Self-study examination for higher education (referred to as self-study examination for senior three, referred to as self-study examination for short) adopts the admission method of direct registration (that is, exemption from examination), which is different from the admission method of passing the college entrance examination (or unified recruitment) and the entrance examination (or adult recruitment).

In the past, most of the self-taught exams were completed by students in the form of self-study. However, due to the increasing number of self-taught students and the expanding market demand, the form of full-time self-taught students came into being. Full-time self-study examination refers to various schools (such as state-owned universities and private schools). Recruit self-taught candidates, use their own teachers or teachers from other schools to teach self-taught courses in accordance with the management and teaching methods of regular schools.

The full-time self-taught examination is divided according to the different learning forms of the self-taught examination, which is only produced to help the self-taught students complete their studies better, and it is not necessary to take the full-time self-taught examination to obtain the self-taught degree.

In addition, the self-taught education is unified (or unique), and there is no difference between the self-taught education obtained through full-time self-taught education and the self-taught education.