Applicants for art academies in Beijing reach a new high

The number of applicants for art academies in Beijing has reached a new high this year, making the competition even fiercer, Xinhua said.

Test sites at the Central Academy of Drama, the Communication University of China and Beijing Film Academy saw throng of students and parents from all over the country. Many candidates rushed directly from railway stations to the test sites with suitcases.

This year, the Central Academy of Drama plans to admit 573 students, while more than 67,000 candidates will sit for the exam. The number of applicants has increased by more than 16,000 compared with last year, and is the highest ever. Among them, more than 11,000 candidates have applied for the acting department, and the enrollment ratio is as high as 229:1.

The Communication University of China has registered a record number of nearly 50,000 candidates for its first round of examinations this year, with more than 23,000 candidates entering the second round of exams for 793 places. The university's acting major will enroll only 26 students this year, whereas more than 10,000 candidates have applied to this major, an increase of nearly 1,000 over last year.

The Beijing Film Academy plans to enroll 520 undergraduate students, 30 students more than last year. However, the total number of applicants has reached nearly 60,000, up about 31 percent year-on-year, which is a record. The application for the new media art major of the fine arts school registered an increase of 284.36 percent year-on-year, the largest one among all majors.

In recent years, art colleges and universities have put more weight on candidates' cultural literacy and comprehensive ability. This year, the Communication University of China has added the literature, history and philosophy tests to the previous English, math and Chinese papers. About 16,000 candidates, nearly a third of the total, have taken the literature, history and philosophy exams this year.