Caught in the Meritocracy-Driven Race: Elite Selection and Academic Strain in Chinese Generation Z College Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Navigating Inequality in Higher Education: Student Identity, Resilience, and Emerging Supports

Proposal

In recent years, elite selection mechanisms in Chinese higher education—most notably postgraduate recommendation (推免)—have profoundly reshaped undergraduates’ academic trajectories, embedding competition into nearly every dimension of university life (Yang & Liu, 2023; Zhu & Zhou, 2025). For Generation Z students (born after 1995), academic advancement has become closely tied to time pressure, emotional strain, and constant peer comparison (Ao, 2021). Although these mechanisms were originally designed to reward diligence and reduce examination burdens, under the logic of meritocracy they have evolved into institutionalized forces that intensify stress, rigidify standards of achievement, and reshape students’ emotional and social relations (Wang, Liang, & Yuan, 2025).
This study employs Hartmut Rosa’s theory of social acceleration to examine how the logic of efficiency and speed permeates academic life, exacerbating temporal pressure and scholastic burdens (Guo & Zhao, 2021). At the same time, perspectives of social justice and inclusion situate academic strain within broader structures of inequality. From this standpoint, strain is not merely an individual psychological issue but a structural manifestation of unequal opportunity distribution embedded in meritocracy-driven selection mechanisms.
Drawing on in-depth interviews with 15 students from two universities in eastern China, the study adopts a three-stage coding method to analyze their narratives. Findings reveal that academic strain manifests in three interrelated dimensions. First, the decisive role of GPA compels students to accelerate their study pace and adopt strategic learning practices, gradually alienating the intrinsic value of knowledge. Second, extracurricular activities and volunteer service, incorporated into meritocratic evaluation systems, are increasingly instrumentalized and performative, losing their developmental meaning under the pressure of “speed” and “outcomes.” Third, at the interpersonal level, competition and comparison foster defensive interactions and tensions, accelerating distrust and alienation within peer groups.
Further analysis identifies the mechanisms underpinning these patterns. At the institutional level, imbalances in the allocation of postgraduate recommendation quotas reproduce inequalities across disciplines and institutions. At the societal level, the devaluation of undergraduate degrees—driven by higher education expansion and credential inflation—has made postgraduate study a de facto threshold for labor market entry, amplifying competition. At the interpersonal level, dynamics of relative deprivation and peer comparison intensify anxiety, trapping students in a cycle of conformity and over-participation. Collectively, these mechanisms highlight academic strain as a structural phenomenon rooted in unequal distributions of opportunity rather than a purely personal difficulty.
The study concluded that elite selection driven by meritocracy has had a dual impact on Chinese Generation Z students. On the one hand, it motivates diligence and provides a pathway for advancement and mobility. On the other, it generates enduring emotional burdens, undermines well-being, and diminishes critical reflection. Based on the above , the findings call for a reassessment of how higher education systems balance efficiency, equity, and student welfare. Beyond deepening theoretical understandings of social acceleration and academic alienation, this research offers empirical insights for building more equitable and inclusive higher education practices, providing policy and practical references to promote student well-being and meaningful academic engagement.

Authors

• Chenrui Zhu

• Shiqing Liu