Confessions of a Cat-holic (101)

What I thought about competition was right. At least, partially. There really was not much competition from the rest of us in the pyramid against the doctors, since admissions policies of the medical department at HKU and CUHK were rather strict and there was almost no second chance for repeaters or scholars with a first degree in another country on a related major. The entry requirements for medicine were stringent and rigorous, almost leaving no leeway for a second chance or arbitrary negotiation in case someone could not meet the conditional offer, in JUPAS and in non-JUPAS. Very rarely I heard about cases of strong candidates pursuing a second degree in medicine because the duration of a medical degree could be as long as 6 years. There was no equivalent of a JD (second degree for non-law undergraduates) or an LLM in the medical department. The licensing process for medical doctors from other common wealth countries or China was somewhat discriminating. All in all, if you had been given an offer to study medicine in Hong Kong, it would be hard for anyone to decline it almost.

Yes, so there was no competition from outside the medical profession. But that did not mean it was a safe haven inside the field. The competition among the doctors and the doctors-to-be was unimaginably cut-throat.

The academic pressure was already insurmountable even though on the surface we looked like we were helpful enough to share any academic resources. But it did not stop from there. Many of my new friends treated life like a muscial chair game. They reckoned that it was the survival of the fittest, only whoever was the strongest could stay in the game uneliminated. It was a reality show called the Hunger Games. In order to compete and fight for championship, they had no chance but to kill the other candidates in the other districts so they could reach the Capitol City as the ultimate winner. And they suceeded. They endured 9 hours of schooling during the day and another 5-6 hours or so after school on tutoring, then 2-3 hours or so on violin and singing practice, sparing no time on sleep and shower even. They would come in the school with stinky bad breath but it was understandable. For a medical degree, they would do anything to earn that entry. Giving up on sleep and self care was an easy decision and obvious choice. Anyone would have done that anyways. What was more important than a profitable and secure job with promising prospects? Health, hygiene and mental sanity really were not that much of a big deal. It just did not matter much in the face of a lucrative paycheck month after month. HKU would not penalize you for looking distressed coming in every day with messy whitened grey hair and inch-thick glasses stained with greese.

I understood their intentions and where they were coming from. If they were bullied in elementary school for their feebleness and frail mind, together with their unwillingness to conform and succumb to normality, academic achievements seemed like their only light in life amidst the dark society of Hong Kong and a possible outlet from chaos in life.

Again, it was their personal choice. We all had our priorities. Some regarded income as their sole purpose in life, while others wanted to just go with the flow. I had total respects for others' conscious decisions. It was just that unfortunately I was regarded as a good catch to be slaughtered among their fishing game.

At some point towards the end of F4, I received a death threat from my peers in class. Yes, she was Jacqueline Sitt, the aggressive woman from South Horizons who would follow Alex everywhere to ward off any potential female suitors interested in dating the only normal looking mid-levels resident in class. It was a supply and demand curve. There were way more academically and socially eligible girls than boys because girls tended to be more mature and better in taking care of themselves. Even though gender ratio was roughly half and half, the number of bachelors worthy of marriage or dating was incomparable to that of the girls.