"Students Don't Fail the CSCA Because of Mathematics — They Fail Because of Language": A Prep Teacher on the November 14-15 Exam
With the November 14-15 CSCA sitting days away, we spoke with Ms. Liu (pseudonym), a lead instructor on the SICAS pre-university programme who has trained international students for the exam since its first global session. She teaches academic Chinese and coordinates the programme's timed mock testing — and she has watched strong students fail for entirely preventable reasons.
What is different about the November 14-15 sitting?
"It is the first two-day session, which is good news — one long day of papers exhausted everyone. Language and mathematics on day one, sciences on day two. But the content and the difficulty are not changing. Students should not imagine the new format means a softer exam."
What is the most common reason students underperform?
"Language, almost every time. A student can solve a physics problem in English but freeze when the same problem is written with Chinese terminology. The CSCA science papers can be taken in English or Chinese, so students pick English and think the problem disappears. Then they apply to a Chinese-taught programme and meet Professional Chinese, which has no English version. The exam is testing whether you can survive a Chinese classroom. That is what we train."
Who actually needs to sit Professional Chinese?
"If your target degree is fully English-taught, generally you do not sit it — though check your university's notice, because they write the final rules, and our requirements guide summarises the current framework. For Chinese-taught degrees it is required, with a humanities or science track depending on the major. A valid HSK certificate at the required level can bring an exemption. Mathematics, on the other hand, is compulsory for everyone. No exemptions, no negotiations. Most of our students hope to study in China within a year, so we always plan the subject combination around the application calendar, not the other way round."
How long does serious preparation take?
"If your school mathematics and science are fresh and you only need exam technique and vocabulary, a focused short programme can be enough — timed practice, keyword lists, two or three full mocks. If your Chinese is near zero or your science foundations are years old, you need a proper bridge, not a crash course. That is the difference between preparation and the pre-university year. On the SICAS pre-university programme we build academic Chinese from nothing, then rebuild mathematics, physics and chemistry through their Chinese vocabulary, so the exam stops being a translation exercise."
What happens in your mock exams?
"We replicate everything: the timing, the multiple-choice pressure, the two-day rhythm for November candidates. Then we diagnose. A student who runs out of time needs strategy work; a student who mistranslates questions needs vocabulary work. Mock results tell us which one you are — that feedback loop is what separates real CSCA preparation training from rereading old textbooks."
What do you say to a student who fails the first sitting?
"Take the next sitting, and change the preparation, not just the date. A retake with the same method gives the same result. Sit early precisely so a retake is still possible — our students who bank a score a year before enrolment apply to universities with options, while students who wait until the last sitting have none. If you want to study in China in 2027, the November and December exams are your friends, not your deadlines."
What should candidates do in the final week before the exam?
"Stop learning new content. Confirm your subjects, your paper language and your local start time converted from Beijing time. Do the equipment checks for home testing twice. Sleep properly. And walk in knowing that this exam rewards preparation, not talent — which means it rewards you."
Read More
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