A teenage student of Chinese origin, born and raised in Greece, made headlines on Friday by excelling in the highly competitive Greek national university entrance exams, known as the “Panellinies”, the east Mediterranean country’s version of Gaokao. With a top-tier score of 19,080 points out of a possible perfect 20,000, 18-year-old Enhui Pan won admission into one of the country’s most prestigious tertiary education institutions: the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) or known simply as the Athens Polytechnic.

A Greek Success Story with Chinese Roots

Enhui Pan was born in the coastal city of Volos in central Greece, where her parents settled two decades ago after emigrating from China. Fully immersed in Greek life and education, Enhui attended the Promitheas Private School, where she completed her secondary studies.

Despite the pressure commonly associated with gaokao -style nationwide university entrance exams, Enhui described her final school year as “stress-free.” She told local media that she managed to balance her study schedule with social outings, emphasizing that success did not come at the cost of her teenage life.

Up to 100,000 high school graduates – and adults – take the specific exams every June, with competition especially fierce for certain universities and specific programs, such as medical schools, polytechnics and law schools, and schools in the greater Athens area. Conversely, entry scores for tertiary education programs with less demand and for universities in the provinces can often be less than 50% of the perfect 20,000 points, with some schools attracting only a small portion of offered positions.

Top Score, Top Choice

With a near-perfect score of 19,080, Enhui will, by her account, attend her first-choice institution. She plans to study mechanical engineering, one of the university’s most demanding and respected programs.

A Role Model for Integration

Enhui’s story resonates not only as a personal triumph but also as a reflection of a highly successful integration into modern Greek society by a child of immigrants.