In late July and early August, mainland Chinese universities have been sending out admission notices. However, the tuition fees in these universities have seen a sudden increase of 30% to even 50%. This has caused a trust crisis among many prospective students, leading some to reject the admission offers.
Experts attribute this situation to the dual impact of the commercialization of education and institutional rigidity, which not only drains parents’ savings but also leaves graduates facing unemployment upon graduation.
Currently, it is the peak time for Chinese universities to send out admission notices, usually from early to mid-July. Military academies, police academies, and some special types of institutions are among the first to send out notices, followed by the prestigious 985/211 universities in the latter part of July. In the latter half of July to early August, most regular undergraduate institutions send out notices, while private undergraduate colleges and independent institutes do so in early August. Vocational colleges send out notices from mid-August until the end of the month.
For the first time in a decade, the number of applicants for the national college entrance examination in 2025 decreased to 13.35 million from 13.42 million in 2024. According to recent statistics from the Education Orientation, the enrollment for undergraduate programs in 2025 has ended. Over 60 colleges were unable to fill their enrollment quota, a historically rare occurrence.
Recent focus on Chinese social media has been on the enrollment and tuition fee increases in various higher education institutions over the past two years. Concerns have been raised by students and parents regarding whether to accept admission offers, reflecting deeper societal issues in China.
It has been revealed that there is a significant gap between the planned enrollment numbers and the actual registration at higher education institutions this year. For instance, in Guangdong province, there is a shortage of over 10,000 spots in history programs and over 15,000 spots in science programs.
Tuition fees in Chinese universities have generally increased. According to reports from Sina Finance, the era of the iconic “5,000 yuan tuition fee” in universities has ended in 2025, with tuition fees possibly entering the “ten thousand yuan era.” Private colleges have seen even more significant hikes, with annual tuition fees reaching 43,000 yuan at the Shanghai Zhongqiao College for Arts and nearly 50,000 yuan for the Broadcasting program at the Nanjing College of Media.
Popular education influencer on Xiaohongshu, “Parenting Wisdom,” pointed out that tuition fees at dozens of universities have collectively increased, with annual fees reaching up to 105,000 yuan, totaling 420,000 yuan for a four-year undergraduate program, not including accommodation and living expenses. The fee increases for some joint programs with foreign institutions are even more astonishing, jumping from 30,000 yuan last year to 45,000 yuan this year and possibly nearing 60,000 yuan next year.
She bluntly remarked, “This is no longer about going to college; it’s simply draining parents’ savings.”
Earlier reports have highlighted instances such as Beijing Jiaotong University increasing tuition from 85,000 yuan to 105,000 yuan, a 24% hike. In Shanghai, the Visual Arts College raised its fees from 50,000 yuan to 68,000 yuan, marking a 36% increase. Guizhou University raised undergraduate program fees from 5,000 yuan to 6,500 yuan, a 30% increase, while Yunnan University saw a fee hike from 4,200 yuan to 6,000 yuan, a surge of over 42%.
A self-media blogger from Henan, “Keke,” expressed discontent with the steep tuition fee hikes, stating, “This is clearly taking advantage of the students. When you ask them (the schools) what kind of job their children will find after four years? How much will the salary be? They start beating around the bush. Well, it depends on the market conditions, and it depends on personal efforts.”
In response to the exorbitant expenses, many working-class families have been forced to give up on the idea of sending their children to higher education. At enrollment events, the atmosphere has become so subdued that some have described them as having “fewer people than birds at the gate.” Even recruitment teachers have resorted to calling students in the middle of the night to persuade them to enroll, only to be met with a resounding “no” from parents.
Describing a scenario from last year, on the enrollment day at Guangdong Baiyun College, the institution eagerly awaited the arrival of new students, but to their surprise, around 1,477 admitted students were nowhere to be found. At Zhanjiang Institute of Technology, which initially aimed to enroll 7,000 students, ended up with an 80% vacancy rate in several majors like Nursing and Landscaping. In some cases, enrollment sites were so desolate that they were described as having “almost no one in line.”
29 admitted students at Shenzhen Technical College failed to collect their admission letters, and 30 people opted out of enrollment at Guangdong Polytechnic College. This phenomenon of rejecting admissions is not limited to private or vocational colleges, as some undergraduate institutions are also facing the pressure of losing incoming students.
On August 4, in a video program, E-commerce influencer with 670,000 fans on Douyin, “Master Xin,” voiced her concerns, stating, “In the past, even if it meant selling everything, parents would send their children to college. Almost every regular family exhausted their finances for one child’s university education, only to face a job with a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan and ridicule that degrees are worthless.”
She criticized, “When education becomes a luxury item and a tool for competing with others’ resources, it’s no longer about pursuing knowledge.”
In the face of soaring tuition fees, she expressed worries about the future for the six children that she supports, questioning, “What will happen to them in the future? Will they still have the opportunity to go to college?”
Of increasing interest is the fact that those turning down admissions are no longer just average applicants but even high-achieving students who are rejecting offers from prestigious universities.
According to a report in the “Hubei Daily,” a physics student with a score of 677 in Chongqing, Wan Xinyu, ranked 218th in the city. Although he had a good chance of being accepted into Peking University through their Strong Foundation Program interview, after a detailed analysis and consideration, he decided to change his preference and put West Lake University as his top choice.
Several education-focused bloggers have highlighted cases where top-performing students have made unconventional choices. For example, a top scorer in Anhui dismissed the admission notices from Tsinghua University and Peking University as useless and instead opted for the University of Hong Kong. Similarly, a female top scorer with 724 points in Henan rejected obscure majors in prestigious universities and chose to enroll in a military academy, where she could enjoy free room, board, and living allowances, with a direct path to employment upon graduation.
Master Xin described this trend as a “new era of educational revolution,” emphasizing that it’s not about shortsightedness from the youth but a calculated balancing act between economic, time, and future prospects.
She also gave an example of a job fair under Tencent Building at Shenzhen University, where alumni were actively referring each other for jobs, illustrating that the prestige of alma maters is no longer the sole determining factor. Many students are now focusing on the match between their majors and the job market rather than just chasing after school rankings.
Official statistics indicate that there are a total of 3,167 higher education institutions in China in 2025. According to data from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, around 33% of university graduates are engaged in jobs unrelated to their fields of study, while a survey by Sina Education revealed that only 26% of graduates believe their jobs align with their majors.
Previously, it was reported that from 1998 to 2023, the number of undergraduate enrollments in China increased by 730%, with master’s and doctoral enrollments expanding nearly 20 times and 10 times, respectively, resulting in a significant decrease in the “value” of undergraduate degrees.
One noteworthy case is that of a Douyin influencer, “Lee Who Made It Ashore.” In a video uploaded in May this year, she recounted her mother setting up a stall to support her medical studies, costing tens of thousands of yuan in tuition. However, after graduation, she found herself back on the streets selling goods alongside her mother. This experience resonated widely on social media, serving as a microcosm of the low returns on higher education.
Mr. Jian, a lawyer from mainland China, highlighted in an interview with Epoch Times that the dropout phenomenon not only reflects educational issues but also mirrors the economic difficulties in China. With numerous factory closures and foreign disinvestments in recent years, the surge in reverse migration to tier-four and tier-five cities signifies not prosperity but a lack of job opportunities. He pointed out that the norm of facing unemployment upon graduation, coupled with exorbitant tuition and living expenses amounting to hundreds of thousands of yuan, is almost impossible for economically disadvantaged families to bear.
He criticized that some regular universities and private colleges have “poor quality,” failing to impart practical knowledge to students, and in some cases, students are even “ruined by their education.” He cited an example where his relative’s grandson quit his studies after a few months to become a chef because he found the institution inadequate. Faced with economic recession, scarcity of job opportunities, and low-quality education, parents and students choosing not to pursue higher education is a result of a “reluctant awakening.”
Prof. Li Yuanhua, a former professor at Capital Normal University currently residing in Australia and a historian, analyzed the situation from an institutional perspective. He explained that the Chinese Communist Party’s promotion of educational commercialization, blind expansion of enrollment, and the establishment of obscure majors to meet market demands have led to the proliferation of universities with “fame but no substance.” Graduates invest hundreds of thousands of yuan but struggle to find suitable jobs, reflecting the consequences of policy errors and a deteriorating social environment.
He contended that the rigid educational system and bureaucratic corruption in China prioritize reputation over nurturing talent, focusing on profit rather than market demand and talent cultivation. With the exacerbation of economic decline, the universal rise in tuition fees has rendered education a “luxury item.” Parents have begun to question the rationale behind investing heavily in a university education, viewing it as akin to “selling everything to buy a diploma.”
Prof. Li also criticized some private and joint schools with foreign institutions for using “foreign brands” or glamorous packaging to attract students, charging high fees but failing to provide good job prospects post-graduation, stating that attending such schools amounts to “giving away money to others.” He bluntly stated that the Chinese education sector is driven by “connections, relationships, and profit-making,” with fewer individuals with foresight and genuine concern for education, ultimately portraying education as a political and economic tool, reflecting the ailments of the entire societal system.
Influencer “Efforts of Sister Zhao” remarked that the collective refusal of students to enroll is not a form of “negativity” but rather a clear-eyed view of reality. She stated, “If universities are only responsible for issuing diplomas without concerning themselves with students’ future paths, then students collectively standing up is the most sober counteraction to today’s universities.”