The Candidates Arrive

The back of the newspaper clearly listed the majors and enrollment quotas for the Australian National University's student recruitment. There were a total of five majors and eight hundred spots.

Although Arthur had specifically allowed the enrollment quota to be expanded to around fifteen hundred, Principal Wilfred Freeman Weinberg, after careful consideration, decided to limit the recruitment quota for this intake to eight hundred people.

While the equipment and funding were more than sufficient, the Australian National University was still at a disadvantage in terms of faculty. Recruiting too many students would inevitably affect the efficiency of student learning and the quality of teaching.

Wilfred Freeman Weinberg aimed to build a world-class university, which was naturally not something that could be accomplished in a short period, nor could it be achieved merely by increasing enrollment numbers.

This also meant that the competition for university admissions this time would be exceptionally fierce. With Arthur's call to action, it was likely that most eligible Australians would apply.

Under such circumstances, only the eight hundred most outstanding students would be selected to enter the university, which demonstrated the intensity of the competition for admissions.

On October 17th, after more than half a month of preparation, the Australian National University's entrance examination was about to begin.

To facilitate the candidates who had traveled from all over the country, Arthur specifically announced that accommodation and food would be provided free of charge to all candidates until the examination concluded.

By the day before the official examination, over thirteen thousand people had registered, with more than half of them being candidates from other states.

As the examination approached, the streets of Sydney were filled with the figures of these candidates. In preparation for what was expected to be a difficult examination, Sydney's few bookstores and newspaper stands were thoroughly swept by these candidates, who were trying to find any hint of information that might appear on the test.

Sydney, Central Street Residential Area.

This area, originally comprised of several apartment buildings for the families of Sydney City Government employees, had become vacant due to relocation. Arthur had temporarily requisitioned these buildings to serve as accommodation for the candidates.

To make it more convenient for candidates to live and rest, these buildings were divided into rooms of roughly the same size, with about a thousand small rooms available for candidates to stay in.

However, compared to the number of candidates participating in the examination, the number of rooms was still too few. Therefore, it was only possible to ask candidates from near Sydney to return home to rest, reserving the precious rooms for candidates from other states and regions.

In this way, with six or seven people crammed into each room, over ten thousand candidates were finally accommodated in Sydney.

It was now the day before the examination, and most candidates had given up on reviewing, choosing instead to wander around Sydney or relax their minds.

Only a small minority were cramming at the last minute, hoping to encounter questions that might be on the exam within this single day, adding a little more confidence to their chances.

Inside one of the rooms in the residential building.

"Sam, what do you think this entrance exam will cover? Will it be the knowledge we learned in high school?" John Wilsher lay on his small bed, looking at his roommate with anticipation and imagination.

"Oh, God, you're talking nonsense again, John." The boy named Sam complained helplessly, his hand not stopping its motion of flipping through pages.

"Hey, Sam, stop flipping those useless books, man. Sydney is really much more prosperous than Western Australia. Why don't we go for a walk and relax? Maybe you'll even meet some pretty girls and fulfill your father's wish for you to get married sooner," John jumped off the bed, looking at Sam with amusement.

"Stop talking, John. Didn't I tell you? As a proud Australian, I only want to study hard and then build Australia. His Highness, as the Duke of Australia, not only hasn't gained anything from Australia but has also selflessly used his own funds to provide relief to all Australians and help Australia. Under such circumstances, shouldn't we study hard and then repay Duke Your Highness?" Sam said, patting his friend's hand off his shoulder as he patiently explained.

"I didn't say I wouldn't repay Your Highness, mate. Don't you think we should also balance work and rest? Only by resting well can we study well, right?" John said dejectedly, seeing that his friend wasn't giving him any face.

"Alright, John. This is Sydney, the capital of Australia. I know you're curious about everything here, but don't you think if we successfully get into the university, we can stay here forever, right?" Sam patted his friend's shoulder in return and said, "You also know that the admission quota this time is only eight hundred people. But based on the current situation, there will likely be at least several thousand applicants, or even more. If we don't get in and have to go back sheepishly, it will be much more embarrassing than now."

"Oh, okay, Sam. You've successfully convinced me, brother." John nodded helplessly and joined the ranks of those reviewing.

Similar conversations were happening simultaneously in many rooms of the residential building. In this era, most people who could successfully graduate from high school had some talent in academics and decent family backgrounds.

Although this examination did not emphasize competition, in Australia, where high school students were not common, they still felt a sense of pride as high school students, at least not wanting to fall behind in such a competition.

However, there were some exceptions. After all, Sydney was the most developed city in New South Wales, and New South Wales was the most developed and populous state in Australia.

These candidates, who had just turned eighteen or nineteen, had traveled from all over Australia to Sydney. Most of them had never seen a large city before.

Under these circumstances, it was not strange for these candidates to develop the desire to go out and explore, and it was even quite natural.

In the current Australia, the family backgrounds of these high school graduates were generally quite good; they were all above the poverty line in Australia.

Their arrival had, to some extent, boosted Sydney's economic development, adding momentum to Sydney's already weak retail and tourism economy.

But most people still chose to continue reviewing. After all, university was a relatively high-end term in this era. University graduates were generally the descendants of nobles and capitalists, or exceptionally important talents.

Especially in Australia, the only way to become a university student was to study abroad, which required not only considerable tuition fees but also exceptionally outstanding performance.

But now it was different. As long as one successfully passed the entrance examination for the Australian National University, one could essentially attend university for free and become a true university student.

No one could refuse such temptation, not even young people who had already entered society and found jobs.

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