Students in Shanghai show little interest in pursuing higher education in universities or colleges outside the city, according to a recent online poll on the Eastday.com targeted at the test sitters for this year's nationwide college entrance examination.
The only question in the poll is "what do you plan to do, if your score fails an entrance to the four-year programs at local universities or colleges? "
Only 117, or short of 6 percent, of the total 1,986 pollees chose to go to other universities or colleges out of Shanghai, while 280, or 14 percent, voters opted for three-year programs in Shanghai's colleges and 136, or 7 percent, preferred to find a job. 
Another 331, or 17 percent, would rather give up the opportunity this year to go to a school or program not to their content and make a second try at next year's entrance exam.
This result reflects most local people's reluctance to leave Shanghai, their hometown, where is believed as the most advanced city in China, education experts pointed out.
Assuming life in other places out of the city could be harsh and their children could suffer a lot there, many local parents would rather have their children -- mostly only children -- make other alternatives so long as they are in Shanghai.
As a result, many offers by out-of-Shanghai universities and colleges are abandoned each year, though their admission score requirements are moved down to much lower than the local schools of the same level. 
Last year, the abandoned offers reached to some hundred, the experts noted.
However, local people seem not that strongly against study overseas, though the students also must leave the city and live all by themselves, as they shall do with study in other Chinese cities.
In the website poll, 1,122 voters, or 56 percent, chose to go abroad for further study.