Beijing is about to launch the application process at the beginning of December for next-year's college entrance exams, known as gaokao, but migrant students are finding they still can't sit the exams in the capital because they don't have Beijing hukou (permanent residence permit), Beijing News reported on Friday.

"My son, who is a senior high school student, has been studying in Beijing since he was a primary school student, but now it turns out that he can't sit the college entrance exam in Beijing," said a teary woman surnamed Wang.

Wang's son isn't alone. There are more than 400,000 migrant children who live in Beijing and don't have permanent residence permits, according to Chinanews.com on Nov 9.

Some parents reported their problem to educational authorities, who said they have already started investigating issues concerning migrant children's access to college entrance exams, but it takes time to roll out a workable plan to change the process.

With only two weeks left before the application process starts, migrant children must make a difficult choice before taking the life-changing exams: how will they prepare for the exams, stay where they are or return to their hometowns?