Chapter 40: Arrival of the Examinees

Translator: 549690339 |

The back of the newspaper clearly showed the majors and quotas for this year’s enrollment at the Australian National University. There were a total of five majors and eight hundred places.

Although Arthur specifically allowed the number of places to expand to about fifteen hundred, Principal Wilfred Freeman Wayneberg considered it carefully and still limited the enrollment to eight hundred people.

Although the facilities and funds were more than sufficient, the faculty at the Australian National University was still at a disadvantage. If too many students were recruited, it would inevitably affect the efficiency of students’ learning and the quality of teaching.

Wilfred Freeman Wayneberg aimed to build a world-class university, which could not be accomplished in a short time, nor could it be achieved by the number of places alone.

This also means that the competition for university enrollment this time will be fierce. Under Arthur’s call, most eligible Australians will probably sign up.

Under such circumstances, only the top eight hundred students can be selected to enter the university, which is enough to show the intensity of the competition.

On October 17th, after more than half a month of preparation, the entrance examination for the Australian National University is about to begin.

In order to make it easy for these candidates from all over the country, Arthur specifically announced that accommodation and food would be provided free of charge to all candidates until the end of the exam.

By the day before the official exam, more than thirteen thousand people had registered, more than half of whom were candidates from other states.

As the exam approached, the streets of Sydney were filled with the figures of these candidates. To cope with the possible difficult exam, Sydney’s few bookstores and newspaper stands were all swept through by these candidates, trying to find some information they might see in the exam.

Sydney, Central Street Residential Area.

This was originally a residential building complex for the families of Sydney City Council staff. It was temporarily vacant due to relocation and was now requisitioned by Arthur for candidates to live in.

In order to make it more convenient for candidates to live and rest, these buildings were divided into rooms of roughly the same size. There were about a thousand such small rooms available for candidates to live in.

However, compared with the number of candidates taking the exam, the number of rooms was still too small. Therefore, it was only a temporary compromise to allow candidates from nearby Sydney to go home and rest, leaving the precious rooms for candidates from other states and regions.

In this way, with six or seven people reluctantly squeezed into each room, more than ten thousand candidates were finally accommodated in Sydney.

It was now the day before the exam, and most of the candidates had given up on reviewing and chose to stroll around Sydney or relax.

Only a few people were still cramming at the last minute, hoping that they could bump into the questions that might be on the test and add a few more points to their chances.

In a room of the residential building.

“Sam, what do you think they’ll test us on this time? The things we learned in high school?” John Wilshire lay on his bed, looking expectantly and fantasizing at his roommate.

“Oh, God, you’re talking nonsense again, John.” The boy named Sam complained helplessly, but did not stop flipping through the books in his hands.

“Hey, Sam, stop flipping through those useless books, man. Sydney is indeed more prosperous than West Australia. Why don’t we go out and walk around? Who knows, you might meet a pretty girl and fulfill your father’s wish for you to get married early.” John jumped off the bed and looked at Sam with a face that seemed to be watching a good show.

“Stop it, John. Haven’t I told you? As an honorable Australian, I just want to study hard and build Australia. His Highness, as the Duke of Australia, not only did he not gain any benefits from Australia, but he also selflessly provided his own funds to help all Australians and build Australia. Under such circumstances, shouldn’t we study hard and serve the Duke?” Sam patiently explained while slapping his friend’s hand off his shoulder.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t serve the Duke, pal. But don’t you think we should also find a balance between work and rest? Only by resting well can we study well, right?” John reluctantly said as he saw that his friend did not give him any face.

“Fine, John, this is Sydney, the capital of Australia. I know you’re curious about everything here, but don’t you think that if we successfully enter the university, we can stay here all the time, right?” Sam patted his friend’s shoulder and said: “You know, this time the admission quota is only eight hundred. But looking at the current situation, I’m afraid there will be at least several thousand people signing up, maybe even more. If we don’t pass the exam and have to go back with our tails between our legs, that would be much more embarrassing than now.”

“Oh, okay, Sam. You’ve successfully persuaded me, brother.” John reluctantly nodded and joined the ranks of the review.

Similar conversations were taking place in many of the rooms at the same time. In this era, those who graduated from high school successfully were mostly talented in learning and had decent family backgrounds.

Although the examination did not emphasize competition, in the high school environment of Australia, they still felt a sense of pride, not wanting to fall behind in such competitions.

However, there were also some exceptions. After all, Sydney was the most developed city in New South Wales, and New South Wales was the most developed and populous state in Australia.

Most of the students who came from all over Australia to Sydney for the first time had never seen a large city before.

Under such circumstances, it is no wonder, and even quite natural, for these candidates to come up with the idea of going out and exploring.

In the current Australia, the family backgrounds of these high school graduates are basically considered decent, all above the poverty line in Australia.

Their arrival also drove Sydney’s economic development to some extent, adding momentum to Sydney’s already weak retail and tourism economy.

But most people still chose to continue reviewing. After all, in this era, the term “university” is quite impressive, and university graduates are usually the offspring of nobles and capitalists or extremely important talents.

Especially in Australia, the only way to become a university student is to study abroad, which requires not only a considerable amount of tuition fees but also an outstanding ability to perform.

However, things are different now. As long as you pass the Australian National University’s entrance examination, you can basically attend university for free and become a bona fide university student.

No one could resist such temptation, even young people who had already entered the workforce.