Hopes still high as graduation nears

Students face a fiercely competitive job market but aren't adjusting expectations, survey finds

With a record 7.49 million students graduating from China's universities and colleges in July, the job market is expected to be fierce. However, the majority of prospective graduates have not slashed their job expectations, according to a recent survey.

The survey, conducted by Renren.com, a Facebook-like social networking website in China, found that 41.2 percent of prospective graduates have a salary expectation of 8,000 yuan ($1,290) to 10,000 yuan per month. Meanwhile, 11.7 percent want 6,000 to 8,000 yuan, and 31.4 percent want 4,000 to 6,000 yuan. Only 11.8 percent expected 2,000 to 4,000 yuan.