The results of this year’s university department-specific testing (UDST) portion of the college entrance exam were released on Monday, and some of this year’s top performers hail from less prominent high schools, while others are from poor families
One graduate is a cancer patient who has been learning via video telecommunications and another is a National Taiwan University electrical engineering major who wanted to change his major to medicine.
Twins Tai Yi-ling (戴依伶) and Tai Chun-er (戴君兒) were among the top scorers in UDST Category A. They want to study politics or law at one of the top national universities. Places for national schools are in high demand because of their reputations and lower tuition fees.
However, even a public university would impose huge financial difficulties for the twins. Their father moved to China years ago and stopped all financial support for the family, leaving their mother as the sole breadwinner.
Tai Chun-er said they were often too busy studying to eat.
“We don’t feel hungry, so we go to bed with empty stomachs,” she said.
The twins received more good news on Monday. The father of a classmate, a university professor, phoned them on Monday to congratulate them on their excellent exam performances and told them he would sponsor their university education.
Liu You-ting (劉祐廷), the former aspiring electrical engineer, was the top scorer in UDST Category C, with a score of 567. The minimal score for passing the entrance exam was 42.
Liu won admission to the electrical engineering department through the recommendation-based screening channel, which meant he had not needed to take the national college entrance exam. However, after two years of study he said he discovered he was not interested in the subject. After he dropped out, he took classes at a cram school to study for tests targeting National Taiwan University’s medical school.
Su Liang-yen (蘇喨言) from Tainan fulfilled her aspiration of entering the same medical school, scoring 565.5 on the exam. If her biology score were to be deducted, her 476.8 score would be the highest in UDST Category B.
Su had sought to enter the school through the -recommendation-based screening process earlier this year, but was rejected. She used this failure to power her studies for the UDST.
Hsu Chieh (許捷) was the top scorer in UDST Category A with 535.9. He chose to enter the National Taiwan University’s finance department, even though he had been recommended for National Chengchi University’s law department.
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