College information website SDaXue has recently come out with a list of 30 fake Chinese universities, according to Reuters. Created in 2013, SDaXue helps students find a suitable college. Students can search for gaokao scores, ask college-related questions and find out information about university rankings.
Fake college names range from the generic International Trade Institute to the slightly more legitimate sounding Beijing Financial Institute. Several of the "schools" are allegedly located in Shanghai.
These fake universities are part of a massive scheme to trick students into registering and paying tuition online with carefully copied websites and other resources from local Chinese colleges. Students who sign up for these schools can end up wasting many years and money, while others might sign up so that they can get an easy degree to hopefully fool a potential employer.
Hopefully, lists like these and more like them will help students post-gaokao get into a legitimate university.
