(CFP)

"As I am the only student that needs to take lessons from two schools, I need to balance the subjects I pick," Xue said. "Sometimes when either of the schools change their schedule at short notice, which is not a big deal for students from those major, I have to reschedule my day, which is somewhat frustrating."

Xue even considered quitting the major in 2011, shortly after she became a student of the program.

"I felt lonely and the pressure of my studies was also a heavy burden at that time," Xue said. "I couldn't share my woes with anybody as I was the only one studying paleontology."

But Xue's friends persuaded her not to give up. "They said it is not easy to pursue something you really love and since I had already started, I might as well finish," she said.

"Although each year there was only one student entering the program, they all made the decision out of love for the science," Lu said.

Zhang Boran, the first graduate of paleontology from the Yuanpei College, earned the highest score in the college entrance exam in east China's Shandong Province in 2005. Now he is studying his doctoral degree at the University of California, Berkeley. "The major's popularity is unimportant," Zhang said. "What matters is whether you can study hard and make achievements in the field."

"Many people thought I was lucky as I must be the center of the teachers' attention. But that's far from the truth," Xue said. "The professors are at two different schools and they are all busy. I had to go to them with my questions most of the time."

Xue wrote a paper on the ichthyosaur for her final dissertation that will be published in an academic journal in the United States, according to a report of Beijing Youth Daily.

After her summer vacation, Xue will go on to study computational biology in Carnegie Mellon University in the United States for her master's degree.

Roads less travelled

Sanskrit is another major that is defined as unpopular. Peking University is the only university in China to offer the major, and some years no students apply.

Since 1949, it has only enrolled students three times—in 1965, 1984 and 2005, respectively.

"The major is very tough," said a Peking University Sanskrit graduate who enrolled in 2005. "We had to memorize all the grammatical rules within one year and we often studied till 2 or 3 a.m. every day."

Peking University's Sanskrit program only enrolls students that either already got a job related to Sanskrit study or will definitely work in this field.

"Students are swarming to majors that are likely to bring more financial benefits such as business administration, computer science and law," said professor Liu. "Even if the students are interested in less popular majors, they might not have the courage to make the choice."

Actually, Xue firstly was not enrolled in the Yuanpei College, which demands higher scores than other schools in Peking University. Xue called the professors in the Yuanpei College and expressed a strong will of studying paleontology, which secured her admission to the program.

"I hope more young people could express their real dreams," Xue said. "I believe not everybody wants to earn money in investment banking or to become a lawyer. If you want to be a cook or hairdresser, or anything, just speak that out and do it."

Email us at: yuanyuan@bjreview.com