most important and pressurised exams in the world. Taken by over 10 million students annually, it is the sole determinant of admission to Chinese universities for undergraduate programmes. The exam is administered by the Ministry of Education and is taken over 2–3 days in June every year. A student's GAOKAO score (combined with their high school record) determines which universities and programmes they can apply to. It is famously intense — Chinese universities are ranked primarily by admission cutoffs, and scoring well in GAOKAO is seen as life-defining.

GAOKAO consists of 3 mandatory subjects plus optionalElective subjects: Mandatory: Chinese (Mathematics is also mandatory, 150 marks each, 2.5 hours), and Foreign Language (English, Japanese, Russian, or German — 150 marks, 2 hours). Electives for Science stream: Physics, Chemistry, Biology. Electives for Arts stream: History, Geography, Political Science. Each province sets its own papers within the national framework. Total scores vary by province — typically 750 is the maximum. The exam is conducted over 2–3 days consecutively, in designated high school centres. Shanghai and Beijing use a 3+3 model (3 mandatory + 3 elective from 20 options).

International students have several pathways to Chinese universities: (1) Direct admission using GAOKAO — some universities accept international students with GAOKAO scores (typically 70% or above of the maximum). (2) Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC) — requires GAOKAO score plus an HSK (Chinese language) certificate; awarded to top international students for tuition-free education. (3) Individual university programmes — universities like Peking University, Tsinghua, Fudan, and Zhejiang University have dedicated international student admissions requiring GAOKAO + HSK 4–6 + interview. Most international undergraduate programmes in China are taught in Chinese and require HSK 4+. Medicine programmes (MBBS in English) at universities like Shanghai Jiao Tong and Fudan accept international students through a separate pathway without GAOKAO.