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But you should stick around and read/search this thread because it will answer lots of your questions.
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PLEASE READ THIS FIRST and SEARCH THE THREAD BEFORE POSTING!
I've REORGANIZED everything and laid it out on this first post - I want to thank everyone who's participated in this thread so far. They all threw in their two cents and made it possible to have all this information in one place. I also would like to thank people who will post in the future and help me update and add to this post. - and I'm sure that it's not perfect, but I hope it helps lots of people get the CSC scholarship and make their way over to China. Once you make it out here, give me call if you end up in Beijing. =]
LAST UPDATED: March 30, 2009 - NEW INFO FOR 2009 APPLICANTS!
Look for [UPDATED] sections and jump to page 30 to see posts from people who just got the scholarship for 2008! Yayayayay!
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Personally, I have experience that applies only to American citizens. However, there are number of people here that have applied and received the CSC scholarship from many different countries. (For EU applications, look towards the bottom.) I recommend that you post your experiences so far and ask/encourage anyone else who has applied or is applying from your country to also post their experiences. Also, this is a thread generally for the CSC Chinese Government scholarship for those learning Chinese (not the scholarships for the Chinese Culture Research Fellowship, Teachers of Chinese Language, Distinguished International Student, etc.).
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I'll start with some basic information:
The (brand new) CSC website: http://csc.edu.cn/
The English version: http://en.csc.edu.cn/
And here is where you download the applications: (thank you, roddy! <3)
http://en.csc.edu.cn/Lianhua/?cid=277 - all applications download page
http://en.csc.edu.cn...6c1ad427a.shtml - CSC application download page
Normally, applicants are to apply though a partner/joint program of CSC. From what I remember, they were almost all university programs that have China study abroad programs. I did a Google search for "CSC joint scholarship program" once and two of the few listings I got for the US (just so you can get an idea) were CSC-Georgetown University Fellowship Program and UMich-China Scholarship Council Agreement. There has also been news that some Confucius Institutes have become partners and will handle CSC applications for their students. Having a joint program to apply though is the easiest and fastest method.
But most people in general and almost all of those in this forum are not part of any partner organization or program and do not have the luxury of being able to apply through them - it is for these individuals that this forum exists.
For those in the States - there's word that you can apply through your local embassy as your "joint program." However, we've already discovered that there are still many embassies that are unaware of the scholarship and wouldn't know what to do or who to forward you to if you asked about it. I recommend people to first contact their local state/city embassy and follow their directions as EACH embassy would have it's own deadlines and rules. (a special thank you shout out to jawshoowa).
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Eligibility and basic information can be found here:
http://en.csc.edu.cn...aa7ba7942.shtml
It has a lot of new and updated contact information on the bottom - but I don't know if that will actually help anyone. All previous experiences from everyone in this thread, including myself, points to not putting too much hope into someone picking up on the other end.
[UPDATED] Those currently in China are ELIGIBLE for the scholarship.
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When you call CSC and ask for someone who can speak English... don't be surprised if they put you on hold for a long time before you realize that you've been hung up on... and don't be surprised if it keeps happening over and over and over again. Once you get through, they know very little anyway. Spend your time and energy on finding the right contact within the Chinese embassy of your country.
Yes, that is what I said - Individual applicants must apply to the Chinese embassy of the country of their CITIZENSHIP, regardless of their current locations. For example, If you are an American in, say, Europe or Asia somewhere, you have to apply to a Chinese embassy in the States (either in your home state/city or in Washington, D.C.). If you are an Indonesian citizen in America, you need you apply to the Chinese embassy in Indonesia. You do NOT apply at the embassy of your citizenship of whatever country you may currently be in. This is for a two main reasons:
1. This is a Chinese scholarship run by the Chinese Scholarship Council under China's Ministry of Education. Non-Chinese embassies will not know anything about it or even know of it's existence. It's like going to the shoe store to buy books; it doesn't make any sense.
2. Each country has it's own contract with the CSC - and these contracts are very different. Some countries' citizens get their airfares covered (developing countries), others' do not (US, Europe, etc.). Some countries can send more students - others, only a handful. And each country's Chinese embassy will ONLY deal with the citizens of whatever country it is in.
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None of us know the chances of getting a full/partial scholarship. All we know so far is that no one has applied for the partial scholarship, and no one has yet been rejected from a full one. We also don't know if you are automatically eligible for the partial scholarship if you don't get the full. The same goes for the amount of time you apply for: 1 or 2 years. I applied for the full 2 year scholarship - and that's the one I got. And except for the scholarships awarded to those in EU, we don't even know how many scholarships there are to be given out.
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The CSC Application:
1. FILL IN ALL PARTS OF THE APPLICATION. LEAVE OUT NO SECTIONS!
2. STAY ON THE SAFE SIDE WHEN IT COMES TO MATERIALS/DOCUMENTS.
3. RECOMMENDING ORGANIZATION/PERSON
List an organization (or a person with a high position within one - president, dean, CEO, etc.). The easiest would be your university (any school or educational institution) or company of employment. As long as it's non-religious and non-political, you should be fine. Have someone from the "organization" write you a letter of recommendation on paper with the letterhead with a formal heading. This recommendation doesn't necessarily need to be academic - it just needs to talk about how you're a generally good person who would do well in China.
4. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
The application asks for two letters of recommendation. Be safe and include a third, if possible. One of them will be from your organization/person that is recommending you (see above). Another should be a personal recommendation that praises your character. The third should be an academic one from a current or past teacher/professor. If you're no longer in school - one from a boss or colleague on your work ethic, etc. should be good.
5. ADMISSION LETTER (More on this all the way by the bottom.)
Only attach one if you already applied to the school of your choice and received the admission notice. If you didn't apply, just fill in your top three choices in the CSC application, and they will choose and register for you.
6. TRANSCRIPTS/DIPLOMAS
Do not send your original diploma. That is not what they want. You only need to send an official copy (or notarized copy of the original). The same goes for your transcript - and an unofficial transcript is fine - which means you can just get a copy from your school and not be required to have them send it directly to CSC).
7. PHYSICAL EXAM
You MUST complete the Physical Exam when you apply - because the CSC will also take care of part of your visa process - which requires the Physical Exam. If you don't send it, you could get the scholarship and then be disqualified because you didn't send all the required information - making it impossible for them to help you with the visa - in which case, I honestly believe that they'll just dump your application. (THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO EU APPLICATIONS.)
You can get it filled out by your family doctor, internist, or a doctor from a clinic. It usually takes no more than 20 minutes. You don't need a "seal," as stated - the signature of the doctor and a stamp with the doctor's name and address and contact information of the hospital/clinic is fine. Those are done automatically anyway.
NEVER send the ORIGINAL Foreign Physical Examination Form with either the CSC application or your visa application. Send notarized copies. You need to keep the ORIGINAL with you - treat it like your passport.
8. STUDY PLAN [UPDATED] (Thank you, Rubjar!)
Without that study plan, you wont get the scholarship. It's an important part of your package and your application would be incomplete without it.
It's basically a proposal/personal statement introducing yourself and explaining why you want to learn Chinese. You should write about why you think learning Chinese is important, why you think learning Chinese in China is important, and how you hope to use your new knowledge in the future. Talking about Chinese culture and how China's becoming a major world power wouldn't hurt either.
Write as much as you can - the CSC application requires NO LESS THAN 200 words. I remember writing a freaking book basically on why and how I'm so awesome, why all the goals/intentions of study I have are so awesome, and why the Chinese government would become infinitely more awesome than it already is by giving me the scholarship.
Rubjar was able to find this online regarding the personal statement - it includes some o the criteria your essay should address:
• The reasons for which you want to study under such scholarship.
• Your academic, work and personal interests.
• Your work experience, and its relevance for what you want to accomplish.
• The Particular objectives that you wish to accomplish
• What are you expecting of the program
• The benefits of the scholarship in it's hole that you would obtain in case you where accepted.
• Other Information that you may consider relevant or distinctive and that presents you as an excellent candidate to obtain the scholarship.
• Make sure your interests and abilities are alike to those of the university and the program itself.
• Be brief and to the point, and try to explain in the simplest way the motives that are encouraging you to part of one of the chosen universities.
• Any advantage that can put you above the others that are interested in the scholarship.
• Any personal situations that may be prudent to mention.
9. COPIES/NOTARIZATION (another shout out to jawshoowa) [UPDATED]
You don't need everything to be a notarized copy. The only things that need to be notarized are documents that have only one original copy - like your diploma and the Physical Exam form. For things like transcripts and letters of recommendation, for which there can be multiple originals, just send multiple original copies. Make sure each copy of the letter of recommendation is hand-signed by the recommender and that you get two unofficial copies of your transcript from your school... The application form and study plan can just be regular photocopies. This will save you a LOT of money, as notarization is expensive and can cost about $10 USD a page at some places. However, cheaper or free notarization can be done at banks, AAA (for members), etc. You should try to find out what options are out there for you. For those who need more information on getting notarized copies, please search this thread.
ORIGINAL SET:
Application (Original)
Letters of Recommendation (Original)
Study Plan (Original)
Transcript (Unofficial Copy from your school)
Diploma (Notarized Copy)
Physical Exam (Notarized Copy)
(Optional) Acceptance Letter (Photocopy - You keep the original for your visa application if you are going to China anyway)
(Optional) Other Documents - Essays, Articles, etc. (Original)
COPY SET: - We're not sure if the copy set needs any notarized documents, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
Application (Photocopy)
Letters of Recommendation (Photocopy - but try to get real signatures for both the original and copy sets)
Study Plan (Photocopy - just print out two, one for the original set and the other for the copy set)
Transcript (Unofficial Copy from your school - ask for two)
Diploma (Notarized Copy)
Physical Exam (Notarized Copy)
(Optional) Acceptance Letter (Photocopy)
(Optional) Other Documents - Essays, Articles, etc. (Photocopy - print out another copy)
10. Some loose ends:
- FILL OUT EVERY POSSIBLE PORTION OF THE APPLICATION!
- You are applying as a Chinese language student (not undergraduate, general scholar, etc.).
- You do not need any prior experience or education in Chinese to apply.
- None of us really know how this works - and we've all come to the conclusion that the embassies don't really know either... and even the CSC people themselves don't seem to know. There isn't really one specific thing or another that will screw up everything or make it a sure win. Just follow the directions and stay on the safe side. Tons of people have gotten the scholarship without applying through a joint CSC organization, and no one knows what was done wrong or right.
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APPLYING TO THE SCHOOL - Does it make a difference?
Attaching an admissions letter is not mandatory. Just listing your top choices on the scholarship application is fine. If you get the scholarship, CSC will apply and register to the school chosen for you. We don't know how the CSC people chose which schools. Some people get their first choice, others get their third. Shrug.
Although the application states that you might have a better chance if you apply beforehand, get accepted, and send in your letter of admittance - we have no proof of this. Most people I know did NOT send letters of admittance and they all got the scholarship.
Even though they encourage applicants to apply to their school of choice independently, I, personally, HIGHLY recommend that you DO NOT apply yourself because it could potentially cause a lot of confusion - and you will DEFINITELY end up having been registered twice at the school of your choice (once by yourself and again by CSC), and you'll have to straighten it all out by proving that they are both you and that you want to nullify the one YOU did - because only the one that the CSC created can be used if you want to receive the scholarship. Save yourself the trouble and just let them do it for you.
The only time I would recommend someone to apply to the school first is IF THEY ARE GOING TO CHINA ANYWAY, REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME OF THEIR APPLICATION. With the acceptance letter comes other documents with which you can apply for a student visa and prepare to go to China without the scholarship.
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CHOOSING A SCHOOL
This is not a post about comparing schools or getting advice on choosing a school. There are many existing and very informative threads that you can search through at chinese-forums.com. Please be aware that all posts regarding this subject will be removed.
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DEADLINES/DATES [UPDATED]
Deadlines are different depending on country/region, but everyone is notified around the same time towards the end of May/beginning of June.
- USA Deadline - April 30 (If you are applying through a joint-program or your local Chinese embassy, the deadline will be EARLIER (about two weeks) because they also are subject to this deadline.)
- EU Deadline - March 30
- Australia (Melbourne) Deadline - April 14 (I think. I forgot what eloper sent me before I deleted the message....)
- Those who know of definite deadlines of other countries (or if this information isn't entirely correct), please PM me.
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AFTER YOU GET THE CSC SCHOLARSHIP:
Soon after you are notified that you got the scholarship, CSC will send you a package filled with information on the school, an admission letter from that school, a letter reminding you that you must register at the school between certain dates, and the Visa Application Form for Study in China (JW201) already filled out by CSC. All you need to do is get the visa, book your flight, and come to China.
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AFTER YOU GET TO CHINA:
Your school most probably has an airport pick-up service for new students. You'll have to find that out yourself. Once you get to school, registration should be super easy after you make it known that you are scholarship student. The system set up at the majority of the schools for CSC scholarship winners works - and it works well.
TUITION/STIPEND
The CSC must have some in-house, direct system set up with their universities because the schools know who the scholarship students are - and they are never asked to pay any kind of dorm, tuition, or book fees... EVER. You can live like they don't really exist. They even register for you every semester for how long you're covered under the scholarship. The only thing that I could think of that I needed to pay for was the housing deposit which was like 200 RMB - and I got that back when I moved out.
The monthly stipend works differently in each school - Qcash3 wrote about how he got an ATM card for an account they set up for him with money deposited into it towards the end of each month - although he never knows exactly when to expect it. I go to the International Students' office on the 28th of each month and get my stipend in cold, hard cash after I sign my name on the CSC Scholarship stipend list.
You don't have to worry about any of the bills yourself - they take care of all of it for you. You just deal with the stipend money they give you - and you spend that however you want - but it is definitely NOT enough to live a happy life in Beijing. You'll want to come with a bunch of saved cash or another source of income - even if it's small, it'll be enough here because a dollar goes a longggg way.
The stipend is now 1700 RMB a month, increased from 1100, and a normal person will blow that in about a couple weeks or so eating out, exploring the city, buying daily necessities, partying - but it is POSSIBLE to live off just that if you just stay home and study, eat at the cafeteria, and have no life. You'll definitely need and want more than just the stipend - but it does help. So make sure you either have people back at home to send you cash or you find a part-time job. Honestly, having a job while trying to study sucks, but it helps you get out there and be exposed to more of the real, daily China.
You will also get an extra 1500 RMB, increased from 600, when you first arrive to China - and for the months before break/holiday, you will get your stipend for both that month's and the month that school is out. For those who have a scholarship for more than one year, summer breaks ARE included. You will get all the money for the three months of break when you pick up your last stipend before school is out.
HOUSING
The housing provided is the cheapest international students' accommodations the school offers. Usually, it's a tiny room with two desks, two closets, and two beds - without a private bathroom (you use a shared one with the rest of the floor). At some schools you can move to a nicer dorm, even to a single - as long as you pay the difference. However, in ALL cases, if you decide to move off-campus, you will lose the housing money altogether. They will not help you with your rent.
HEALTHCARE/INSURANCE
To those who are anal/paranoid about healthcare or have health problems that would/could/might require frequents visits to a doctor, it is recommended (by Qcash3) that you buy supplementary insurance before you come to China as the insurance that comes with the scholarship will only pay for the school's insurance - which covers only the cheapest hospital around, which is usually the clinic on campus.
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EU APPLICATIONS INFORMATION (thank you times infinity plus one, marcusat)
- The application period is from January to March 30th every year.
- There are 100 CSC scholarships awarded each year.
- Applicants are to take the Physical Examination (by August 10) only after getting the CSC scholarship and receiving their school's admission notice and the visa application in the mail.
- A guarantor is not required.
MEXICO APPLICATIONS INFORMATION [UPDATED] (thank you times infinity plus one, Rubjar)
- Please see post #476 by Rubjar on page 48!
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DIRECT CONTACT INFORMATION and FINDING A GUARANTOR
I am willing to be a guarantor to anyone who needs one, but you must agree to be a guarantor for someone else in the future. I also have the direct contact information for the person in charge of the CSC scholarship at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. (and other local embassies that definitely handle CSC applications) and the person who deals with all CSC scholarships for the EU, Singapore, Philippines, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The Ultra Top Secret, Absolutely Brilliant, Effing Kick Ass CSC Contact List is always being added to.
HOWEVER, none of this information will be made public for two main reasons:
1. I refuse to post up my name, phone number, and address in a public forum on the Internet. The same goes for the CSC contacts. I feel that it's not only disrespectful to them but also irresponsible of me to post that kind of information without permission. (I am in the process of compiling a database of important/direct CSC contacts for other countries. If you have information for your region, please PM me - this information will also be treated as sensitive.)
2. I am using this information as bait and incentive for people to post up their experiences to add to our knowledge base in this thread. People have been finding ways to apply and get their applications to the right people in many, many different ways - and each story makes it easier to find out whats going on. Those who do not FIRST post up their experiences, insights, suggestions, etc. will not be given any information. For first timers, start by telling us your story and answering these questions: Where are you applying from? Are you currently in China? What did your local state embassy say? Where and how did you get your papers notarized? Did you apply for your school of choice beforehand? Where did you get your Physical Exam done? Anything about the process you thought might be good for others to know about? Any hiccups you had to work through?
Also, you will request this information and it will be sent to you via private messaging (PM). New members DO NOT have access to this feature until it is switched on by an admin - which I can request for you. But know this, if the feature hasn't been turned on yet, that PROBABLY means that you don't have enough posts to prove that you're not a spammer. In which case, you probably didn't give us "your story/experiences" or interacted with the members of this thread enough for me or others be able (or willing) to help you.
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I strongly [B]encourage others who have received/applied for either a full or partial CSC scholarship to share how they got theirs. The more information we have, the better chances we'll get at learning how to systematically figure out how it all works.
This post has been edited by extrapages: 13 December 2009 - 09:59 PM
well...I just want to learn Chinese. I'm not doing it as an extension of my degree....I may do an MA at some point, but for now I will just be a language student, can I just leave that study plan out?
