Young students should take his or her interest into full consideration when deciding which discipline to study at college, as suggested by education experts for the high school graduates who are on the way to choose prospective college departments.

The experts find that too many obstacles impede young students from making a decision that really corresponds with their own interest. Most of the decisions come from parents overbearing intervention, misleading information, stereotype, and tendency to keep up with the Joneses.

"Individual interest is the best tutor of a person and deserves top priority of concern as one makes a decision that may change his whole life," said Zhang Guiliang, director with Potential Research Center of Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences (BAES).

Case studies show that one will feel worthy, happy and therefore highly motivated if he can do want he likes to do, said Zhang.

A survey among 1,500 college students indicated that when choosing the future college discipline, nearly 23 percent of the surveyed have no definite ideas.

Another investigation also said that 42.1 percent of surveyed college students are not satisfactory with their current majors, and if they could choose again, 65.5 percent would change their original choice.

Zhang's center last year introduced a self-evaluation system, the first of its kind in the country, according to which a student will receive, after completing a 500-item multiple choice questionnaire, a report given by experts offering an analysis on test taker's disposition and a recommendation list of disciplines suitable for the person.

The questionnaire, with attempts to understand a student's natural disposition and preference, has adopted methods of educational psychology and requires an instant answer without meditation.

"Many of them told me they are excited at the result because it shows some real things about themselves." Zhang said, "such things have usually been ignored."

About 2,000 high-school students have taken the test during the first four months of this year. At least some of them are considering to accept the suggestion and change their choice.

"The students and parents may still appear lighthearted about the suggestion, but our purpose is to first arouse people's awareness of the issue," said Zhang.

Such kinds of test alone are far from enough to help students go to the colleges and departments they really like, said Ma Shuping, director with BAES.

The biggest problem perhaps is that students are not free to choose what to learn at college even if they know what they really like, said Ma. For instance, parents still play a dominant role in deciding which direction their child should go.