CSC Scholarship - 2010

[ansileran]

@Ricardo

Sorry, since you were talking about BLCU textbooks, I assumed that you had stayed there on a short term program before... Having learn Chinese for two years now, there is absolutly no risk of you being put in a beginner level class. At the time I was in Beijing, I met a girl studying at BLCU and she said that they had classes opened for all level (A, A2, B, C and D) and often more than one for every level which allowed them to have classes with apporximatly the same level. But this was for short term programs and there are a lot of students there so they can afford do it this way. I don't know how it is with long term programs, though they probably have at least the five above mentionned level...

[Ku An]

this is question is geared towards people who are/were at BLCU under this scholarship:

- what dorm are scholarship students placed in?

- i am going to arrive at midnight in beijing on sept 3rd and I was wondering if the housing office will be open at that time? (i know some universities have it open 24hrs)

- will i be able to get picked up from the airport or will i need to get a taxi to take me over there?

any help would be greatly appreciated!

[shidiwen]

is anyone of you who got the scholarship gonna study at bfsu?

i am from europe (austria) and i will be there for language study for one year, would be cool to get to know some ppl ...

contact me here or send me an email please.

can't wait to meet ya

[agimcomas]

Hi!

I studied in BFSU last year. It's a great place to be! The dorms are crap, but hey, luxury is not what you'll find in China. They do have an amazing sports center with a huge swimming pool. And there's a food market at night where you'll have the most fun.

Be a laowai and enjoy. ;P

[wang]

Has anyone actually arrived at their school? I did and it wasn't a pretty sight. It seems you might want to double check with your school before you get on the flight and make sure they will honor the paperwork. I am sure that it will all get straighten out, but not before it gives some heart attacks or causes them to have to make a prompt return home. Fortunately for me I already had a long term visa secured, otherwise I would have been screwed. Apparently there are many rules and regulations that are mixed up somewhere between CSC the embassy and the University. I have gotten 3 different answers on these mystery rules since I have been here and the don't match what I have in writing.

Due to the fact this is still unfolding I will give a fictional account to illustrate what I am facing.Imagine you receive your paperwork and it's in Chinese, so you manage to get it translated and you didn't realize on the back side it had the English. In Chinese it says I had been accepted to 1 year of Language because the graduate course is in Chinese so you need to learn Chinese first. So you go and report to the school (After getting proper visa and paying $$$ airline fee to get there). You to the school to find out the back side in English says the graduate course is in English and no Chinese is required. The school then tells your scholarship isn't valid etc etc. or have to redo the process and start over next year? Of course you should have made sure everything was fine before you came! (any idiot would do that). Would imagine that someone would step in to sort this out instead of just simply say sorry nothing we can do out it. I am starting to get a feeling this is my first lesson in the cultural exchange program? Is this how it really works here, 3 people point at each other and no one caring if you get arrested or kicked out of the country because of paper mix up?

[steveh]

Why would the "fictional" program being in either Chinese or English have anything to do with the validity of the scholarship? The JW202 form is from Chinas MOE which was first (or atleast should have been) sent to the school the scholarship was accepted for?

Unless you were first supposed to apply for the grad program at the University and then afterward apply for the scholarship?

Welcome to China :rolleyes:

[eloper]

@wang, you've just got to keep in mind "she'll be right". and soon enough, she will be

i'm dealing with something simliar from Australia at the moment. everything is working out but slowly. In my experiance, dealing with the issue of arriving 2 months late and adding a year of chinese studies onto my initial scholarship the CSC have proven happy to go along with almost anything. there is hope!

[wang]

@steveh apparently because the paperwork is setup by the school and then sent to CSC who allocates the funds and resources. After this is done, it basically is set in stone and requires the University to re-do all the paperwork as if it is a new application and resubmit that to CSC to re-approve. As I am finding out quickly is many don't want to tackle the problem and wait until someone above them tells them directly it's your job to do. At this point in time, I don't think they even know who's job it is.

I posted so that everyone can double check there paperwork before you get here.

For example do you really know

1. What course you will take? I was surprise to see that I would have 1 year on Communism and other political classes. But then someone else said oh that won't apply to you? But it seemed half the classes were foreign language classes (choice of English or Japanese??). I suppose in the states it can be similar, I remember all the Chinese classes in the University was packed with Chinese student who already knew the language and it was a easy credit for them.

2.Class schedule? Some said oh only 20hrs of class a week, but the schedule they gave me was like 60hrs 8am - 8pm (with 2- 2hr breaks). They made it seem like all classes were required? A second year student said they consistently change the schedule and expect you adapted all the time. So they will say you have a test Tuesday, then that day comes and they change it to say Friday when you were even suppose to have class. They will do the same with the labs? One day you have lab from 1-4pm then they will change it to 6-10pm? I know in the states this would happen at times, and I suppose depending on the University level it might happen at some more than others.

3. Accommodations? Was told that the scholarship covers only a shared room. That PhD are allowed to have a single room only if the school has that provision. You can't live off campus for the first 1/2 year your at the school and then only if the school give it's permission? Thus if your married like I am you are separated from your wife. She is not allowed to live on campus even if you have your own room or rent a larger room, or buy two beds. This seems to be in conflict with what the rules on the CSC website says and what others have told me, but both CSC and the school reconfirmed this restriction.

http://en.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/fe71fa67c4e34233a75ecb6e08827c80.shtml

Full scholarship

- Exempt from registration fee, tuition fee, fee for laboratory experiment, fee for internship and fee for basic learning materials; free accommodation on campus;

- Living allowance;

- One-off settlement subsidy;

-Fee for outpatient medical service, Comprehensive Medical Insurance and Benefit Plan for International Students in China;

- One-off inter-city travel subsidy (each for coming-in and leaving China);

A hard-seat train ticket (hard-berth train ticket for overnight trip) will be provided for scholarship students traveling from the port of entry upon registration to the city where the admitting institution or Chinese language training institution or preparatory education institution is located, students traveling from the Chinese language training institution or the preparatory education institution to the city where the university for major study is located, and students traveling from the city where the institution is located to the nearest port for departure upon graduation.

This is a bit different from this link http://en.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/11678d1ad1114276a296ca1f3da38f99.shtml

1. Full Scholarship

- Exempt from registration fee, tuition fee, fee for laboratory experiment, fee for internship, and fee for basic learning materials; free accommodation on campus;

- Living allowance;

- One-off settlement subsidy after registration;

- Fee for outpatient medical service, Comprehensive Medical Insurance and Benefit Plan for International Students in China;

- One-off inter-city travel subsidy.

Note:

1) Costs of the laboratory experiment or internship beyond the institution’s arrangements should be self-afforded.

2) Fee for basic learning materials only covers the necessary learning materials prescribed by the host institution, and other textbooks and materials shall be self-afforded.

3) Monthly allowance is granted to the students through the host institution at the following rates (CNY Yuan per month):

- Undergraduates & Chinese language students: CNY 1,400 Yuan

- Master’s degree students & general scholars: CNY 1,700 Yuan

- Doctoral degree students & senior scholars: CNY 2,000 Yuan

Scholarship students shall receive their monthly living allowance after registration. New students who register before 15th (15th included) of the registration month will get the full amount of living allowance of that month, and those who register after 15th will get half amount of that month. Students upon graduation will get a living allowance for another 15 days after the graduation date set by the university. The allowance will be terminated from the next month after students suspend their studies, drop school or complete schooling from the university. Monthly living allowance covers school holidays. Scholarship students who missed the monthly living allowance during holidays could be reimbursed upon their return on campus. The allowance will be suspended for one month for those students who do not register on time without permission from the university, leave for non-health reasons or are absent from university over a month. Students who have to suspend their studies for health reasons are required to go back to their home countries for treatment. The international travel expenses should be covered by the students themselves. With the university’s approval, the scholarship status can be reserved for up to one year and their living allowances will be suspended during their leave. The scholarship status will not be reserved for those who suspend their studies for other reasons.

4) New students will get a one-off settlement subsidy upon their arrival in China.

- CNY 1,000 Yuan for new students who will study in China up to one academic year

- CNY 1,500 Yuan for new students who will study in China above one academic year

5) Fee for outpatient medical service refers to the outpatient expense in the institution’s hospital or the hospitals entrusted by the institution. The students are required to share a certain percentage of expense in accordance with the institution’s regulations.

6) Comprehensive Medical Insurance and Benefit Plan for International Students in China is provided by MOE for the scholarship students in China in case of hospitalizing for serious diseases and accidental injuries. The institutions or the entrusted medical assistance agencies provide advancement service for insurance expenses, and claim for compensation with relevant payment receipts from the insurance company according to the stipulated insurance articles. For scholarship student, the individual claim will not be accepted by the insurance company.

7) One-off inter-city travel ticket (each for coming-in and leaving China)

A hard-seat train ticket (hard-berth train ticket for overnight trip) will be provided for new scholarship students traveling from the port of entry upon registration to the city where the admitting institution or institution of Chinese language training or college preparatory courses is located; for students traveling from the Chinese language training institution or preparatory education institution to the city where the university for major study is located; and for students traveling from the city where the institution is located to the nearest port for departure upon graduation. Meal and excess of baggage should be self-afforded.

So not much more in these two locations where people would read before applying. Nothing that would indicate any of the restrictions I spoke about above. The only thing that it says is "free accommodation on campus". So is there a place I missed that tells you who or who can not live on campus?

I did notice this change though

6. CSC will send the Admission Notice and Visa Application Form for Study in China (JW201) to dispatching authorities by July 31st , 2010, who will forward the documents to the students.

They gave a date for when things will go out!

[m000gle]

hmmm...

As much as I'm confident everything will be fine, this is pretty unnerving to hear so close to departure. Hopefully, you're able to get everything sorted out, wang.

I'm going as a language student, so I'm expecting there to be less potential for problems... Most universities simply have a placement test and assign classes according to the results, but if they were expecting basic proficiency in Chinese (as opposed to not much better than beginner) there could be problems. Thankfully, BNU has classes for beginners, so I should be fine, but has anyone heard of others having trouble with this upon arrival (i.e. lacking pre-reqiusite language ability in Chinese)?

[ansileran]

@Wang

1- Courses you have to take : from what you wrote, you seem to have enrolled for a bachelor degree and it looks like the Chinese/English or Chinese/Japanese degree from BLCU... If it's bachelor degree, then it's normal that you have courses on Communism. Every Chinese student who enter the university is supposed to have them. I have no idea whether you can skip them or not, since they actually are mandatory for the degree.

2- I don't know much about schedule but 20H/week is actually what you have in language learning program, where you are supposed to spend a lot of time practicing on your own and discovering Chinese culture. It wouldn't surprise me that you have more classes than that on a degree program. Though 60H/week seem a bit too much, even for China. Can't you have somebody there explain it to you ? Maybe lab time is time when you can use the lab, you don't have to use it for the whole period ?

3- Maybe that's not the way it works in the US, but it was pretty obvious to me that only student are allowed to live on campus. Afterall, it's meant to be student accomodation... I find it strange though that you can't decide to live on your own right away. I've never heard of student being forced to live on campus for the first semester... I guess that if you really can't change that, you'll just have to pretend to go along with what they tell you. Since your wife is going to have to rent an appartment anyway, just keep the dorm room if you can't give it up and go back to the appartement at night. I don't think they are going to check that you are in your room every night right ?

Good luck for everything !

@ m000gle :

You are going there to learn Chinese so they aren't going to expect you to be fluent already ! Every university has classes for absolute beginners, where they start with pinyin and "nihao!". I don't see why BNU wouldn't have them.

[wang]

Turned out to be a paper mix up and the issue was pass the buck until someone who knew what they were doing handled it. So the process was started to redo the paperwork. This just means the whole process needs to be done again but I suppose it's just all systematic at this point in time. But apparently the course will be changed to match both in Chinese/English and at the CSC and the school. They mentioned that even the school will be changed too. I suppose they might assign you to one school for language (1year) and a different school for your major. i think this part was unclear.

The other issue about the classes is still unclear. But from what I have learned it goes like this (depending on the school). BA student going for non Language course will work their buts off and get jerk around just like the locals. However language students will be given excessive amount of work until they all complain. Once all the students (scholarship ones) complain then they stop adding stuff to the work load.

Master students, this is where it get easier (for now). You do 6/7months of classes (lecture style). Afterward you have labs which can get mess around with depending on how many outside projects they have going on. You lab research until end complete the course requirements. This is I suppose typical of any school which means you need basically wait an see what the requirements are and get it done before your 3 years are up.

[helixness]

Hi everyone! Ok... I am SO motivated to go through this process; I've read as much as possible in archived thread and this one. I'll be detailing my procedures and will post all responses I get from my local chinese embassy/consulate here in Los Angeles. A little information on who I am and what I want to do, then a few questions for you guys.

I am 19 years old, dual american-french citizen. I have taken 3 semesters of chinese so far, altogether been learning it for 2 years pretty soon. I am planning on doing the language study program, 2 years would be preferable. During my stay I would study and aim to pass the HSK exam.

1) I am planning on going next Spring semester... but it seems that isn't doable? if it REALLY isn't, please tell me although I will try. I am dying to go there right now and having to wait until September 2011 would be way too long.

2) Since I moved from france age 16, I never really got to finish high school in america and went straight to JC (community college). I am pretty close to transferring to a 4-year university. QUESTION: Will this be a problem?! not having a high school diploma....

3) Universities aimed for: 浙江大学， 浙江师范大学 （有个朋友），北京语言和文化大学。

4) I would definitely need a guarantor, which perhaps will help compensate for not having a high school diploma? I can guarantee that I WILL be a guarantor for someone in the future if I can be helped. Actually, if things work out I'll be a guarantor anyways. QUESTION: extrapages ? anyone? how does the process for that?

NOTE: I will in France from September 8th to January 5th. Will this be a problem for my application? Do you think I am better off applying from the EU while I am there? I don't think so personally as my school is in Los Angeles.

Your responses are very appreciated! Good luck to my fellow applicants!

EDIT: Update #1: Cannot email the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles, the emails don't work. Will call them and post more details on Monday.

[ansileran]

I don't think having a garantor would have anything to do with not having a highschool diplom... These are two completly different things.

As for not having a highschool diplom, that might be a problem. They do say you need to have a highschool diplom to be eligible. I don't know much about community college, would the diplom you get there allow you to enter a university anywhere outside the US, like in France for example ? We have something called "capacité" here which allows people who do not have a highschool diplom to enter university, but only in France, and only in the corresponding program...

It also appears that the Chinese government doesn't like anything out of the ordinary. I'm having the hell of a hard time to have them understand that it is possible to have completed more than 4 years at a university and still be under 22...

Anyway, good luck to you !

[helixness]

Right the french school system is very different. The equivalent of a high school diploma in france is the BAC (non, je n'y pense même pas). Actually, i was intending to go to China in february in the middle of my studies at my community college. Many schools say "High school diploma or higher", aren't transcripts in a 2 year college "higher" than a high school diploma?

Maybe I should forge... lol just kidding

It's very annoying for me because my french school simply won't send my transcripts, that's why I "dropped" out of high school, even though I really completed it.

[wang]

@helixness If you don't have your High school diploma I can think of two ways around the issue.

1. Get your GRE (To do this is just a test, and if your half way smart you can pass)

2. When the time comes to apply make sure you get your transcripts. Say your attending College and provide your transcripts as proof.

This will satisfy the requirement.

As far as pass the HSK i am not sure about the new version. I know in the past to "pass" you need to make a high enough school to actually register on the test. So if you took the Entry one you could score a level of HSK 1-3 the intermediate 3-9 (I think) and advance I believe started at 6 and up. So there is no real "passing" Most view HSK level 3, and 6 (5 sometimes) as important as these levels determine if you can enter the Universities here to study .

You are probably better off applying through your local College have them be involved if possible in sending a letter with your application to the local embassy. A better way is attend some classes at the local Confucius institute and apply through them. They are part of the gateway system to the scholarship. I wouldn't apply through the EU because they have limited openings compared to the US.

[helixness]

@wang, what do you think of the GED? Will they take the GED? I will definitely look in the GRE, I have never heard of it before.

As for the HSK, since I am planning to major in Chinese, I will aim for the highest possible. I am a hard worker and I think I should do fine, especially if I make it the purpose of my trip.

As for my school, it's only a 2 year college, and I don't think they will endorse my application.. even though I will ask my Chinese teacher I had over there. They have their own study abroad plan and it's crappy, too expensive and too short.

I don't think there is a Confucius institute around my place.

What would happen if I sent in my application before December? I see in the thread that it's not possible to get in for spring semester, but I also see some people apply for Spring semesters?

As for medical documents ~~! if I am applying FROM the US (los angeles), but that I do my medical exams in France, would that create confusion and compromise my application? I am coming back January 5th and I'm plannign to go to china in February...

What if I pay for the spring semester on my own, and I apply for the next school year (2011-2012), while in China. Is that doable? Sorry about the over numerous questions! I will definitely be keeping everyone updated on how things are going and once in China, will post pictures of accomodation etc...

[lisaor]

To Helixness:

I myself have a GED. Does anyone know if they accept this? They should, it's a High School Equivalency Diploma, recognized by 98% of US Universities. If you haven't gotten it, you should. After you get it, you will be provided with a diploma as well as transcripts. I'm hoping the Chinese will accept it as I will also be applying for next year's scholarship. cheers

[wang]

@helixness I would suggest reading all the post here as your questions are answered. To help you on the path I will outline somethings to keep in mind.

1. Get all paperwork and apply in January for starting in september.

2. Medical documents are optional. I did mine once I reached china, very simple.

a. Some may require it before you get a visa, so do have it arranged in case you need it

b. Get your visa well before you go (the day you get your acceptance)

3.Go ahead and apply to the school you want to attend and get an acceptance. Just because you paid for the application

does mean you intend to attending if you don't get the scholarship.

4. By getting accepted then it means basically all your paperwork will be accepted. I would say you could start the process now.

5. I would contact your local http://www.hanban.org/ group (they are in all major cities now some over 70 locations in the US) they can help you through the process if they like you. You seem to be in the right age group. http://english.hanban.org/node_8385.htm http://english.hanban.org/node_8327.htm They have a few in LA (two according to their list).

6. Apply through the US unless they tell you in EU that your 100% in. or apply through both places (I would caution against this).

7. Keep realistic expectations. Your young so work hard as you will probably be able to do very well in 2 years. However it might take this log to get above a HSK 6 (which is conversational). To get to level 9 might take 4 years.

8. Read read and read again this forum and others. China can either be a fun, learn a lot party place or it can be a launching pad for a future career. How you approach your scholarship application and researching the answers to your questions will determine how far you can go.

[helixness]

@lisaor: I am planning on taking the GED test this semester (asap) while I will be in France. I need this high school diploma thing out of my way. And indeed, I DO hope they take that instead, if not, that will be a problem.

@wang: To reply to your answers 1 by 1:

1) Submit it in January to get in September. OK. However is it possible to start school in February (at my own expense) and switch to the scholarship program in September? That is a crucial question for me, if not, I will to wait. But I'd rather leave in February, the sooner the better.

2) THANK YOU, I was worried about medical documents as I won't have any coverage the next few months, haha...

B ) VISAS, ok, that brings me back to #1, if I want to apply for February (浙江师范大学), when should I apply? still in January for the 2011-2012 year?

3) I'm sorry I have to say I did not really understand your sentence. Did you mean that I should apply for the school and still go even if I don't the scholarship? (that was my intention anyways, whether i get CSC or not won't change my plans)

[helixness]

UPDATES! Today I got a hold of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. They answered the phone in less than 10 seconds, I must have been lucky! I expected the person to be brief but we actually had a small, nice conversation about my plan. My main questions were whether I would still get the scholarship without a high school diploma (international equivalences issues) and if I could apply FROM china if I decided to pay the coming spring semester by myself.

1. For language study, a high school diploma is NOT required, nor is ANY educational history. That did surprise me a lot. "We take everyone for language study, we want to promote china and its culture to as many people as we can".

2. He did confirm that I could send the application to the L.A chinese consulate FROM china if I decided to go there in Spring already (at my own expense). The application would only be for the coming fall semester (Sept. 2011).

He also said they would start the application review process around october / November.

EDIT: to clarify #1... i don't think that means that the application can be filled out carelessly and because one person said so doesn't guarantee anything.