this is a really great thread..i got very informative responses from the Chinese members of the forum..
Okay another question.. can some enlighten me about their alma mater..the schools colleges and the universities in particular and the educational system in general.Is there a centralized board of education or that is taken care of province-wise?How many universities are there in China and how evenly they are distributed across different provinces of China ?Also.. some pictures of the schools and colleges would be nice..better if personal clicks and not those that we can find on google.
There are broadly speaking 3 types of universities, entrance to which level is decided by exam scores falling into certain categories.
Tier 1 - National universities. They're funded directly by a government ministry, usually Education or Science and Industry. These have comprehensive PhD programs, large student bodies and the latest research equipment. There are 100 of these schools, ranging from top tier Tsinghua and Peking U. to less known Wuhan Tech. They're roughly equivalent to a "research oriented state university" in the US, like University of Michigan.
Tier 2 - Provincial universities. These are funded mostly by the provinces, though all schools get funding from Ministry of Education. They're teaching based, not research based, so most only have MS programs. They're the rough equivalent of "teaching oriented state universities" like Grand Rapids State University or Southern Illinois.
Tier 3 - Private universities. They are accredited but not funded by the public. They are easy to get in, but only offer BS level degrees and are less prestigious than the public universities.
The most popular majors are: computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, foreign languages, law, accounting and finance, architecture, clinical medicine, business management.