The University of Cambridge confirmed that it would accept students based on Gaokao test results in a post on the University’s official Weibo account on March 25.

The Gaokao, China’s extremely difficult university entrance exam, is now accepted by a number of overseas universities including the University of New Hampshire, which last year became the first state university in the US to accept Gaokao scores for new admissions, the University of Western Australia and the University of British Columbia in Canada.

Previously, Chinese students would have to take standardized college admission tests, such as the SAT and ACT used in US schools.

The Gaokao is regarded as suitable preparation for Cambridge. The Gaokao scores of successful applicants will vary from province to province and year to year. As a guideline, successful applicants will usually have scores in the top 0.1% of those taking the Gaokao in their province. In addition to the total score, Cambridge Colleges will pay close attention to individual subject scores and scores in the Senior High School Examinations (Xueye Shuiping Kaoshi; previously the Huikao). The Xueye Shuiping Kaoshi alone are not regarded as suitable preparation for Cambridge.