HKU medicine (MBBS) - non-JUPAS admissions

The HKU Medical School used to accept 10 to 20 non-JUPAS applicants , but starting in 2008, it has expanded its quota to about 30. These applicants largely comprise of those who have an undergraduate/postgraduate degree from a local (HK) or overseas university, and those who have school-leaving qualifications (New Zealand Bursary, American SAT, etc.) from a local international secondary school (e.g. HKIS) or an overseas high school. Most, if not all, of these applicants are holders of HKID cards. However, there are exceptions from time to time. For example, in 2008, a Malaysian applicant has been accepted into the MBBS course.

The class composition is as follows:

• 40 local students admitted via the Early Admissions Scheme (EAS) - i.e. these students have only completed Form 6 and go straight into university;
  
• 40 local students admitted via the HK A-levels;
• 40 non-JUPAS/international students

Just to illustrate what sort of students actually succeeded in gaining a place in the HKU medical course via the non-JUPAS scheme, let me share with you some brief academic profiles of current MBBS students:

• Cambridge University (UK) graduate with a first class degree in Biochemistry
• Oxford University (UK) graduate with a first class degree in Biology
• Duke University (USA) graduate with a Biology degree
• MIT (USA) Biology graduate with a 5.0/5.0 GPA
• Cornell University (USA) Nutrition graduate
  
• University of Toronto (Canada) graduate with a first class degree in Pathology
• University of Toronto (Canada) graduate with a first class BSc and MSc in Immunology & Microbiology

These degree holders make up approximately 1/4 to 1/2 of the non-JUPAS population, with the remainder being school leavers from various international secondary schools. Thus, it seems that HKU does not give preference to university graduates at all.