Li Ying receives her father's encouragement before she takes the independent college recruitment exams on Feb 19, 2011, in Beijing.

Parents wait outside a school where their offspring take the independent college recruitment exams on Feb 19, 2011, in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

Students enter the examination rooms for the independent college recruitment exams on Feb 19, 2011, in Shanghai.[Photo/Xinhua]

A mother encourages her daughter before the independent college recruitment exams on Feb 19, 2011, in Beijing.[Photo/Xinhua]

Students take the independent college recruitment exams in Shanghai on Feb 19. [Photo/Xinhua]

The exams are held by seven top universities, including Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Students who do well in the exam could have extra marks in the national college entrance examination when they apply for the seven universities.