BEIJING-Seven prestigious universities in China announced Sunday that they would begin using the same independent exam -besides the national one -to test students hoping to gain entrance to them in 2011. The seven are Peking University, Beihang University, Beijing Normal University, Nankai University, Fudan University, Xiamen University and Hong Kong University. Students who want to gain entrance to any of the seven universities will only have to sit one independent exam, according to the joint announcement. "This will help lighten tile students' load, otherwise they must take several exams for different universities,"said the announcement. Passing the exam could result in more than one interview chance, giving the students more opportunities to choose their favorite universities. China' s college entrance exam system is undergoing reform as universities aim to select students based on independent criteria rather than just using the results of the national exam. In 2003, Peking University and another 21 universities were allowed to pilot (试用) the reform by using their own criteria to independently select five percent of their students. Now nearly 80 universities across the country have the right to select talented students based on their own exams. Education experts regard universities selecting students according to independent examinations as conducive (有助的) to better understanding where the students' talents lie. Although this may be the case, it has also created problems as students may sit many different exams as they often apply for a number of universities. To relieve students from such pressures, the national education outline (2010-2020) released in July this year encourages high-level universities to group together to use the same exams.