I finally and successfully am a student of Fashion and Textile Design at PolyU.

Private Concern
the concern of getting into a private college in Hong Kong

The day I visited Hang Seng Management College was rainy, and the sky was grey. But this sober weather didn’t put my passion and curiosity about the school down when I was taking bus to visit the noticed management college and the nearly-be-former school of commerce, Hang Seng Management College.

Hang Seng Management College is praised as the management college with greatest potential and the breed of future commercial prestigious. And this year is the second year that Hang Seng held its government recognized degree programs. It offers secondary students six hundreds school placement in four disciplines, Business Administration, Global Supply Chain Management, Translation for commerce and Journalism and Communication.

Though this school is obviously lacked of experience in holding degree programs, many people believed that it would not be a problem as every new schools are designated to explore ways to run their schools with failures and administration issues. However, the question should be whether the school is able to provide students, who apply with mediocre A-level examination results, with quality education and countless opportunities to improve and equip themselves. When we are going to make an assumption that the school will or will not achieve this desirable outcome, first we have to know how to measure the result of its education. The diameters we can measure are graduates’ starting salaries, graduates’ knowledge in their disciplines, graduates’ willingness to continue study, to name but a few. At a time, Hang Seng degree students still have to study for at least three academic years; however, it is too early for anyone of us to make our assertion on the performances of those newly established private colleges, like Hang Seng and Shue Yan University.

"The school has more resources and the flow of professors is free, finally and under competition between schools, privates schools will have the most competent team of educators."

And things change when the constraints and limiting factors change. Economist, Professor Steven Cheung once mentioned in his book, the reasons for why private schools in the United States are more outstanding in teachers’ qualifications and students’ performances are many folds. The first reason is that private schools offer higher pay to those more competent professors, who cannot tolerate the flat wage level with those mediocre professors. This means so clearly that if the school has more resources and the flow of professors is free, finally and under competition between schools, privates schools will have the most competent team of educators. The second reason is that private schools allocate resources well. Private schools simply would not waste more than the public do. But, as far as I know, there is little information for me to compare the actual situations between private educational intuitions and public educational intuitions, so I cannot make a conclusion here.

But, anyone, the reasons I apply for Hang Seng are that my result of A-level is “mediocre” and that I have faith in this school. As I remember, a profound professor in Business discipline was employed by the school in the first year, and somebody told me there will be more in the future. This phenomenon indicates the economic examples I mentioned above. So, here comes the potential and the great possibility that the school would offer the best tertiary education. And the other reason is that it is four-year tertiary programs which consist of one year general education. In principle, four-year tertiary programs could provide students well-rounded educations which can solid students’ foundation in languages, history, and mathematics, etc. I thought.

During the interview, the professor shows much kindness and witty. The interview was conducted in English and in Chinese for the Q and A section. First he asks some open ended questions and some about the academic performances on the secondary academic years. He disagrees a lot, in a nice way. And I ask a lot about the competence of school, and the reasons why the school is so successful in getting grade As in A-level examinations. His answers illuminated me. After I heard his answers, I found myself that I had long been making thought complicated, and blinded myself. He said “I am not surprised by what A-level students in this school achieved, as they are the best student in Hong Kong. When you have remarkable students and quality education, you cannot really tell exactly what would be the constraint of the result.” He laid and explained it viciously like introducing some new concepts of his, and he continued “According to what you had asked, I cannot give you a precise answer as the method of study and how the school educates require you to explore yourself, and it various with people. And this is something that you cannot get your answers from others, but yourself.” I was amazed by his charm. After we finished the conversation, I realized what my hair stylist said before, hesitate to much would delay you from holding a chance. When hesitation is raised by lacking of self-confidence, all you need to do is to get set and go.

"Even though degree programs are quality and lectured by experienced Doctors, once the programs are not globally, or in district, recognized, studying at a private college would only be a waste of time and money."

After the interview, I continued my research on academic intuitions and others programs, the more I research, I found there are uncertainties that study in local private colleges. First worry is a common concern of all applicants, but also sociologists, educators and policy makers. It is the legitimacy of private colleges’ degree programs. To most of the students, the drive to continue tertiary is to find a high pay job as a degree holder. And to some, global legitimacy of the programs would definitely link to the chance of study overseas. However, even though degree programs are quality and lectured by experienced Doctors, once the programs are not globally, or in district, recognized, studying at a private college would only be a waste of time and money as the majority of business units do not admit you to apply degree knowledge to their work.

After the interview, an offer letter was issued two days later, admitting me as student and, of coz, asking me to pay $6000 as an admission fee, which will be considered as one fifth of the charge of the first year degree program. When I asked my father to provide me with financial assistance, he gave me the answer without hesitation. He said what scores did you actually get? And, how come you enroll a school that is not recognized and is it wasteful for me to spend almost twenty thousands dollars on you to study for an illegitimated cert? Why don’t you just go to study an associate degree, as it is much cheaper than this fucking course! Son, $60000 a year is not a small number for you and me.

"$60000 a year is not a small number for you and me."

I understood his concern. And I found he was quite firm on his point. So it is so hard for to me to check $6000 to Hang Seng account. My father is a wise person. His worry is always reasonable. I know it is so unaffordable for my family to give me twenty-five thousands dollars to study in the following years. And I felt sorry for them, as once my results was great, every problems would not happened, and they could go to boost about their clever son and his colourful public examination result. But actually I am not. And tomorrow is the deadline of paying Hang Seng admission fees. If I had not paid it on time, they would cancel my application. It is cruel. And there are about eleven days left form the announcement of the admission of government founded universities, which are the most popular schools in Hong Kong, where private schools are inexperienced and mostly not socially recognized like the government founded ones.

Education is always a luxury for everyone. And the situation is better in Hong Kong, where almost every young citizen owns the change to pursue tertiary education, but the high quality ones are for those who are academically successful. I am so grateful that I can finish my secondary education, but I am so sad that I finished it with mediocre results. I could do better, but I didn’t. Up untill this moment, I am still not sure whether I can pay this fee on time. So I sincerely hope that there will a way for me to get over it.