Postal workers were the bearers of news - some good some very bad - yesterday for the 91,000 high school graduates in Shanghai that sat this year's college entrance examination.

　　"This year's paper is more difficult than last year's. The minimum score required by the city's universities is more than 20 points lower than last year's," said Shen Benliang, vice director of the Shanghai Educational Examinations Authority.

　　Despite the difficulty of this year's exam, 14 local students managed to score full marks in mathematics and 103 students earned full marks in physics.

　　The education authority said the minimum score to enter a top-tier university is 441 for an arts program and 435 for a science program. A full score is 630.Those who failed in the competition have to go to second-tier universities, which ask for a minimum score of 420 for an arts pro-gram and 388 for a science program.

　　About 70 percent of local students will get spots in colleges or universities.