China's Gaokao Regional Quotas

China's Gaokao regional quotas create a geographic lottery where Beijing students need scores 80 points lower than peers in Henan or Shandong to enter top universities like Peking University—a gap wider than the one between SFFA v. Harvard: End of Race-Conscious Admissions's affirmative action debate and legacy preferences. In 2025, Beijing's admission rate for Tsinghua was 1.1%, compared to Henan's 0.03%, making birthplace a stronger predictor than ability.