Being recruited to the Communist Party of China (CPC) begins with a self-initiated application. Prospective candidates are selected by the Party from an applicant pool and then go through an evaluation process that is at least 12 months long. Only those who meet the Party’s expectations will be allowed to join. This study examines the impact of factors such as political attitude, personality, family background and college ranking on university students’ eagerness to join the Party and their prospects of being accepted. The data are based on the College Student Panel Survey in Beijing, 2009–2012. We find that both applicants and selected candidates are typically top academic performers who are student leaders, active in community service and popular with fellow students. However, in comparison to non-applicants, both applicants and selected candidates score lower in self-esteem, ambition and career-mindedness. Furthermore, Party membership applicants tend to be more socially conscientious and less pragmatic, more obedient to institutional rules and decisions, and less independent-minded. These traits do not seem to affect applicants’ chances of Party membership admission, however. Instead, we find that college ranking has replaced family background to become a major factor in determining application and acceptance of CPC membership among college students.
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