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Veronica Qi

Top scorers who have secured places at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) medical school have expressed a desire to pursue both clinical care and medical research, with one student, inspired by her doctor, saying she wants to pass on “hope and courage” to society.
Their comments followed the release of the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas) results on Wednesday.
About 34 per cent of students who applied through the university admissions system secured tertiary education places this year, marking a slight drop from last year’s 37 per cent amid stiffer competition.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and HKU each offered places to 12 of this year’s 24 top scorers in the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam. All 12 admitted by CUHK chose medicine, while HKU’s group entered medicine, government and law, or business administration and law.
According to HKU, its medical faculty admitted 184 DSE students, equivalent to about 61 per cent of its 300 first-year places.
Of these, 155 were admitted through Jupas – 127 to the regular MBBS programme and 28 to the Distinguished MedScholar (DMS) programme – while 29 were placed through the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS).

For Luann Ma Tuen-hang of St Paul’s Co-educational College, the desire to become a doctor began with a story she cannot remember, but which her mother has told many times.
Hours after Ma was born, doctors found that she had a pneumothorax in her left lung. A pneumothorax is a collapsed lung caused by air in the chest cavity. She was taken by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, where she remained for nine days.
“Because I once received this love, care and concern, I hope to pass it on,” she said. “I want to give courage to patients who need help, as I once did, and to their families.”
The episode taught her that a doctor’s influence reached beyond saving a patient’s life. By guiding a frightened family through the crisis, doctors could also give them hope, she said.
Ma said she now wants to serve society in the same spirit, though she has not decided whether to specialise in clinical work or research. Both could improve lives, she said, whether through caring for patients or developing new medical products.
For fellow DMS entrant Brendan Hui Lok of La Salle College, the appeal of medicine lay in discovery.
Medical outreach activities first sparked his curiosity, while hospital visits exposed him to doctors who continually learned and adapted long after their formal training.
“Medicine is lifelong learning,” Hui said, adding that constant advances in science and technology were part of what made the profession attractive.
Hui described research as “a very important path” and said medical students did not need to confine their ambitions to clinical practice. They could investigate new medical technologies, undertake humanitarian work or care for patients, he said.
He planned to explore different specialities and areas of biomedical research before deciding where he could contribute most.
Athena Chan Lai-Kwan, a DMS student who was admitted through the SNDAS, said she was drawn to oncology partly because her mother was diagnosed with cancer last December.
She was also considering paediatrics after shadowing a professor, but said it was too early to choose before gaining broader clinical exposure.
The Jupas office said on Wednesday that 34.3 per cent of applicants, or 15,619, were offered places at local universities or on subsidised diploma courses under the system.
It also noted that the total number of applicants had increased by about 5.3 per cent year on year to 45,545. In comparison, 15,808 of last year’s 43,269 applicants secured places.
Students will receive their offers via SMS and through their Jupas accounts. Those who receive their main round offers must pay the acceptance fee by 5pm on Thursday.
This year, 58,487 students signed up for the DSE exams, with 24 students from 15 schools scoring perfect marks, breaking last year’s record of 17.
Most DSE subjects are graded on a seven-level scale, from level 1 to 5**. Students who achieve level 5 in a subject are graded as 5, 5* or 5**. Level 5** is awarded to the highest-scoring 10 per cent of candidates, with 5* allocated to the next 30 per cent and 5 for the rest. “Super top scorers” are those who also earn a 5** for the extended elective maths module.


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(Clockwise from back row left) Luann Ma, Chan Hoi-yin, Brendan Hui, Ryan Tao and Ng Ka-wing are among the top DSE scorers who will pursue a career in medicine at HKU. Photo: Karma Lo

Athena Chan says she was drawn to oncology partly because her mother was diagnosed with cancer last December. Photo: Karma Lo

(From left) Professor Kenny Kwan, assistant dean for clinical sciences admissions, with Professor Lau Chak-sing, dean of medicine, at a press briefing to welcome the top scorers. Photo: Karma Lo

Professor Kenny Kwan, assistant dean for clinical sciences admissions (front row third left) and Professor Lau Chak-sing, dean of medicine (front row fourth left) pose for a photo with a new cohort of high-achieving students to HKU's flagship medical programmes. Photo: Karma Lo

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The Chinese University of Hong Kong says 12 of this year’s top DSE scorers have received offers from the institution. Photo: Edmond So

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The offices of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. Photo: May Tse

Students sit the Chinese language exam at Munsang College. Photo: Handout

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Students receive their results for the DSE exams. Photo: Jonathan Wong

DSE grades most subjects on a seven-level scale from 1 to 5**. Photo: Handout

Students from Queen’s College receive their results for the DSE exams. Photo: May Tse

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Hong Kong

Education

HKU’s medical faculty admits 184 DSE students, equivalent to about 61 per cent of its 300 first-year places


HKU’s medical faculty admits 184 DSE students, equivalent to about 61 per cent of its 300 first-year places.


Hong Kong society

Medicine

Universities in Hong Kong

St Paul’s Co-educational College

Saved as a baby, HKU medical newbie aims to pass on ‘hope and courage’ to society

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}HKU’s medical faculty admits 184 DSE students, equivalent to about 61 per cent of its 300 first-year places

HKU’s medical faculty admits 184 DSE students, equivalent to about 61 per cent of its 300 first-year places