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Competition for university

Nowadays, there is more and more competition for getting into university.

Is this a positive or negative development?

In recent years, there has been increasingly intense competition for university admissions. In my opinion, although this propensity engenders a more skilled labor force, it places immense pressure on students, which is unequivocally negative. 

Those in favor of more intense competition argue it contributes to a superior workforce. When universities in general raise their admission standards, students have to study more intensively to maximize their chances of being accepted. A pertinent example of this is in China where difficult university entrance examinations encourage excellent, disciplined, and hard-working students. The fact that only the best students can pursue tertiary education typically translates to a more productive division of labor in society. This is one of the deciding factors that has pushed countries like China to not only enjoy significantly improved living standards for the average person but also advance economically as a collective nation

However, I would contend the pressure placed on students outweighs the perceived benefits. Fierce competition to enter prestigious universities may compel students to sacrifice personal priorities such as sleep and their hobbies to allocate more time towards studying, which often results in long-term mental and physical health deterioration. Recently conducted research and surveys have shown that high school students in China experience social and familial pressure to study twelve hours or more a day in preparation for the national undergraduate admission exams. This in turn predisposes many students to developing anxiety disorders and clinical depression. As each student must study hard to excel, this perpetuates the cycle of stress and burnout. 

In conclusion, despite the positives concomitant with economic growth, increased competition to enroll in leading universities is decidedly negative since it leads  to unfavorable health outcomes for students. Regulatory bodies should de-emphasis on selective testing and focus more on equal opportunity initiatives.  

Words: 288 

Intense competition cạnh tranh căng thẳng 

University admissions kỳ thi đại học 

Propensity khuynh hướng 

Engender tạo ra 

Skilled labor force lực lượng lao động có trình độ 

Places pressure on đặt áp lực lên 

Unequivocally hoàn toàn 

In favor of ủng hộ 

Superior tốt hơn 

Workforce lực lượng lao động 

Admission standards tiêu chuẩn đầu vào 

Study intensively học chăm chỉ 

Maximize tối ưu hóa 

A pertinent example một ví dụ liên quan 

Encourage thúc đẩy 

Disciplined có tính kỷ luật 

Tertiary education giáo dục cấp đại học 

Division sự phân chia 

Deciding factors nhân tố quyết định 

Significantly improved living standards tiêu chuẩn sống cao hơn 

Advance economically phát triển về mặt kinh tế 

Collective nation nhờ nỗ lực của từng người / nhóm trong nước 

Contend nghĩ rằng 

Outweigh trội hơn 

Fierce competition cạnh tranh căng thẳng 

Prestigious uy tín 

Compel buộc 

Sacrifice hy sinh 

Personal priorities sự ưu tiên cá nhân 

Allocate phân bổ 

Deterioration suy giảm 

Recently conducted mới được thực hiện 

Social and familial pressure áp lực từ xã hội và gia đình 

In preparation for để chuẩn bị cho 

In turn từ đó 

Predispose khiến 

Anxiety disorders chứng rối loạn lo âu 

Clinical depression trầm cảm ở mức nặng 

Excel trở nên xuất sắc 

Perpetuates kéo dài 

Cycle chu kỳ 

Concomitant with liên quan đến 

Enroll in nhập học 

Decidedly 

Unfavorable health outcomes sức khỏe không tốt 

Regulatory bodies cơ quan điều hành 

Less emphasis ít sự đặt nặng hơn vào 

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