Alerts issued for college admission scams

The Ministry of Education has issued a series of alerts ahead of the 2026 college admission season, warning students and parents against common scams such as bogus promises of "internal quotas" for admission to elite universities, pricey "consultants" with fake credentials, and phishing messages falsely accusing examinees of cheating.

On Wednesday, provincial examination authorities began releasing the long-awaited results for the 12.9 million candidates who had registered for this year's national college entrance exam, or gaokao.

With the admission season now in full swing, students are eager to make the most of their scores, sifting through stacks of information from universities in the hopes of securing placement at a good school without wasting a single point. The ministry warned that this period is also one in which they are particularly vulnerable to fraud.

In a recent case cited by the ministry, police in Shanghai's Jiading district busted a criminal gang that fabricated identities such as "vice-chairman of a national athletic association" and promised to package underperforming students as "high-level athletes" in soccer, basketball and other sporting codes to gain admission to prestigious universities despite low gaokao scores. The gang defrauded 22 parents of more than 9 million yuan ($1.3 million).

The ministry emphasized that college admissions are conducted strictly on the basis of exam scores, application preferences and publicly announced enrollment plans, with the entire process carried out transparently. There are no unofficial channels such as "internal quotas", "special admission slots" or "internal admissions for lower-scoring candidates", it said.

All enrollment plans, institutional policies and admission rules are publicly released by relevant authorities, and admission results can be verified through provincial admission offices. Any offer that cannot be found on official platforms should be disregarded, it added.

Meanwhile, the ministry cautioned students and parents against agencies that charge thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan for supposed insider knowledge and guaranteed admissions.

According to the ministry's fraud alert, some organizations promote themselves as "college application management centers" or claim to have "university partnerships". They fabricate "admission rates" using publicly available data, claim to possess internal admissions databases from examination authorities, promise one-on-one guidance from veteran admissions officers and vow to secure placements at public undergraduate institutions without wasting a single point.

The alert also noted that many such agencies display certificates for gaokao application consultants to lure families into purchasing their services.

The relevant authorities have never issued any vocational qualification certificate for college application planners, the ministry said.

In another case, a student surnamed Li received a text message impersonating the provincial education examination authority shortly before exam results were released in 2025. The message claimed that an AI system had detected cheating during gaokao, and that the student's scores would be canceled. It also included a link for filing an appeal.

Li clicked on the link and entered personal identification information, an exam registration number and bank card details for "appeal verification". Shortly afterward, the student received a bank alert indicating that a payment had failed because of insufficient funds. Realizing it was a scam, Li immediately reported the incident to the police.

The ministry reminded the public that all important admission notices are released through official channels such as schools, provincial examination authorities and university websites. Suspected fraudulent messages should be verified through official phone numbers published by education authorities, it said.

zoushuo@chinadaily.com.cn