Find what you need to know here first.

The CSCA is the academic proficiency test for undergraduate admission to study in China. It is organised by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) with experts from universities to assess the subject level of international students applying for undergraduate study in China. Results are a reference for university admission; each university decides how to use them. Read the full introduction →

According to the CSC notice, from the 2026/2027 academic year, students applying for undergraduate study in China must take it before applying; the first group is students applying for Chinese Government Scholarship undergraduate programmes. From 2028, all undergraduate applicants are expected to take it, with a minimum standard. Check the requirements of the university and programme you are applying to.

The subjects are Professional Chinese (for arts, sciences and other tracks), Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. For Chinese Government Scholarship undergraduate programmes, Mathematics and Professional Chinese are compulsory. For other undergraduate programmes, Mathematics is compulsory, and Chinese-taught programmes also require Professional Chinese; Physics and Chemistry depend on the university and programme. How to choose subjects →

Professional Chinese lasts 90 minutes with 80 questions; Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry each last 60 minutes with 48 multiple-choice questions. Each subject is worth 100 points.

Tests are usually held in January, March, April, June, November and December. Each session runs over two days: Professional Chinese and Mathematics on day one, Physics and Chemistry on day two. You can choose between a central computer-based test and an at-home online test when registering.

The fee is CNY 450 for one subject and CNY 700 for two or more subjects. Register and pay online on the official website.

Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry are available in Chinese or English, chosen separately for each subject. Professional Chinese is Chinese only.

You can take the test as many times as you like. Results are valid for two years, and you normally submit your best result. Results are usually available about 7 working days after the test, and the electronic score report can be sent directly to universities.

There is no official uniform cut-off; each university sets its own requirements. Check your target university's recent requirements, then set your own target score. How to set a target score →

No. Calculators are strictly prohibited in the central computer-based test and may not be used in the at-home online test either. For Mathematics, practise common mental arithmetic and estimation. Which mental maths to practise →

No. CSCA.PRO is an independent preparation platform and is not affiliated with the official CSCA exam or its organisers. Registration, test dates and results are governed by the official bodies and your target institutions.

CSCA.PRO is built by Mr. Su's study-in-China education team. About us →

No. What we guarantee is this: you will not have to relearn what you already know, and you will keep studying what you don't know until you get it right in the final test.

It takes 15 minutes and 24 questions, and the report appears as soon as you submit: what to improve, what you already know and how many more points you can gain. The results are marked on the learning map. Free students get 2 tests per subject; the 3rd is available 7 days after the 2nd submission, and after that you need an entitlement for that subject. Paid members have unlimited tests.

Only published practice questions are used, and questions you have done in the last 7 days are excluded. Difficulty is mixed at 4:4.5:1.5 across easy, medium and hard, ordered from easy to hard. Wrong answers go into the mistake book. Free students can practise only topics they have already started, up to 2 topics at a time.

A wrong question is reviewed the next day, then after 3 days and after 7 days; three consecutive correct rounds mark it as mastered. The mistake book and review are Scholar plan features; free students still have their mistakes recorded and can see them after subscribing.

Ask about the section you are studying and its questions, for example “Why is this step calculated this way?” or “Why did I choose the wrong option?”. Answers cite their sources. The AI can make mistakes, so check against the lesson. Free students can ask 20 times a day.

Passing a topic's final test earns a seal; a perfect score earns a gold perfect seal. If every section in a chapter is perfect, you collect the chapter seal. Perfect scores and whole-chapter passes can be turned into shareable certificate images. Retakes count only your best result.

Not yet. Professional Chinese is about as hard as HSK 5, and finishing HSK 5 is usually enough to pass it. Still, in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry the subject terms in the explanations and questions are all marked: open one and you see its pinyin, its English and what it means in your language. Words you open, and words you don't know when you get a question wrong, go into the wordbook automatically and come back for review on a schedule. When you take a science paper in Chinese, those words are exactly what you need.

Registration is free. You can open 2 new topics a day (including practice and final tests); the AI allows 20 questions a day; you get 2 level tests per subject, with the 3rd available 7 days after the 2nd submission and an entitlement for that subject required afterwards. The mistake book is not available, but answers are still recorded.

Scholar plan: $99 / 3 months — unlimited topics, AI and level tests, with the mistake book and review; mock exams are bought separately. Elite: $499 / 1 year — everything in the Scholar plan plus 10 mock exams. Plans are bought per subject, and Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry are all open.

$9.90 for one, or $29.90 for six. They never expire and are shared across Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

All purchases are non-refundable, so please confirm before paying. If a payment is disputed, that order's entitlement is paused during the dispute and is restored or revoked once the outcome is known.

Yes. After expiry you return to the free tier, and your learning progress, mistakes and seals are kept; they are still there when you renew.

The remaining days on your Scholar plan are added in full after the Elite plan's 1-year term, so none are wasted.

Pay online through Stripe, and access opens automatically after a successful payment. Before paying you will be asked to choose your nationality; a phone number is optional.

You can be signed in on only one device at a time. Signing in on another device signs the previous device out automatically and shows “Your account was signed in on another device”.

Yes. You can also sign in with email and password. If you use Google only and have no password, set a password before disconnecting Google.

Registration requires only an email. After buying a membership or mock exams, a nationality is required; phone, WeChat and Instagram are optional. This information is used only for account recovery, orders, exam reminders and customer support; it is not made public or provided to third parties. Privacy and terms →

At the bottom of “My account”, click “Delete account” and confirm with your email. After deletion, learning records, mistakes, seals, avatar and contact details are permanently deleted; unused membership and mock credits are also void and non-refundable.