Student gets into Tsinghua's nuclear engineering without taking a single cram class

A Chinese student has won a place at Tsinghua University's nuclear engineering program with a score of 694 out of the maximum 750, and says she got there without ever enrolling in a paid tutoring class. Xu Yifang attends Xuchang High School in central Henan Province, which sends more candidates to China's national college entrance exam than any other.She scored 136 in Chinese, 135 in math and 144 in English, each marked out of 150. In physics she scored 86, chemistry 96 and biology 97, each out of 100, Dahe Daily reported.Her place in nuclear engineering and nuclear technology was confirmed when admission results were released this month.Xu said on July 13 that she had never signed up for a cram class. She had only done the homework her teachers set, she said in an interview republished by Daxiang News.China restricted for-profit tutoring in core school subjects in 2021.She named three habits: summarizing and reviewing material promptly, finding a study method that fits the individual, and keeping a steady frame of mind. The last of those she called the most important.Both her parents teach at universities. Her father said he had pushed her from an early age to finish the work her school assigned."I think developing good study habits is the most important thing," he told Dahe Daily.In high school he focused on her mental health instead. "Getting into a university is already good," he recalled telling her. "It doesn't have to be a great one, as long as you get the result your own effort earns." Students cycle to class at Tsinghua University. Photo courtesy of Tsinghua University Energy systems are shifting and nuclear physics sits at the center of that shift, Xu said of her choice. The field also runs into China's defense industry, which she saw as a way to serve the country.Her father asked whether she could accept a career in which security requirements might restrict contact with her family."If it's a contribution to the country, why not?" she replied. Both parents backed the choice.Xinhua reported that 12.9 million students registered for this year's university entrance exam, 450,000 fewer than in 2025.Tsinghua takes roughly 3,700 mainland undergraduates a year, about 0.03% of that pool.Henan has no university in China's 985 group of elite institutions. Figures published by the Henan Provincial Education Examinations Authority on June 25 recorded 48 physics-track candidates at 700 points or above this year.Another 918 scored 676 or above, the band Xu's score falls into.Tsinghua ranked 14th worldwide in the QS World University Rankings 2027, published in June, one place behind Peking University. Times Higher Education's 2026 table placed it 12th globally and first in China.Xu was one of three students from Xuchang High School admitted to Tsinghua this year, while a fourth went to Peking. A fifth admission is possible, the school said in a July 22 notice.