City University of Hong Kong non-local admissions (mainland-China gaokao · international students · 2026 shift to independent admissions)

Mainland-China students applying through the 2026 gaokao (mainland China’s national university entrance exam) cycle will find CityU’s application process completely different from what their seniors experienced — instead of solemnly listing “City University of Hong Kong” as their first choice on the early-batch preference form, they will apply directly through CityU’s website. This is not a minor tweak; it is a systemic shift. This article focuses on the admission pathways for non-local undergraduates at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK / CityU): mainland-China gaokao candidates and international students. Non-local students study on the same programmes as local students, but pay nearly the full cost of tuition (see tuition-and-scholarships.md).

CityU’s non-local undergraduate admissions run on two separate tracks:

# 1. Mainland gaokao admissions: the 2026 “unified → independent” shift

# 1.1 Pathway change (key point)

CityU’s mainland undergraduate admissions underwent a systemic change starting with the 2026 academic year. According to CityU Mainland Admissions website^※:

「自 2026 學年起，香港城市大學（港城大）透過『中國內地高考單獨招生』獨立招收中國內地應屆高考生，不參加『全國普通高等學校統一招生計劃（統招）』，不佔統招志願。」（“From the 2026/27 academic year, City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) will admit final-year mainland-China gaokao candidates through the ‘Independent Admissions Scheme for Mainland Gaokao Students’, not through the National Unified Matriculation Scheme for Ordinary Higher Education Institutions (Unified Scheme), and will not occupy a Unified Scheme preference choice.”）— Candidates apply directly to CityU on its website, and no longer fill in CityU on the early-batch section of their gaokao preference form (unlike the practice at CUHK and parts of HKU).

This differs from the practice in 2025 and before: CityU previously admitted mainland students through the national Unified Scheme early batch, with candidates submitting their preferences after gaokao results were released. Multiple mainland study-abroad information sources (2025 basis) still describe CityU as “operating an autonomous admissions system that does not affect gaokao preferences for mainland institutions” and state that “candidates do not need to submit a separate application form; they only need to follow their province’s gaokao preference-filling procedures; in provinces without parallel-choice preferences, CityU must be listed as the first early-batch choice” (per mainland study-abroad resource 2025^※). When comparing materials from different years, readers must first verify whether the material refers to the “Unified Scheme early batch” or the “post-2026 independent admissions” regime — the two have different application procedures.

The shift from “occupying an early-batch preference slot” to “independent admissions, not occupying a Unified Scheme choice” means that mainland candidates applying to CityU no longer consume one of their early-batch preference slots for mainland universities. The exact preference-filling and admission workflow should be confirmed from CityU’s website and each provincial examination authority’s current-year announcements.

# 1.2 Admission thresholds (2025 basis)

# 1.3 English language subject requirement (by college tier)

CityU sets a hard threshold on the English subject score (out of 150 marks) for mainland gaokao candidates, tiered by the college applied to (per mainland study-abroad resource 2025^※ and CRI Online interview^※):

# 1.4 2024 indicative admission scores for selected provinces (secondary source)

The table below shows the 2024 minimum admission scores for CityU (under the early-batch system) collated from study-abroad reference sites. It is a secondary compilation and is provided only as an order-of-magnitude reference; the definitive data rests with each provincial examination authority and official CityU releases (per 6617 compilation^※):

⚠ These figures are compiled by third-party study-abroad resources, not officially released province-by-province by CityU or the examination authorities. Moreover, after CityU’s move to “independent admissions” in 2026, the admission and ranking mechanism may adjust, and historical scores should not be directly extrapolated. Refer to CityU’s Mainland Admissions website and each provincial examination authority.

# 1.5 Gaokao candidates holding “local student” status

Some mainland-China candidates who hold Hong Kong local student status (e.g. through One-way Permits, or as dependants under the Quality Migrant / Top Talent admission schemes) may also apply using their gaokao results. If admitted, their tuition fees and accommodation charges are calculated at local student rates. Detailed eligibility criteria should be confirmed from CityU’s published definitions.

# 1.6 Entrance scholarships for mainland students (summary)

CityU offers several tiers of entry scholarships for mainland gaokao candidates, requiring no separate application — they are assessed automatically based on academic merit. The top tier provides a “full tuition waiver + up to HK$60,000 living allowance”. Thresholds and amounts are detailed in tuition-and-scholarships.md.

# 2. International students / overseas and other qualifications

Non-local international students apply through CityU’s International / Non-JUPAS Admissions Scheme and are assessed case by case (interviews may be required).

• Qualifications: CityU accepts mainstream pre-university qualifications from across the world — IB Diploma, GCE / International A-Level, US High School Diploma + SAT/ACT/AP, Canadian OSSD, Australian ATAR, Malaysian UEC/STPM, and others. Programme-specific reference grades are published each year on CityU’s non-JUPAS admissions website.
• Language: Acceptable English proficiency (IELTS / TOEFL, etc.) must be demonstrated. Some programmes may also set a Chinese language requirement.
• Transfer admissions: Students who have completed at least one year of an undergraduate degree at a recognised university, or at least one year of an associate degree, may also apply for senior-year entry.
• Scholarships: International students do not need to submit a separate scholarship application. CityU operates an “International Student Scholarship Scheme” assessed automatically on academic merit (top tier: renewable full-tuition waiver + up to HK$60,000 living allowance), notified together with the admission offer. A separate “Diversity Grant” of approximately HK$30,000 per year is also available for students from ethnic-minority or underrepresented-nationality backgrounds (detailed in tuition-and-scholarships.md).
• Tuition fees: Non-local undergraduate tuition for those entering in 2025/26 is HK$170,000^※ per year, rising to HK$190,000^※ for the 2026/27 intake; the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) programme charges a higher rate (see the tuition article).

International admissions and mainland gaokao admissions are two independent tracks: the former is for non-local students holding overseas qualifications, assessed case by case; the latter is for mainland gaokao candidates, selected on a merit basis using gaokao scores. Mainland-resident students studying international curricula (such as IB or A-Level) rather than sitting the gaokao normally apply through the International / Non-JUPAS route.

# 3. Intake size and non-local proportion

• Mainland undergraduate intake is approximately 300 students per year (2025 basis, per study-abroad resources).
• CityU is known for being “the world’s most international university” (consistently ranked at the top of THE’s international outlook indicator for multiple years); non-local students (mainland + international) make up a substantial proportion of its undergraduate population.
• This archive has been unable to verify, from a single official admissions office page, an official year-by-year breakdown of local versus non-local undergraduate enrolment figures and exact percentages → marked as not found (rely on the CityU annual reports / UGC statistics, and the overview module).

# Data reliability and gaps

• Official hard data: “independent admissions, not occupying a Unified Scheme choice” from 2026 (original wording from the CityU Mainland Admissions website), the English-subject score thresholds by college, interview requirement for BVM, and non-local tuition fees (CityU fees page).
• Secondary / media compilations: the 2025 intake figure of approximately 300, the 2024 province-level indicative scores, and the 2025 early-batch application procedure descriptions — drawn from study-abroad resources and a media interview. Definitive figures rest with official sources and each provincial examination authority; the type of source is marked on each item.
• Marked as “not found”: year-by-year local versus non-local enrolment numbers and percentages, and programme-specific international qualification reference grade tables — could not be verified from a single official page, and have not been fabricated.
• Special note: pre-2025 (Unified Scheme early batch) and post-2026 (independent admissions) are two different regimes. This article has explicitly juxtaposed the pathway change without conflating the two.