In-Depth: Chinese Students Flock to State Jobs as Economic Anxiety Reshapes College Choices

For seven days, Song Xiao faced a decision that would shape the rest of her life.

Ranked around 900th in Sichuan Province’s 2026 college-entrance examination, Song had a score high enough to enter Sichuan University’s experimental humanities program. Yet during the brief application window, she found herself caught in an endless cycle of doubt.