Though the annual national college entrance exams are still six months off, the test that will be more decisive in winning Sun Yuewen a place at art college is a week away.

The 19-year-old senior high school student from Shijiazhuang in North China's Hebei province is preparing for the province's art exams scheduled for Dec 21. Such tests, which evaluate skills like painting, dancing and singing, must be taken in addition to the college entrance exams, but carry far greater weight in qualifying for art school.

Because art colleges are seen as easier to get into than more academic courses, they have been proving extremely popular in a country increasingly obsessed with higher education as a means of personal development.

However, with art college exams taking place around the country, experts are warning that the situation is driving people with relatively little talent in the arts into courses in which they have no genuine interest. Many in fact risk leaving college with weak employment prospects.

Academics would likely see Sun as perfect example of someone facing this catch-22. Having taken a crash painting courses for five months featuring over 10 hours' training each day, Sun still can not develop much interest in her nominated major.

"I feel much pressure as I do not enjoy painting but I have to persist," she says, adding that it was her parents' choice for her to pursue art.

Sun's mum and dad, both vegetable vendors, hope their only daughter can further her education at a college after finishing high school.