A survey released Thursday by China Youth Daily found that about 66 percent of the respondents would make a different choice if taking the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, again.

With the upcoming of gaokao that starts Friday this year, about 15,000 people participated in the survey on Twitter-like Weibo by Wednesday, recalling their experiences of working hard day and night for the exam and later applying to universities.

A student majoring in business at the City University of Hong Kong who prefers using a pseudo name as Lu Tong for this survey said that she regretted that she got admitted to a satisfactory university at the cost of a satisfactory major.

Currently, Lu Tong managed to major in media and communication, a subject she is passionate about. She regarded the senior year at high school spent preparing for the gaokao as a year of "condensed essence."

"It feels so good to study hard together with others," she said.

The purpose of attending university should be about becoming a better person rather than gaining knowledge and skills or landing a good job, said Ding Yanqing, a professor of education at Peking University, who described the gaokao as a coming-of-age ceremony for high-school students.

More than 10 million students will sit the national college entrance exam this year.

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