The Education Bureau today announced that applications will open for the fourth cohort of the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme to provide an additional pathway to university for students with exceptional talent.

The bureau noted that the scheme recognises the outstanding talent of students in specific disciplines that may not be fully assessed by the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination.

The scheme is open for application by local Secondary 6 students who will be taking the 2025 HKDSE and commencing their undergraduate studies in September 2025.

Its nomination period will run from October 25 to December 4.

Each local secondary school can nominate two students with exceptional talent and interests in specific disciplines or areas and each nominee can apply for admission to one of the around 300 designated University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded undergraduate programme participating in the scheme.

The eight UGC-funded universities have set admission criteria that are not based on HKDSE Examination results for individual programmes.

Participating universities will arrange interviews for all students nominated and make firm offers to successful students prior to the release of the 2025 HKDSE Examination results.

Starting from the 2025-26 academic year, the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau will introduce a new scholarship scheme for successful admittees with remarkable achievements in arts, sports or community service.

Each awardee, who will not be subject to means testing, will be granted a scholarship of $10,000 per year throughout their four-year tuition period.