Persistent Millionaire Takes Tough Test 27 Times, to No Avail

Whether it's stress, lack of knowledge, or freezing in the moment, Liang Shi has not been able to achieve a satisfactory score on the gaokao, China's grueling college-entrance exam. It's not for lack of trying: The 56-year-old millionaire has taken the test more than two dozen times over the past four decades, starting in 1983 when he was 16. Now, after a disappointing result on his 27th try on June 7, Liang says he may finally call it quits. NBC News reports he only got in the 420s (out of 750) on the last exam, which falls far short of the 600 points needed for admission into his "dream school," Sichuan University. "I'm so disappointed now, so disappointed," Liang said Friday on a social media livestream that showed him opening his scores, per CNN.

The multiday test is a famously challenging one that covers Chinese, math, and English, as well as either sciences or liberal arts. It's also typically the only gauge that colleges in China use to admit students, upping the pressure to perform well on it. Citing data from the Chinese government, the BBC reports that just over 40% of those who took the exam were admitted into Chinese colleges or universities in 2021. Liang's highest score ever was in 2018, when he got a 469—still not enough to get into Sichuan U. In 1992, his score was high enough to be admitted to a university in Nanjing, but it wasn't SU, so he declined the offer.

At one point, Liang became too old to take the exam, and so instead he started a couple of businesses in the '90s that eventually made him a millionaire. In 2001, however, the age limit was raised, and he began studying in earnest again. Why would a self-made man who doesn't want for money be so obsessed with acing this exam? "I just admire intellectuals. I have been in awe of knowledge and well-educated people since I was a kid," he tells NBC, which notes Liang put in more than 12 hours of studying a day while prepping for the test. Liang isn't sure if he's going to go for test No. 28, although his friends have encouraged him to keep trying. His dream also remains intact. "I still want to be an intellectual," he tells NBC. "Achieving this goal will be my most important success." (More China stories.)