The university received a record 1,764 applicants nationwide from "underage" students who sat the national college entrance exam in July and more systematic tests on their science aptitude, creativity and overall capacity, said its vice-president Cheng Yi.

These students in the special program have skipped years of primary and secondary school to enter college at a tender age -- mostly under 15.

Most of them had continued to succeed later on, academically and professionally, said Ma Wengan, head of the program.

Nearly 600 talented juveniles have graduated from the program since it was launched in 1978, more than 70 percent of whom have gone on to post-graduate studies both at home and overseas, and over 100 have received doctorate degrees, said Ma.

Zhang Jiajie, an alumnus of the gifted teens program, was the first in the world to get a doctorate at the University of California, US in cognitive studies, or a branch of science on the theory of knowledge, comprising such fields as perceptual and rational knowledge.

Shi Zhan, who entered the university at the age of 13, made his mark by devising a mathematical model of the Brownian movement of microscopic particles during his PhD studies, and became an advisor to PhD students at prestigious Curie University in France when he was only 30.

A number of noted universities in China followed CUST's lead in the early 1980s to launch similar programs, but some were as successful and a few were aborted.

Experts hold that the success of CUST's program lies in its tailored curricula and unique ways of instruction, which have catered to the interests of the juveniles and fully exploited their potential.

Unlike other college students who concentrate on a specific field from their freshman year, the gifted youngsters in the special program do not choose a major until the third year.

"After two years of broad-based education, most gifted students are well-grounded and know precisely what interests them most," said CUST President Zhu Qingshi, "And you're more likely to succeed when pursuing something you're most interested in."

Campus life enables the youngsters to cope with varying, knotty circumstances and get along with their peers. "Desk jockeys" are encouraged to exercise more, be interns and make investigative studies off campus, so as to help them learn more about the world.

The university has also set up a psychological service to provide counseling to the special students.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2002)