College student is a formal name. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, they exercised part of the functions and powers of the prime minister in the cabinet, but by the end of the Qing Dynasty, their functions and powers were gradually shelved and they became high-ranking officials with almost zero actual political functions and powers.

At first, college students were only advisers to the emperor. Ming Taizu abolished the prime minister system, and state affairs fell into the hands of the emperor. In order to reduce the assistance in political affairs, the court decided to take college students as consultants. However, college students have no right to handle political affairs.

By the middle of the Ming dynasty, the emperor began to appoint university students as cabinet ministers, responsible for drafting imperial edicts and signing the memorial. In fact, he exercised some functions of the former prime minister, but his official position was very low.

In the early Qing dynasty, some systems of the Ming dynasty were inherited, and so was the cabinet system of university students. College students are also inextricably linked with the prime minister system, and college students are the most important people who participate in the cabinet system. Ye and Qianlong once compared a university student to a prime minister. Therefore, the university students in the early Qing Dynasty exercised some functions and powers of the prime minister, and their official positions were upgraded from five products to one product during the Yongzheng period, becoming the highest government organ in the country.

In the Kangxi dynasty, the emperor even appointed college students to participate in the examination and answer questions of the throne to a limited extent, and assisted the emperor in reviewing the throne. This has become an important way for college students to participate in court decision-making. At this time, college students play an important political role, and they can even negotiate with relevant government departments to handle state affairs.

During the Yongzheng period, imperial power was more concentrated. At first, in order to deal with military affairs, Yongzheng set up a military department and acted arbitrarily. During the Qianlong period, the Ministry of War began to become an important institution of the country. In the future, "the emperor gives a reply in person, and the cabinet ministers are not allowed to listen", which means that if the cabinet ministers are not in the military department, the space for them to exercise their functions and powers is very narrow.

Therefore, in the future, the functions and powers of university students will be almost completely replaced by the Minister of Military Affairs. Although the grade is high, it is empty.