When he received his A-level results last year, John Fan Long-fai was devastated. He fell short of the minimum university requirement by failing one of his A-level subjects.
This year he had much better prospects after getting a C in Chinese, an E in English and a C and a D in two A-levels. But now he is facing another problem: where should he continue his studies?
'Last year, I had no options. This year I had two to choose from,' he says. 'Now with the A-level results, things will be even more complicated.'
One of those options is to study business administration at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.
Fan, 21, is one of some 1,000 Hong Kong students who have applied to universities on the mainland this year. 'My friends suggested that I give it a try on the mainland and I took their advice,' he says.
To prepare for the mainland's entrance exam, John enrolled in a one-year course at the Heung To College of Professional Studies.
'The system and subjects required on the mainland are quite different from Hong Kong,' Fan says.