CSC Scholarship - Archives

[extrapages]

huier,

Sure, it's possible! We've got people in this thread who applied from China and received the scholarship. After this next round, we'll see how many more got it from within China.

[yingcai]

Taking in to consideration this 10-day pushback, roughly when will we hear back from CSC?

Last year it was mid-July?? So that means that this year should be late July?

And is there ANY POSSIBLE WAY AT ALL that we can hear back earlier???

I need to know this because my American college is being incredibly obstinate about letting me enroll for next year.

[fsutalltree]

I received an email in early May from the Houston Consulate where I mailed my application saying that I am "ninety nine percent going to be approved by the csc" and they gave me instructions for applying for the visa. I didn't know they would send out any emails like that. I'll keep everybody posted. Don't want to get my hopes up too high but I am very excited!

Thanks extrapages for suggesting I try my local embassy, the people at Houston have been amazing

[Bedan Adjuster]

fsutalltree,

Wow. Congratulations to you!

Now we have two scholarship winners for this year. The first one was an Aussie who is going to study in Harbin though I forgot his/her name.

More winners hopefully.

[extrapages]

Yeehaw! Just a few more weeks, and we'll start getting ecstatic posts of Chinese joy!

For future applicants,

As fsutalltree (yayayayaya! congrats!) has pointed out, you should really go to your local embassy first! DC is overwhelmed with applications and they can't give you any special attention, but your local embassy can. They feel a certain responsibility for their own little group - and that means you'll have someone championing your application. This "relationship" is also awesome for nice gestures like the one fsutalltree was able to get from his contact in Houston. They have more time and energy to devote to a smaller number of people - and they understand the anxiety that is involved with the scholarship. So they go out of their way to keep you updated.

[Jason G]

Sometimes the local embassies aren't very helpful, however.

A few classmates from BLCU tried applying to the New York embassy. The embassy wouldn't accept their applications as they weren't applying through a school program. IE, some of the people at the local embassies don't really know what's up.

[extrapages]

Yes. Very true. But if you happen to be one of the lucky ones with competent people at your local embassy. Bank. Consider yourself a CSC scholar.

[yingcai]

Wow, Congratulations fsualltree!

I live in Texas as well actually, although I sent my application to the DC embassy because I thought that I was late (April 28th)...so I guess I dont really have anyone to "vouch" for me at a local embassy.

Is June a realistic guess as to when we will hear back from CSC? Realistic being the keyword.

I need to give my college an updated status on when I can tell them definitively, and the sooner the better.

Also, is there anyone at CSC that is particularly good at communicating (i.e. responding to emails)? If so, I would realy like to talk to him/her.

Thanks,

yingcai

[Bedan Adjuster]

Also, is there anyone at CSC that is particularly good at communicating (i.e. responding to emails)? If so, I would realy like to talk to him/her.

I think there is none. Otherwise, that person's name and email address will be posted here and that same person will get tired of answering the same questions over and over.

[Bedan Adjuster]

I think it would be great to create a list of CSC scholars for starting school year 2009. As soon as you received an official confirmation that you got the scholarship, kindly update this list. Thank you.

1. jereme88

2. fsutalltree

More to come...

[beida2010]

I am 35 years old this year and would like to apply for the scholarship. I'll be in a Master's program at the time I make the application, if that makes any difference.

Do you think I still qualify?

Should I apply anyway, on the hope that it's a technicality they won't notice if the rest of my application is good?

(Just want to say that I think these age restrictions are so stupid. People live to be 100. You don't stop doing cool things after 30 or drop dead at 60! Ugh.)

[extrapages]

beida2010,

I don't remember the specific age requirements for getting a Master's. You should check out the main site for that. But I'm pretty sure the age limit for advanced degrees was something more like 45?

---

EDIT: Oh, wait. You will be in a graduate program when you apply... apply for Chinese language...? Honestly, I don't even remember the age limit for Chinese Language Scholars. The link for the CSC site and eligibility requirements is on the first post!

If you are above the maximum age, I honestly don't think you have a chance. The Chinese government is a stickler to their rules in ways you couldn't imagine - especially the most meaningless and irrelevant ones. And it's not just for the scholarship, it's for pretty much anything you'll have to deal with the government with.

[beida2010]

Thanks, extrapages!

I did check on the website, but wasn't too pleased. I'm hoping there's some way around these rules:

Applicants for Doctoral degree programs must have master’s degree and be under the age of 40.

- Chinese language students must have senior high school diploma and be under the age of 35, will study Chinese language program in China.

- General scholar candidates must have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies and be under the age of 45, may study all majors besides Chinese language.

For example, it looks like I could apply for a doctoral degree in China and then try to get my language study paid for that way (and then decide not to do the PhD?)

Perhaps I can be a general scholar, but not sure how likely it is to get that classification. Did anyone on here get that scholarship (or know of anyone)?

Grr...

[beida2010]

Hmm... here's something interesting.

The Chinese Scholarship is administered through UNESCO. I was looking at UNESCO's rules at http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=11337&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

where it states:

5. Age of fellow: Fellowships are granted only to persons in good health who are not over 45 years of age. Exceptions may be considered when a case can be made. When the age limit is different from that mentioned above, it is specified in the criteria for application included in each announcement of a fellowship programme.

Also, some countries, such as the UK, have laws against age discrimination in education. Do you think this might help in some way?

Grasping at straws here, obviously. Sigh.

[内森]

Obviously this thread is not specifically with regards to EU applicants.

Nevertheless, a European friend of mine recently came upon this website, which might still be of interest to some in that it details "pre-selection" candidates for the 2009/2010 scholarships.

Perhaps there is/will be a similar page detailing that of US admissions..?

And just for the record, by way of short introduction, I'm a Californian applicant who applied through the Los Angeles consulate. So hello, y'all.

[weilian]

Called the scholarship program and asked about when we would know whether or not we received the scholarship and he said "7月。“ I said, “7月几号？“ ， reply "具体我不知道“ ”byebye再见“

[extrapages]

aaahahaha!

weilian, that was such an awesome post! yay for CSC phone calls!

[Philibuster]

This may be helpful.

My friend called his contact at the new york consulate and she was able to tell him that he did not get the scholarship. He has a masters degree already so i think he was applying for his doctorate.

Anyways i decided try and find out what was going on with my application. so i called dc yesterday and spoke to a guy and he was gave me a number to call for another guy who supposedly will be able to tell me what's up with my application.

So in conclusion, We will find out which applications are being sent from dc to Bejing soon.

fingers crossed. knock on wood.

[troysmith]

My friend called his contact at the new york consulate and she was able to tell him that he did not get the scholarship. He has a masters degree already so i think he was applying for his doctorate.

I've tried contacting the New York Consulate numerous times and I've never been able to actually reach anyone that knew anything about this scholarship. Any idea why your friend didn't get the scholarship?

Anyways i decided try and find out what was going on with my application. so i called dc yesterday and spoke to a guy and he was gave me a number to call for another guy who supposedly will be able to tell me what's up with my application.

So in conclusion, We will find out which applications are being sent from dc to Bejing soon.

Did you call this other guy? What did he say? How are we suppose to know which applications are being sent from DC to Beijing? I would have thought they would have done this alreadying seeing as how it was previously mentioned that some of our EU colleagues already know if they've received a scholarship already.

[marco-polo]

Many thanks to yeodda3 for linking to the list of pre-selected candidates on the website of the Mission of the PRC to the EU. To my surprise I found my name on the list! I haven't had any other communications from the CSC since submitting my application.

I've been trying to figure out what exactly it means to have been 'pre-selected'. On the one hand, the fact that there are exactly one hundred names on the list suggests that these are in fact the scholarship winners. But the instructions for applicants imply that the PRC Mission in Belgium is simply forwarding the applications to the CSC in Beijing, where the decisions will be made, so having been 'pre-selected' may just mean having passed the first round (see quoted section below). Or is it just the question of matching students to the universities they listed on their applications that remains to be decided? Thanks to anyone who can offer any insight into this question.

Relevant sections from Revised Application Procedures of the Chinese Government Scholarship program (EU Window)

100 full scholarships will be provided every academic year during 2007-2011.

Who administers the Program?

China Scholarship Council (hereinafter referred to as CSC), designated by the Ministry of Education, administers the recruitment and the routine management of the scheme. Note: CSC does not accept individual applications (Mr. Liu Wanliang will handle individual applications first and forward the candidates to CSC as a whole). Application materials will not be returned regardless of the result of application.

Approval and Notification

1. CSC will review all the application materials from the appointed authorities and CSC is authorized to make necessary adjustments on the applied institutions
   
2. The students cannot, in principle, change their institutions or the duration of studies specified on the Admission Notice.
   
3. CSC will send the List of Enrolled Students, Admission Notice and Visa Application Form for Study in China (JW201) to the Education & Cultural Office, Mission of P. R China to the European Union by July 31, so as to have these documents forwarded to the awardees at the beginning of August.