(FILE)

Liu Dingning, a 19-year-old girl from Benxi, northeast China's Liaoning Province, recently came into the spotlight after scoring the highest college entrance exam grade in her province twice.

Last year, Liu racked up 668 points plus 10 awarded points in the national college entrance exam, or gaokao, making her the best performer among liberal art students in the province. She was enrolled in the Faculty of Arts at Hong Kong University and was offered a 720,000 yuan ($117,648) scholarship in July 2013, but quit about 40 days after starting. She returned to her native city in October to prepare for the 2014 gaokao with the goal of undertaking "more pure Chinese study" at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of the prestigious Peking University.

This year Liu attained the highest score among liberal art students in the province once again with 666 points, far outnumbering Peking University's average benchmark in the province.

Her story aroused debate among the public. Some say she is foolish in giving up a place at the reputable Hong Kong University, which is often ranked higher than Peking University, but many support her decision to follow her heart.