The Western Elite from a Chinese Perspective by Puzhong Yao

Though I think the author overgeneralizes in his conclusion, this article provided a very interesting tidbit of information: admission ratio in China Universities is around 1500:1. That’s extremely competitive.

Quick google check found me this Quora question with answers like:

As rule of thumb - it’s 1 in 100 to 1 in 1000 (in some popular fields may be even 1 in 5000).

In most provinces, the admission rate ranges from nearly 0.04% to 0.1%

O_O Wow

Yao describes his rise from the bottom of his class in China to the top of his class in England, seemingly only because the top level in England corresponds to low one in his University.
I know there are a lot of assumptions embedded, nevertheless I have a newfound respect for those Chinese who make it though this sieve.

It will be really interesting to meet one of them.