China's Toughest Exam

America's Toughest Exam: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2GWhIdpndRshbc
India's most competitive exam: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6GynaObf7CJgaM
The Beijing physics paper (not translated): www.gaokao.com/e/20201124/5fbcf390d5e22.shtml
The Qinghai math paper (not translated): www.gaokao.com/e/20200709/5f06644f4da74.shtml
2020 gaokao exams (not an official site but a collection of exams from different regions): www.gaokao.com/e/20200712/5f0a56091767c.shtml
Gaokao wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_College_Entrance_Examination
Subscribe to my channel to see more videos like this: kzbin.info
Support me with a monthly donation on Patreon and receive a gift from me and access to my podcast: www.patreon.com/Tibees
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Website: tobyhendy.com/
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Twitter: TobyHendy
End music: Gymnopedie - Satie
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
2:02 - Essay questions
3:49 - Math paper
7:21 - Physics paper
9:45 - Patron Cats of the Day

[@frogery]

I'm used to questioning my existence during stressful exams, but I've never had an exam question my existence...

[@Loveyou-nx3rc]

r/im14andthisis D E E P

[@ahmedb.5718]

That's funny 'cause the end piece she plays at the end is Satie's Gymnopedie 1 and I always question my existence when I listen to this lol.

[@stevethea5250]

@@ahmedb.5718 imagine the people that have to review each essay lol..

[@thegreatestdemon1288]

@@stevethea5250 eassay is for losers

[@nihalmernaoui6619]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@lightyagami1243]

Why am I feeling tensed? I don’t even have to take that exam

[@user-cv1jb9xv2p]

Light Yagami is tensed

[@emperror85]

Because you're afraid of accidentally writing your name on the wrong "paper"?

[@adde6064]

Scored perfectly in university entrance exam without even trying. Feeling tensed. Yeah right.

[@Pete-Prolly]

l viddy you've had the Ludovico technique? It's like healthy individuals are meant to respond to terrifying images with like fear & nausea. You have my sympathies & deepest apolly-loggies, droogie. Sincerely, 𝒜

[@alokmishra1414]

You already topped To-Oh university entrance examination so no point of being tensed dude..😑by the way this is not my real name so don't even try..🙏🏻😓

[@Dumb-Comment]

Typical exam: *Why am I here, I should have studied harder* Gaokao: *Why are you here*

[@amateursketch8454]

Just to suffer

[@vannhantran547]

@@amateursketch8454 and punished btw

[@YoungPhysicistsClub1729]

*Laughs in JEE-ADVANCED*

[@user-fo9kt3rq3d]

cries in jee advanced but still gaokao is harder

[@ArchanaSingh-nm3tv]

@@user-fo9kt3rq3d nope jee advanced is far more difficult or i would say advanced than gaokao

[@donut_kingdom]

I took gaokao 10 years ago and just finished my Ph.D. last year. A week ago or so I had a nightmare that I had to take gaokao again and miserably failed. After wake up, I was thinking "oh since I just got my Ph.D. I can't be that bad at gaokao". I searched online for the 2020 gaokao exam and only to get humiliated so bad.

[@joannezhao9513]

What a funny story, may I ask what your Ph.D is in?

[@donut_kingdom]

@@joannezhao9513 Thanks. I got my Ph.D. in computer science.

[@20somethingsworld97]

Did you need it as a requirement ?

[@xphelion_]

oh my god well it is no wonder though, different skills needs different studies.

[@Leto2ndAtreides]

lol. But yeah, most of that learning is largely irrelevant. Schools seriously need to be redone.

[@zheweiyu6540]

after nearly 16 years after gaokao, I still dream about it and most of the time it is just a nightmare

[@bchen1555]

俺也一样

[@danielsui4295]

一样

[@jdu2584]

Same here

[@tianxingcheng3547]

Same

[@nikhil182]

What are you doing now?

[@mithrillis]

"The exam will give students a three-digit number" That is very optimistic of you

[@jackyd1917]

haha you made me laugh to tears

[@tonyband7313]

Yeah 000

[@ericliume]

Well, if you cannot get a three digit number, adding leading zeroes still work.

[@hanzhang3589]

@@ericliume hahahaha

[@herobrine1847]

Oh well then give me 000000069

[@robertlee6529]

"The exam will give students a three-digit number" "So that's where your nickname came from, 007?"

[@user-ye6ft4ly7r]

Isn’t that pretty hard to get since most questions are multiple choice

[@apocalypticbean]

lmao

[@VFIRE666]

UNDERRATED COMMENT

[@maxh7085]

Gaokao is hard not because of its content, but everything surrounding it. It is the combination of years of preparation, thousands of dollars spent on tutoring, textbook, and extra test papers, the expectation of your family, competition among millions of other students smarter and more hard-working than you, and it being the primary determining factor of your entire future.

[@user-yz9xr6sc3o]

@@zelven6109 Gaokao are much more difficult, because GCSE is highschool in UK which is 16 but Gaokao (i think) is 18 years old which means they are equal to A-Levels

[@V-for-Vendetta01]

This is the essence of most competitive exams. The the COMPETITION that kills. Countries like China, india, japan, south korea all have extremely competitive environments and hence these exams are much more difficult than they actually appear.

[@apocalypticbean]

Sounds like torture

[@theanonymous3981]

@Nathan Charlesworth how many subjects do you have? 32 exams are a lot

[@PegasusTenma1]

@@user-yz9xr6sc3o A Levels is a cakewalk compared to Gaokao.

[@valorantdemons]

when asian parents give flowers to their children YOU KNOW SOMETHING SERIOUS IS UP

[@stevethea5250]

Boys over flowers

[@ahnrho]

Facts.

[@centreantipoison2587]

@@stevethea5250 Boys over flowers

[@stevethea5250]

@@ahnrho You can always order to get over $49, and then cancel part of the order.

[@valorantdemons]

my comments are all blowing up 100+ likes i swear lmao

[@johnchessant3012]

Competitive schools in the US: 5% acceptance rate Competitive schools in China: 0.002% acceptance rate

[@GlitterGuru]

US population: 328 million China population: 1.4 billion

[@thealmightygoose4717]

@@GlitterGuru But then you'll have to look the the numbers of schools as well

[@NhatNguyen-ie6of]

Well not all people apply to Harvard, MIT, and others, the 5% that you see is for those who confident enough to apply meaning (5 % for the elites). In China it account for 10 millions people, as if 10 millions apply for Ivy leagues here in U.S.

[@steffenmarvey3806]

@@thealmightygoose4717 There are fewer colleges in China than in the US.

[@jognfong8557]

@@steffenmarvey3806 Agreed, and fewer recognizable ones too. In US, on the tip of my tongue, I could name CAL, UCLA, Ivy Leagues, MIT, Cal Tech, etc. In China, I prob could only say Peking University is as prestigious.

[@Echor_Covos]

So I took Gaokao... twice, in both 2019 and 2020. The 2019 Gaokao was so hard that I got the worst scores in my entire high school life. I decided to stay in the dreadful high school for a year because I didn't believe the results. After a year of intense study I took Gaokao again in 2020, it was much easier in my opinion and I got the best scores in my entire high school life.

[@abcd-fy1di]

Congrats, 相信你一定如愿考上你的第一志愿，好好享受大学生活！

[@Echor_Covos]

@@abcd-fy1di 嗯嗯是的，这半年都挺好的。在衡水复读的一年感慨太多了。

[@bishop9932]

But can you do the exam twice??

[@abcd-fy1di]

@@bishop9932 wait for a year,repeat senior year again.

[@bishop9932]

@@abcd-fy1di wow it seems terrible

[@bbbllllmeow4977]

I’m 31 this year with a master degree and pursuing my doctoral. I got the highest score in my district and got in the best school that year. 12 yrs passed and I still have bad dreams about gaokao from time to time. Dreamed of forgetting the formula, not writing fast enough ... the anxiety was so real

[@mohammadwasilliterate8037]

But did it allow you to make lots of money?

[@ChemDamned]

The thing i'm most curious about is what was left after it? Also, looking back from where you are now, was it really necessary for your course of study to stuff your head so badly with all those things ?

[@sally229h5]

Yeah that is PTSD.

[@kazumakiryuu2668]

what about now? are you happy with your life? is your salary is high or low? did you work for a C students?

[@soothingseas]

@@kazumakiryuu2668 Everyone works for C students

[@chloeagnew1]

I am a Chinese guy. I took the Gaokao test something like 14 years ago. I already have a master degree in theoretical physics but after so many years I still sometimes have bad dreams of going back to high school to prepare these fwcking exams.

[@nathan-py9px]

russian?

[@vatsal512]

Ur RuSsIaN

[@chloeagnew1]

@@nathan-py9px No I am Chinese.

[@chloeagnew1]

@@vatsal512 Chinese

[@user-iw1rx9tg2e]

兄弟呀，我也是啊 我是2008年参加的高考，但是当时考的不太理想，现在有时候做梦都会梦见还在上高中，准备考试，要命呀^_^

[@michaelshannon9169]

Getting a panic attack just from the intro

[@jollyjokress3852]

lol

[@drakezhang8631]

Same. I didn't take the Gaokao cause I moved to Canada when I was 9. I don't think that I would've had the mental strength and capacity to take such a hard exam.

[@ralphzwang]

@@drakezhang8631 You would if you hadn't moved to Canada because all your peers would be on the same boat with you going through this intense year. You never really know your limit if you haven't been in that real situation. When I watched this video, I felt my pressure was coming back and thought exactly the same as you did, but the truth is that years ago I was one of them and I passed the exams under huge stress like a nightmare. You can find the same answer from many comments below by Chinese who dis Gaokao before.

[@Kat-ki6ox]

glad to know that i was not the only one with that feeling

[@stevethea5250]

@@jollyjokress3852 how do that 4:20

[@vintagetears2416]

Me : * casually scrolls down * Everyone in the comment section : *describing the PTSD and nightmares they have about the gaokao*

[@kazumakiryuu2668]

Stockholm syndrome. They praise the abuser(GAOKAO)

[@cosine.4726]

Unoriginal

[@kucingtepijalan3459]

@@cosine.4726 did you just describe your own comment?

[@IceCream-um8hl]

I'm a Chinese teen studying for the gaokao currently and I'm watching these videos for help on more information but I end up becoming more stressed out and anxious. For any American students, please be grateful for what you have, I'd literally do anything if I could have a break these days.

[@varence7007]

Good luck, dude. Geopolitically, there might be beef between our countries, but I still wish you luck from the Philippines.

[@sayajooj9568]

Isn't youtube banned in china? 🤔🤔🤔

[@oxyl6461]

@@Kevin-kn6uq ye

[@sayajooj9568]

@@Kevin-kn6uq yes

[@biggargantuar5672]

GOD BLESS AMERICA WE WILL TAKE OVER CHINA THROUGH HARSH MEANS AND THERE WILL BE NO MORE GAOKAO 🇺🇸🦅

[@davidhenry352]

When I was in high school in China, we had a joke saying high school is worse than prison because one doesn't need to study every single day while losing all freedom in classroom...

[@riyank5238]

Woah..

[@thekinggamer488]

Deep.....

[@quin9627]

What? Maybe you are not from a good university. I'm a student of top.2 university in China and we all miss the high school days. It's far more relaxing than our college time. Preparing for a final exam in university will be more stressed than gaokao.

[@user-if5pu8sz1m]

@@quin9627 清北的吗？大学辛苦不辛苦我觉得看学校和个人吧 看你个人的目标吧 但反正我始终认为 一直在奋斗 在努力的生活是美好的 会令人感到充实 是值得怀念的 我个人是很怀念高中的 虽然我的成绩很普通 但高中生活是很快乐的 看到热评好几个人都在吐槽高中 其实有点不太理解。。

[@TheAwesomeTolga198]

@@quin9627 Which one are you at, and what are you studying?

[@henry5823]

My cousin developed insomnia and severe psychosis from the stress of studying for this exam. Couldn't look at a book for over a year.

[@thecollegeconfidant]

That's awful, I hope your cousin is feeling better. Exams having this sort of impact on students is the complete opposite of what education is supposed to achieve.

[@aa_rav]

Is it necessary to give this exam?

[@haris6843]

@@aa_rav Yes. It pretty much determines, which university you get into. And over there, it’s to get in to the top universities or bust

[@ashtviilon529]

Did he do well on the exam?

[@Cosplayinghuman]

@@haris6843 even for non STEM students?

[@pikasup1696]

It is ironic that the essay question is about questioning yourself "what kind of person you are" as the gaokao pretty much defines this

[@kennethkho7165]

didn't even think about that

[@kazumakiryuu2668]

a nation of total surveillance

[@trollmcclure2659]

@@kazumakiryuu2668 Snowden (5 eyes) and Assange agree with you but not sure if you are talking about the same country

[@damcross2308]

Here they are preparing for their exams years in advance. And here's me who starts studying for all my subjects from scratch half a week before it.

[@Pikz]

i have an exam in 3 days and i didn't start studying

[@damcross2308]

@@Pikz yo did u start yet.

[@Artist_of_Imagination]

Best of luck both of you

[@Pikz]

@@Artist_of_Imagination thank you, i think i did pretty well !!!

[@patilaucha]

Lol i have a exam in 25 minutes and i started studying only one hour ago

[@chengruihu5176]

My biggest nightmare: the bell rings and I still have half of the test unfinished. Then I wake up and swear heavily. Even I'm a graduate now, I have such nightmares of Gaokao sometimes.

[@jackburns6403]

@Ben Louis Maybe its a double meaning

[@chengruihu5176]

@Ben Louis yea, it's a typo but I think swear can also express my feeling :)

[@khein2204]

@@chengruihu5176 yeah my gaokao nightmares makes me more grateful that I have graduated from university

[@tamannaghosh6820]

university life is way more relaxing!

[@melony6261]

If an exam gives you ptsd, you know the education system has gone wrong somewhere.

[@shwang1579]

As a student from China who has experienced GAOKAO before, I have to say that the questions mostly are not so hard (some are really basic) in some sense, but the time is so limited and there are tons of calculation involves (we cannot use calculator during the exam), which is the main reason makes the exam so challenging. Many students cannot even finish the whole exam paper. Now I really think those days I prepared for this exam are waste of time since most of time we are just practicing simple questions over and over again just to gain the proficiency and try to avoid mistakes. That is definitely not a good way to learn knowledge.

[@typhoon9055]

it's literally same with YKS in Turkey.

[@shahswatpandey5427]

But it helps developing a habit.

[@fos1451]

@@shahswatpandey5427 a habit to solve 1 exam?

[@Gallaniel]

Basically the same with ENEM in Brazil.

[@xphelion_]

@@fos1451 the habit to learn and repeat the material

[@divineflu34567]

To my chinese brother/sisters take condolences from your Indian folks we understand you 😔😔and will surely attend attend each others funerals .

[@kisore20gp]

i think u had prepared for neet, jee once..😄

[@Radhe-ru7cc]

@@kisore20gp Preparing for JEE.

[@kisore20gp]

@@Radhe-ru7cc i prepared for JAM physics..

[@V-for-Vendetta01]

Lmao

[@ghutnatek3397]

GATE,CAR6,UPSC

[@ziruiwang4806]

I am a Chinese who immigrated to Australia. Learning a new language until I become native level and do the ATAR exam is way easier than sitting Gaokao.

[@aayushdas19]

Do you plan to go back to China or are you happy with where you are right now?

[@ziruiwang4806]

@@aayushdas19 I am happy where I am right now.

[@numodumo6094]

Same here, immigrated because mom thought gaokao would be too difficult. Got an ATAR 97, never regretted a moment

[@hiparifu6889]

@@numodumo6094 good on you! Even an ATAR under 90 can get you to most places. Heck, even if you get a low one, it wouldn't matter because your ATAR is valid for one year.

[@imeprezime1285]

You escaped from massive prison called China. Congrats!

[@ziranchen8304]

I remember the day I know that I got 145 points out of 150 in math for the Gaokao, in almost 12 years ago. One of the best day in my life.

[@German_K5]

Impressive

[@sweetchoerrylove1408]

Oh god math not math if I took it I’ll most likely get 50/150 ;-;

[@anitadunya2018]

@@sweetchoerrylove1408 I would get -150

[@LetsTetris]

Are you already matematics major?

[@heheboi8831]

i just got 69/150 im better

[@XiyuYang]

I took Gaokao 9 years ago, the exam itself is not that hard, the hard part is what it symbolizes: it separates students into different tiers of university in China and is therefore a somewhat decisive procedure in people’s life path. Chinese professional market values the prestige of the university you graduate from, that’s what makes gaokao so stressful.

[@harrapanman621]

Yeah man

[@LetsTetris]

At the end of the day if you aren't stupid they can't fool you

[@gokumetrix80]

I see that as a broken system. That tests only shows how prone you are against extreme stress but it doesn't necessarily show how smart someone is or how valuable he/she is for a company. I know many people who went completely sick because of the stress of exams, resulting in them failing the exams.

[@kazumakiryuu2668]

>>>> I took Gaokao 9 years ago, the exam itself is not that hard, the hard part is what it symbolizes: it separates students into different tiers of university in China and is therefore a somewhat decisive procedure in people’s life path. Chinese professional market values the prestige of the university you graduate from, that’s what makes gaokao so stressful. Gaokao is a stress test. Not academic test.

[@davidstinger1134]

"Hah, this vid should be fun." *scroll down* *all chinese people describing the different forms of PTSD it gave them* Welp.

[@katakana1]

Off topic but are you a wasp by any chance?

[@davidstinger1134]

@@katakana1 nope, im swiss

[@danxx6185]

yea i knew someone who missed the peking university by 1 point and tried to appeal. All the people appealing were ranked by score there were more than a thousand people who missed by one point appealing

[@benjaminli3808]

It's crazy because you could be getting D's in high school in China, and as long as you do well on the 高考 you guarantee a spot at a top university in China.

[@smonyboy]

yup thats pretty much the rigid education system in most asian countries, especially southeast asia.

[@kaimal6318]

If one gets Ds in high school most of the time, it almost guarantees that one won't do well on Gaokao.

[@smonyboy]

@@kaimal6318 thats just not true. Last minute cramming works wonders for the national exam. Thats why it's better having say a GPA grading system.

[@fruitsandghosts2675]

@@smonyboy how are u gonna do good against 10 million students who were dedicated to studying for the last 10 years by cramming lol

[@jessicaHHHHHH]

​@@smonyboy Not for the gaokao, it doesnt. So you're saying that someone with a D average cramming a few weeks, or even months before the exam, can beat out _millions_ of students who have been studying for _years_ to get into univerties with acceptance rates well under 1%? Even students who have devoted their entire existence to studying fail, and have nightmares about this exam. Cramming might work for the SAT, which has much easier material in comparision (a lot of the questions on the gaokao have confusing phrasing, and deal with highly subjective subject matters), but to attempt last minute cramming (especially without even doing well in class previously) for the gaokao is an astronomically stupid decsion.

[@rainalane1638]

It's tense, tense enough for an entire nation to be quiet for 3 days.

[@ankitraina4047]

Your voice can be used to put somebody to sleep, it's so soothing.

[@greygrath7380]

U look handsome

[@greygrath7380]

Let's talk

[@eugenechun4140]

She sounds like she's headed for a breakdown

[@zzzzlju5647]

Thanks Tibees! You really brought me back to those times. I'm Chinese and now living in Sweden to do my PhD. I took the gaokao in 2012 and I actually miss it a lot. Back in the days I would get up at 5:30AM then run 10KM in the track field, and stay there to wait for all the other students(we start the school with some group workout in the track field). The whole experience of preparing for gaokao made me realize how much I could push myself and how hardworking I could be, which is good and bad depending on how you interpret it. But I personally think it has made me so strong mentally, at the same time, it forced me to learn how to deal with stress even I was just 15 years old (got into univ at 16 yo). What I miss even more are all the friends and classmates back then. All my classmates were so open-minded to share their methods and ideas. We would discuss the difficult questions from all subjects together and no one would try to hide their methods from others. I do think we've also learnt how to do the competition in a healthy way. Luckily all my classmates got into first-tier Chinese universities and all of us still are keeping in touch although most of us live in different cities even different countries.

[@wyw201]

Is attending university at 16 the norm in China? Seems quite young for a lot of the subjects.

[@zzzzlju5647]

@@wyw201 No it's not normal. There are just around 5 or 6 high schools in China that offer this sort of special program. So if you pass the pretest then you get in, which means you could do junior high school + senior high school within 4 years instead of the common 6 years. So that was my case. There is also one really good university called USTC in China offers a continual special program at the university level for talented kids, and they do it in the way that they give those kids access to attend gaokao in that year if they pass their tailored difficult tests beforehand gaokao(In China, you cannot just go for gaokao, you have to be at the last year of high school in most cases.) Then if the kids pass the standard required grades for USTC just like the other senior students do, they get enrolled into that program if they want to. So my friend from the same class went to that university when he was 14 yo and he was one of the oldest students in that program.

[@keykay1495]

compared to the other horror stories in the comments about gaokao, this is very much an unexpectedly sweet perspective lmao

[@zzzzlju5647]

@@keykay1495 Thanks for calling it sweet :P Just wanted to share another perspective. I never really hated Gaokao, and I even liked it in many ways. Such competition with millions of other students made the contest with classmates so trifling that it even helped us to form a stronger friendship, cuz we were more like "comrades" rather than enemies :D

[@tvczkan]

Your voice is so calm and pleasant. It's so satisfying to just hear you speaking. Keep going. You're doing a great job!

[@kellylizhang]

My cousin in china took the gaokao last year and our whole family was so tense. It seriously is such an important and stressful part of their lives. I'm really glad I don't have to take it. I can't imagine my whole future being determined by one single test.

[@pravinjay1675]

How is your cousin doing now?

[@kellylizhang]

@@pravinjay1675 He didn't do as well as he could've so I think he's gonna be able to retake it sometime this year. Hopefully, he'll do better and be more confident his time around. Thanks for asking!

[@Iickme]

@@kellylizhang tell him a stranger on the internet said good luck!

[@ahmadqatouni]

@@kellylizhang tell him 2 strangers are wishing him good luck

[@zhifanzhu8358]

@@kellylizhang tell him 3 strangers on the internet are wishing him good luck

[@whatislove4587]

I'm Chinese, I experienced Gaokao before, that's an unhappy time for me.

[@janzenlee275]

you‘re right，I even take it twice，so terrible.

[@musicalhits1082]

WE ARE NOT FOOL.. KZbin IS TOTALLY BAN IN CHINA ... IF YOU ARE IN OTHER COUNTRY ..

[@subhechchamukherjee1074]

@@musicalhits1082 Even tho it is banned alexa ranks youtube as the 11th most visited website in china . Hope u can understand how (:

[@mrnonsenseju]

Vpn is there bro

[@user-ox5ml5ee9v]

@@musicalhits1082 ever heard of vpns?

[@natcho9486]

This kind of exam reminds me of German law school. The first exam (and final one at university) takes 6 days and 5h per day, so after less then two weeks you are done. If you passed the tests you will be invited to the next exam, which is an oral exam and takes 3h where you have to answer questions from 3 different lawyers (each one hour). The second exam (around two years after the first exam. You have to take this exam if you won’t to be able to perform as a lawyer at court, no matter in which form) takes 8 days (again 5h) and again an oral exam. Everybody I know - including me - has still nightmares from this kind of test. No matter how good every test was that you took during law school in university - they don’t count when it comes to your finals in law school. Your how good your final grade on your diploma will be depends only on your results from your final exam. If you failed this exam two times, law school is closed for you forever. There’s no chance to change that. Preparing for this exam takes at least 1 year (that’s still very risky because there will be no time to repeat everything) but most students study between 1,5-2 years for this exam. About 1/3 of the law students fail this exam, 1/3 drop out of law school and the rest passes. The second exam has to be taken after 18 month, there’s no way for you to change that. Even worse: the way your work is graded is awful. The max. Points per work you can reach is 18, but you will be never able to reach them, because they are given to no one. The max. On points you can reach ist probably 14-15 points but your work needs to be more than perfect to reach this. The average student reaches around 6 points. That’s more than sad because you need at least 4 points (they will be given to you if at least 50% of your work is correct) to pass each test. Almost every student suffers from tendinitis. I really hope this changes one day.

[@vc4510]

How come no westerners attack these tough German exams?

[@vishslavia4341]

@@vc4510 This is because it is a collegiate level of education, not a high school exam. For us here in the west high school is a period of your life to enjoy not one to waste grinding away for a plateau later on in University. This still sounds very inhumane and a grinding task however it has its merit as being a lawyer should be a hard profession to get.

[@y2k898]

Had GaoKao when I was 18, now I am 38, 20 years passed, I'm still having dream of the stressful exams. Remember it's not only difficult by itself, but taking the factor you basically prepare 3 years for this one exam(or exams I remember there were 3 consecutive days), and it could largely determine for life trajectory.

[@kevincastellanos6328]

that’s crazy that you still have dreams about that even after two decades

[@GemmatheCat]

I have a PhD, and I bet that I would rank low on that exam if I took it.

[@johubify]

Obviously, exams don't test your capability of success, they're just pieces of sh*t

[@emperror85]

You would probably do decently. Even though they spend CRAZY amounts of time preparing for this, it is still a test that all students do, including the less talented ones. I'm sure you'd at least be in the top half. ;)

[@GemmatheCat]

@@emperror85 Maybe I’ll find an English copy of a previous one and give it a go for the fun of it!

[@EvanBoyar]

Yeah, I don't know any Chinese!

[@johubify]

@@GemmatheCat try to do it in the specified time limit, it'll be very intense😂

[@astralmindny9055]

The hardest aspect of this test is that it's only given once a year!

[@holoholo2125]

Actually, as a Chinese, I, or most people in China, only have one shot in this in the entire life.

[@DragonKidPlaysMC]

Holo Holo why?

[@injoker7695]

​@@DragonKidPlaysMC The high difficulty and randomness of the questions make people who did badly for their first time would fail again one year later. Also, you have to overcome all kinds of pressure from your parents and others. What would you think if someone takes one extra year in high school?

[@yaqiwang5242]

The hardest part is to overcome psychological pressure in order to deliver your best performance after over a year of preparation knowing the huge impact of the outcome on your future life and knowing that almost no one can get 100% right.

[@whatislove4587]

@@holoholo2125 别忘了还有复读

[@shuodiao2760]

The question 5, in China, most of students don’t do it that complicated. Just see the angle of the line to the y-axis, and the relationship of the three side of the triangle is 1:2:root5. The distance is 1(radius) divide root5 and multiple 2. It’s basically just 10 seconds question or you won’t finish the whole exam paper 😂

[@augustiinee]

Ah👀

[@imgood6535]

😆😆👍

[@utsavsaini453]

Yess😂

[@iamatrashcannottrashcannot4277]

Getting 600 in the gaokao is considered legendary😭😭

[@settembrini3301]

I'm studying china-studies at university and basically every chinese guest student I've ever met, told us that the Gaokao was the most stressful time in their lifes.

[@holeung7017]

yep~

[@vmerkwurdigliebe3751]

What is China-studies?

[@Deandzzzzzz]

Exactly. Sometimes I woke up in the middle of night because I was sitting for this exam in my dream. It’s been over 10 years and it is still a nightmare to me.

[@thegreatestdemon1288]

Funny, it's not true

[@AnaLuiza-qp1di]

@@thegreatestdemon1288 How do you know lol

[@krvr989]

We have a similar thing in Turkey, just with 1,5 million peoole per year instead of 10 million something (and with easier questions). It literally makes the difference between being a phd student and getting kicked to the army...

[@iamcleaver6854]

Same in Russia. At least the exam was enough to defeat corruption when applying to universities which was rampant before.

[@kickyouinhalf]

Is that 1.5 million competing for all universities and colleges of just for the top ranking universities? That's a pretty big distinction, if you're talking about all potential students then China would have more than the population of Turkey.

[@targaryenXoolf]

your comment just made me realise, how stupid the army generally are.

[@iamcleaver6854]

@@targaryenXoolf You don't really need common soldiers to be geniuses.

[@minenuggets9215]

Sen lgsye mi hazirlaniyorsun yoksa tyt ayt mi?

[@user-ih7pt3yv9d]

Your sound makes me calm, it 's so soft and relaxing. Thank you🥰 Besides, I'm Chinese, an undergraduate who have exprienced GaoKao 4 years ago.😂

[@siwihshdf8586]

i have a chem test soon and im anxious and now watching this im even more tensed

[@thehomonculus6208]

Love this amazing channel. Thank you Tibees 🙂

[@jianyuhua]

Yeah an intense and exiting memory of mine back in 2016. And the math question you picked is on the easiest side of what chinese students have to deal with

[@pinkkcat012vlogs4]

Your voice is so calming.

[@niklasjohansson680]

Keep up the lovable content! Your videos make the world a little bit more bright in these times!

[@liquidminds]

"ran through google translate" result: "do not copy or copy"

[@alwang31]

I took my Gaokao in 2010, and I thought it was painful at that time. Come to think about this ten years later, the experience of me going through Gaokao was actually sweet and inspiring. My whole family gave me so much support, that I don't need to care about others things but studying. That kind of pure focus on and dedication to a better understanding of six different curriculums was amazing. As a grown-up, my life has become so complicated. That focusing and hard-working figure of the younger myself has become a beacon: reminding me to be focusing and enjoying my life.

[@ziruiwang4806]

Here is an anomaly that went through Gaokao and is not traumatised.

[@kazumakiryuu2668]

GAOKAO is a closed system. Real life isn't.

[@samtae6217]

things always seem better in retrospect

[@proofofexistence1580]

MAKE MORE VIDEOS!!!!! your voice is so soothing and nice to listen to and your videos are super interesting

[@wang4062]

Thanks for sharing.☕️ In China, almost all the students who entered the senior high school and then would certainly take gaokao, or the college entrance examination, so did I many years ago, because it was the most important and competitive in China on which students’ future hinged. Due to this toughest test, most students of well-to-do family chose to study abroad in recent years, they preferred the exam like TOEFL, IELTS, and SAT to gaoko.

[@davidcovington901]

Appreciate the workout. But also: Draw circle easily. Sketch line asap. Then LOOK at it. Somewhat less than 1 from center of circle to line. √5 is 2.2, we should all know that. So, 4.4 over 5 is 88% of a 1. So choice B. Learning my sqrts of 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 has helped me zip through many MC maths exams. As essential as multiplication tables.

[@no-one00]

What is sqrts?

[@davidcovington901]

@@no-one00 Square roots

[@ffoska]

That's some pi=3 kinda dirty trick. Nice solution.

[@yaqiwang5242]

Nice 👍 glad you are not the one designing this problem. But typically students have no much time to think if there exists a shortcut. Doing the full math will take 10 seconds with 5 seconds double checking not too bad and safe. There used to be sections at my time where you are required to do the full workout without knowing any possible answers and scored based on steps. I guess they are still there just not showed in this video.

[@alenwarner6107]

Not funny, didn't laugh.

[@MADDGAMMER]

The ambulance waiting in case someone does a nervous collapse reminds me of my entrance test for german medical schools where there was one too😂.

[@danielm3670]

How difficult was the test? How did it affect the students?

[@MADDGAMMER]

@@danielm3670 The test itself is quite okay difficulty wise with a few months of preparation (4 in my case). The difficulty lies in the length and the very swift pace as It goes from 9:00 to 17:00 with an hour break at 12h30ish. Most students are very tense because of how important the test is (if your Abitur/High school diploma) is not perfect) and the fact that you can only do it once. My guess for why they had an ambulance was in case someone does a hypoglycaemia towards the end of the test.

[@paulwanke3484]

Du meinst wahrscheinlich den TMS oder? Da hast du wohl Recht, dass der Medizinertest ein sehr anspruchsvoller Test ist, vor allem spielt die Zeit eine essenzielle Rolle. Auf der anderen Seite sollten wir froh sein, den Gao Kao nicht schreiben zu müssen. Du kannst im Grunde genommen die beiden Prüfungen nicht miteinander vergleichen. Klar sind sie stressig, doch der Medizinertest ist freiwillig und ist an sich auch trainerbar. Ich schreibe ihn im Mai dieses Jahr. Ich würde gerne noch deine Erfahrung wissen.

[@sianstpaul1349]

I am 30ish now. I am still traumatized by the stress of competitive tests. One of the nightmares I have today is sleeping through the clock and missing an important test. My academic ranking in class goes down.

[@g.t.3068]

Taking the exam is painful. But the time in the last year of high school preparing for it was one of my best memories in my life. Because life is simple and you have the chance to stay with your beloved one day by day...

[@aryantaneja3192]

As an Indian, we have a somewhat similar test in our country called JEE Mains (Round 1, for B-A Grade Colleges) & Advanced (Round 2, for A-S grade colleges, Typically IITs). However, it is primarily focused towards engineering and pure sciences and has Math, Chemistry and Physics. While the difficulty of JEE Mains is a few levels above what we're taught in school (although still manageable if you did really well in high school), JEE Advanced is leagues, if not centuries above anything we've ever been taught. Alot of people that aspire to do well in JEE Advanced, join training institutes at a very young age. I joined one when I was 16, and despite having 2 years to prepare, it was constantly pointed out to me that 2 years is generally not enough to even come close to doing well during Advanced. The paper is 6 hours long (3 hours, 2 sets) and out of a million or so people that start out by giving mains, only 10,000 or so qualify for IITs and those on the last end of the 10,000 often end up in the shittier IITs with shitty courses. I remember having to spend 7 hours on weekends attending classes at my training institute, studying topics that mostly flew over my head, struggling to focus. There were people, those more talented that were handpicked by the institute that spent 8 hours, 7 days a week preparing for JEE. They generally didn't attend school and only showed up in case they had tests. They had no lives outside of the classes they'd attend. They'd study, go back home and study, and would repeat the entire process for years in hopes of getting into an IIT. HOPES, meaning that it wasn't even certain that they'd get in. While attending classes at my training institute, managing high school and also managing to maintain a personal life, I was constantly overwhelmed. The stress of having to prepare for JEE and high school finals made it difficult for me to focus on either and I was struggling to keep up with both. I went from being in the peak shape of my life in 10th grade, to being overweight, depressed and constantly fidgety by the time I was 17. In the end, I barely did well in JEE Mains and okayish in high school. Should've been able to do alot better in high school, if I weren't killing brain cells preparing for JEE. It's sad how much an engineering aspirant has to deal with in India, before they're even an adult.

[@antarixyaan1951]

भाई, *जे.इ.इ* के उपर भी यहाँ विडियो बनाया हुआ है, *नीट* पर भी है और *यू.पी.एस.सी* के उपर भी यहाँ पर विडियो बनाया हुआ है......

[@ModernKira]

Gaokao is tough

[@Livvv_happy_3727]

Bhai har jagah tum jaise log aake Randi rona kyu karte hai ??

[@Vshwin]

4:57 The centre can be at two points (1,1) or (5,5) .Both will give the same answer though just wanted to point out.

[@shatranj]

They made the line accordingly, so we dont ask which point,nice observation though

[@andreypilnik6682]

Ironically, students who will notice this will spend more time on the task. Being more observant(smart) sometimes is a disadvantage.

[@sugarkiddo]

@@andreypilnik6682 the problem is we 18 yrs olds, who are preparing for entrances don't accurately know how much smartness should we put to get optimum results.

[@dupont7945]

In China textbook, we usually use distance formula to calculate the distance (no need to find the intersection point of the two lines). I'm a Chinese.

[@OriginalEch3Official]

@@dupont7945 sounds like you dont even have to solve anything? its like memorizing words for english. I guess its only good because it means you save huge time, but that does not sound fun.

[@lalalamiao4600]

Geez..... I took Gaokao 11 years ago.....still feel so traumatized by it. All these stress, hopeless feelings have never left me

[@xiaoyang1519]

As a Chinese, I can still remember these 😂. The entire paper is not that difficult to get a reasonable score, except for the very last task which sometimes can be as difficult as Olympiad math task, like number theory or combinatorics... However, you need to fast and accuate which is also quite difficult. A lot of tricks and memorization are involved so that you could solve instanteously. For example, the task at 4:37, You solved correctly, but I think you are suppose to solve it within 30s so that you can score reasonably in the entire paper: Connect A=(1,1) and B=(2,1) then you get a horizontal line whose length is 1. Then right triangle with vertices ABC, where C is the perpendicular point, is the a "model triangle" that we have to memorize, "1:2:sqrt(5)" for one angle is of tangent value = 2. Now, give the side of represent sqrt(5) is 1 now, so the side represent 2 should be proportionally 2/sqrt(5)=2sqrt(5)/5. That's how we were trained 😂。。

[@chachachi-hh1ks]

Do you think gaokao is good in its current form? Or would you reform it? If yes, then how and what parts of it?

[@parkeralbert369]

gaokao exams is definitely the hardest exam in my life, I took it twice in two years which finally made me to be just qualified for the college entrance, but gaokao is also one of the best parts in my life as I learned so a lot in math, biology, chemistry and physics.

[@todd8532]

After 20 years, GaoKao still a nightmare for me. Study 7 days per week, only one day vacation a month. From 6:30 to 22:00. Will never forgot that period of life.

[@user-lt6ke9hg8f]

Maybe you failed. You are not happy studying. . Get the change you deserve. but. Many people succeeded. They changed their destiny. . They learned to have a successful life. And success brings them spiritual pleasure. This is not a nightmare. This is a happy memory.

[@fos1451]

@@user-lt6ke9hg8f it's impossible to make everyone have a better life, gaokao is basically just switching life between middle class and low class that's all. If you're a middle class and you failed, good job, you just become an low class

[@user-lt6ke9hg8f]

@@fos1451 Yang Jiechi. . It is a worker. Jiang Zheming. . It is a worker. Zhu Rongji. . Is an orphan. These are all born at the bottom of China. . But they all have the highest power in China.

[@user-lt6ke9hg8f]

@@fos1451 The highest power class in China. All come from the bottom of China. Including their parents. They are all at the bottom of Chinese society. Generations have passed. The highest power class in China now. %97 comes from the lowest level of society in China. China is the rule of the global grassroots class. The country with the highest proportion.

[@MegaReinart]

hwo many points did you get in your gaokao?

[@picnicbros]

I took a similar exam in Vietnam, also called the National Exam. We also had to do Math, Literature, and one foreign language (English, French), which were compulsory. We then can choose between science electives (Chemistry, Physics, Biology) or social electives (History, Geography, and Civil Education). Although the passing score was low - which was around 2 out of 10 for each subject, we had to aim for at least 7 to get to our desired college. I started cram school as early as the beginning of 12th grade, 3 session a day, 2 hours each, for EACH subject. I chose Math, Physics, Chemistry, English, so that was 24 hours a week, for the whole 12th grade just to be ready for the exam. In the end, I scored 9 on average for each subject, and got to a very good college. It was a tough experience, but really rewarding. I wouldnt call Asian smart, it's just our National Exam was too rigid and required us to study too much. I think anyone who invests that much time on studying could be considered "smart" too.

[@hurmur9528]

The person being with you must have a lovely time just discussing and talking with you. You are clearly intelligent and your voice is just manna for my soul. Magnetic.

[@tinderbox218]

Best wishes from Texas for all Gaokao-taking students this year ❤️

[@muyin]

I'm 32 years old with two master's degree and working on my doctorate. I still have nightmares about gaokao

[@TehPobo]

Dw Mr stark u can rest now

[@swagmeister5323]

when she went through the math questions it just reminded me of my math exam i need to be revising for 😃 fun times

[@persistenthustle]

A Chinese student/teacher will immediately freak out when he/she sees the pencil you used to fill the answer sheet. There is special guidance on how to sharpen the pencil for maximum accuracy and efficiency in coloring those freaking black dots. That's how competitive these exams are!

[@akshatbhatt9749]

whatdefok

[@briannong9363]

​@Akshat Bhatt also the pencils must be 2B pencils just for a color that is dark enough to be scanned!

[@Warlord_Megatron]

Why can't you just use pens!?

[@thevikingwarrior]

I would shove the pencils where the sun don't shine after they are nice and sharp.

[@thebotbob6317]

In 2010, Math part of Jiangsu gaokao was very hard, making many students cry at the end of the exam. However, my friend, who majors in Mathematics, described it as the best examination he ever took.

[@kclouie5576]

As a Peking university student myself , all of my classmates are ranked top 50 among 300000+ students per province. They are insanely hard work and talented at the same time.

[@wuhaoouyang7453]

(2,1) is a very special point. You can draw a line across the center and tangent point on y then use triangles instead of general distance equation. It saves a lot of time

[@tonysbooth9179]

Gosh i love Tibees accent

[@yaqiwang5242]

Gao Kao still enters my dreams a few times a year after decades... It’s tough and students get very high pressure. Good or bad really hard to say. It’s pretty interesting to see this video;-)

[@TheBoss-jc6le]

KZbin recommended me your videos and its probably the best thing ever loving your videos and could you please do a another Bob Ross style video!! Thank you❤

[@masandemafalala5588]

She already has done that.

[@fullaw7624]

Exactly, this exam is aim to select those students who can make the fewest mistakes during those few hours.

[@junelu3360]

I still feel that it was the most knowledgeable and smartest time for me in high school, even I just got my Ph.D. degree last year.

[@zzzzlju5647]

Hands up, I am doing my PhD and I totally feel you.

[@kazumakiryuu2668]

reaching the red pill?

[@vc4510]

@Blazenwave only if using amount of money as the sole criterion of success.

[@david50665]

@Blazenwave einstein is more valuable to humanity than warren buffet

[@cathys2307]

Exactly. I've forgotten most of what I knew.

[@alibaba888]

Great video! Reminds me of the Turkish university entrance exam TYT and AYT. Respectively AYT was pretty similar to things you shown. We race among us (

[@aceroIQM]

"One day I hope you too will be able to look at exams just for fun". Nobody could said it better than you Tibees!

[@guvanchkaka8822]

Hey Toby... i dont know how it happens but when i hear your voice i feel relaxed... keep going... informative videos

[@farab4391]

Yep, content is important, but actually being prepared for an exam plays such a big part. I can remember while in school in South Africa, the last year of primary school they would teach us how to prepare for and take exams. Some simple stuff like reading the question properly and repeatedly until you're sure that you actually understanding the question before offering a solution/answer, but also much more complicated techniques like how to prepare for a specific exam paper and how to decide what to revise the week and the day before the exam. Plus stuff like, it doesn't matter how well or badly prepared you think you are, you need to put your books down before 18:00 the day before, get something healthy to eat, relax and go to sleep before 21:00. This approach helped tremendously and put us ahead of a lot of other kids, because not all schools taught this, mainly because it isn't part of the curriculum.

[@IdiotsMind]

Falling in Love with your content 🏅

[@alisacs_f.l1312]

Me too uwu she kinda motivates and introduces me to physics

[@junkghost6196]

as a chinese kid who lives and goes to school in canada, i am SO glad i don’t have to deal with this.

[@drakezhang8631]

same, bud!

[@user-lt6ke9hg8f]

You have the right to choose. Happy education. And the Chinese. There is no such qualification. China is not the number one power in the world. China used to lag behind the world. . Need to catch up.

[@ycy15210875671]

@@user-lt6ke9hg8f happy education most likely produce morons。。。

[@gokvedeniz7786]

@@ycy15210875671 Happy and healthy education produces intelligent and happy humans.

[@poiseblemiramoon6992]

@@ycy15210875671 not really. depends on the aptitude of the student.

[@kingk2405]

It is not an exam it is a competition . The mark does not count as there is no pass/not pass marks , just your rank counts.

[@oliviac1124]

Gaokao is not only an academic test, it is also a psychological game on who is better at managing stress and even family relationships.

[@alien0715]

The Guakao study was so traumatic that I still have nightmares of being not able to answer math exam questions after I graduated from my Master degree more than 10 years later....

[@chachachi-hh1ks]

Do you think gaokao is good in its current form? Or would you reform it? If yes, then how and what parts of it?

[@codedaily365]

Love your videos and ur voice keep posting Lots of love from India

[@580bulldog]

I took Gaokao before I moved to the US. I was absolutely destroyed by that test. (My score was just slightly better than the average) Later, I somehow managed to get into one of the top 20 universes in the US. However, I have been haunted by imposter syndrome since the day of Gaokao… Gaokao is just so brutal

[@noahkatt7667]

Suddenly, I feel blessed for sitting in the igces instead. Goodluck everyone for all your exams.

[@shinchanprivate]

for the question 5, if you use trigonometric function, you will see it if you draw a line from (2,1) to the y axis. it will be much easier and save lots of time. In the math examinations, it always short of time. Even you know how to solve the questions, it wouldn't possible for you to finish all of them. So it is also very important you can find the easiest way to solve the questions to buy you some time.

[@jackhandma1011]

I think knowing that there is an ambulance waiting outside could actually make you more nervous lol.

[@typhoon9055]

It's really hard in Turkey too.The last month before the entrance exams i was so stressed and my period schedule was messed.when i just finished the first exam then went back home i saw that my period just come...And the next day was 2nd test which is way more important than the 1st one. it affects %60 of the results. Eventhough i took painkillers it affected my performance and i couldn't do as well as i do usually. Now i'm preparing for the tests again hope it goes well this year\(• ֊ •)/

[@LinkLegend0]

bro your channel stressed me out gives me anxiety and calms me down at the same time 😅

[@yuzhaoyang3648]

Thanks for doing the video. The competition of Gaokao is indeed intense; my city has almost the highest average acceptance rate, but the probability of getting into one of the "best" 40 universities is just ~5%. In some provinces the number is between 1% and 2%. For most of us, Gaokao is indeed a test that determines destinies. I'll never forget the laugh and tears it brought me.

[@Kamal-ju6qx]

what is your city?

[@tdevinda]

I did a similar exam 18 years ago. The same exam exists today to accept students to universities in my country. But I think its easier than this particular exam. This video reminded of those times which I had to study and know every single type of question and how to solve it. We had Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics for engineering track.

[@imaadhifthikar4054]

you can also find the distance by substituting the values 1,1 into the equation [1*2 +1*-1-3]/(2^2+1^2)^1/2= 2/(5^(1/2)). this method is shorter and is standard in our curriculum(HS)

[@CodeMeat]

I took the gaokao like 2 decades ago, still have a nightmare like I couldn't finish the paper on time lol. But on the bright side, nothing in the real-life can be more stressed as this afterwards, at least for me (yes I moved to the west to escape XD ) I still remember what my teacher has said: Don't see this as only an exam, it is a conclusion of your 12years studying, your strength to concentrate and function under a huge amount of stresses, it forced you to face all the struggles including your past, face the competitions, and it will reveal your weakness that you may need to fight against for your whole life. Gaokao is not only an exam, but it is also a life lesson, a gift even you may not realise it right now. It gives and tests your knowledge, wisdom, resilience, your strength & weakness. Eventually, it leads you to know yourself deeper. So that you can understand your path better. So...I was very sure my path can't be in China, my competitors are insane (good? maybe?) lol, then I ran to the US and settled for an easy version of life. hahaha

[@Yourbrother05]

Are you from China?

[@CodeMeat]

@@Yourbrother05 depends on how you define "from", moving around in my whole life, including the high school period. Go whatever my family took me to, then whatever the job takes me to. west and east, south and north.

[@tangchaoliu885]

I took Gaokao four years ago. Listen, it was actually not that terrifying. I was lucky to have many amazing classmates and teachers that were helping each other to fight for a brighter future. We built tight bonds and unforgettable friendships. I'll never forget the years fighting alongside with them.

[@riyank5238]

That's great..

[@ruima3847]

Calculator of any kind is not allowed for the entrance exam in my region for math physics and chemistry. The girl sitting two seats behind me crying at the examination room during the math exam still has not faded away from my memory. Btw, the Beijing paper is often mocked for being pretty easy compared to papers for Jiangsu, Zhejiang or Sichuan. The first lesson learned about inequality being an inherent character of life is when our teacher gave us Beijing paper to boost our confidence before the entrance exam. Take a look at the Jiangsu paper if you are interested in how far you can go in the math exam.

[@cybro8925]

Why are their regional differences in the papers?

[@ruima3847]

@@cybro8925 All roads lead to Rome but some people are just born in Rome.

[@monki6304]

I can literally smell the paper through the screen

[@gavinhou3261]

Yeah, it was difficult for me and maybe even a nightmare. But nearly 20 years after me taking the exam, I feel like those days in high school are still my best memories.