Who is at / coming to Beijing Normal (Beishida)

[roddy]

There seem to be a lot of queries about BNU at the moment, so I thought I'd start this topic to see how many prospective / actual students there we have. Never studied there myself, but I live just down the road and am quite often on campus.

Roddy

[lau]

Thanks, Roddy for bringing this up. Fellow BNU-men! Is there anything someone comming to BNU for the first time might need to know? What are the dormitories like? Any chances of having a bathroom of my own?

[Canadianhomegrown]

I'm a prospective student at BNU, on Chinese government scholarship for the year. I am arriving in Beijing on the 31st of July and will have a month before school starts to sort out stuff.

I have been to Beijing once before for about two weeks and stayed at a hostel near Xidan, I think the hostel was Xijiao? Before that I spent a summer in Benxi (Liaoning) and another in Dalian. I lived in Singapore last year on exchange.

I plan on checking in at the university and trying to figure out some accomodation.

I read the post on BNU before and thought to check out some of the housing areas around, but I have a solid month to set all that up, however it would be pretty fine if anyone could offer a little help/advice.

Thanks

[kailin]

I am enrolling at BNU this September. Lau and Canadianhomegrown, I look forward to meeting my fellow classmates, and Roddy, I hope to see you on campus!

[GUYUEHU]

I will probably be at BNU. I might check out BeiDa first since their registration is a day or two earlier, but most likely I'll be at BNU this year as a general student. Out of curiousity, why have others decided on going to BNU over other universities? I chose it because (1) I have heard good things about the school and teachers in general. (2) They seem pretty well organized (3) Location seems pretty good, and it appears as if you can actually get housing and pick which type of accomodation you want if you reserve it online as directed in the packet they send out. (4) I am not sure if there are less English speaking foreign students here or not, but it seems like many people mention BLCU and BeiDa before BNU....anyway, I was just wondering...

One last question, I guess good old cash, reminbi or American is the only way to go-huh? drats...they don't accept wire transfers do they?

Any random/additional information is greatly appreciated! =D

[kailin]

I think you are correct: American dollars or RMB only. (Unfortunately I don't think they accept credit cards.) I did a wire transfer from my American bank account to the school's Chinese one to pay for the application fee, however, I wouldn't reccomend this because it costs at least 50 US dollars to do the transfer (or at least it did in my bank's case).

Kailin

[Zhende ma?]

I went to BNU last semester. Most foreigner dorms are pretty good and you have your own TV and maybe a DVD player. Some has high speed internet (150 RMB a month I think) as well. Most have bathrooms for each room but some are an exception in this regard. Do you know what dorm you will be staying in?

Canadianhomegrown, I was on Chinese government scholarship as well. Did they not promise you accomodation? I just wonder since you say you are looking around. If you take the school's accomodation it will be in 第一公寓 where all the scholarship students are kept at the East Gate. It is a hall setup with the communal bathroom, etc. but I liked it.

BNU does not have many (native) English speaking students. 80%+ are Japanese/Korean so you will likely speak Chinese with your classmates, teachers, friends, acquaintances, etc. If you want to meet people, you can take other classes with Chinese students or join one of the 社团(student clubs). There's a 社团 office.

Any other questions about school life anyone wants to ask?

[lau]

Zhende ma,

You mentioned the possibility of taking other classes together with chinese students. What kind of classes are those? any kind I could possibely imagine or just chinese cooking, calligraphy and such? And do they require any specific language level to join? Do they test it or just believe when you promisse you'll manage (maybe )? is it for an additional fee for the scholarship students, or we're back in communism where education was free?

[Zhende ma?]

You mentioned the possibility of taking other classes together with chinese students. What kind of classes are those? any kind I could possibely imagine or just chinese cooking, calligraphy and such? And do they require any specific language level to join? Do they test it or just believe when you promisse you'll manage (maybe )? is it for an additional fee for the scholarship students, or we're back in communism where education was free?

Lau,

I took a Wushu class for free with other Chinese students. I found out about it through a friend and asked the instructor to join. I believe there is also a class on calligraphy and Chinese history for the foreign students though I wasn't able to take it. I think you can manage to take most classes if you talk to the professors. I had an offer to attend a philosophy class from a professor I was friends with but I didn't have time (I went to the colloquia and guest lectures though). I think since you are already paying most than the Chinese students they won't bother asking for money and are usually happy for your interest. If you want to major in a subject, however, you usually have to cough up some HSK scores (3 for sciences, 5 or 6 for humanities I think). But you can still take them. What are your interests?

[lau]

Zhende ma,

my interests would be modern history and painting. though the problem is i seriously doubt my language abilities. I have as if studiend chinese for 4 years, one of those years in Taiwan, but still...

i got that chinese government scholarship same as you did, so i cannot be considered paying more than the local students

[Harvey]

I have been looking at BNU lately too.

What other merits does BNU have over the BLCU and Beida?

One qeustion. On the application page for BNU, it mentions.

one recommendation letter from the applicant’s former or present teacher

What if you're a total beginner and have no teacher?

[lau]

Harvey, it does not specify that you need a recommendation from your former CHINESE teacher, so improvise!

[nerveandmuscle]

I've asked BNU about this and they said that if you can't find a teacher, an employer or even someone who knows you can write a letter that testifies to your good character.

[Harvey]

Great! I'm in the clear!

[kailin]

I didn't submit a recomendation letter at all and was accepted, no questions asked. Money (or the promise of it) talks, my friend.

[StealthyBurrito]

I just finished studying at Beishida for 6 weeks with the University of California Education Abroad Program (EAP). I have to say that Beishida was certainly one of the best experiences of my life. I go to school at UC Berkeley, which has one of the better Chinese language departments among US universities, and the program at Beishida exceeded my expectations.

The teachers at Beishida really really care about your education. I was initially placed into a course too high for my ability. My speaking and listening comprehension are good but I lack writing and reading skills, partially due to the simplified characters (I learned traditional back in the States). My teacher took notice the first day and offered her help. Every week I went to office hours and she patiently helped read the lessons to me so I could write down the pinyin and later look them up in my dictionary.

In addition to her enthusiasm, my teacher was highly educated. Since the announcement of the Chinese Advanced Placement exams, Beishida actually commissioned a project to write a book for American high school students. My teacher was part of this commission and spent 2 months in Canada (where Chinese was more commonly taught as a foreign language than in the US) researching methods of teaching and topics for this book. At the end, she spent 4 years writing a series of books with another Beishida professor.

Anyway, I spent my 6 weeks in Lanhui Gongyu (兰蕙公寓) near the small west gate at the southwest corner of campus. Most foreign students will not be staying there though, more typical are the foreign student dorms near the east gate. Beishida is a great campus. It's not appealing to the eye like Beida but you will find everything you need within a convenient walk, from the very comprehensive mini-supermarket to on-campus laundromats who will wash, dry, and fold your laundry, to the 5 student cafeterias, numerous food stalls (my favorite is the 鸡蛋饼 for breakfast) to McDonalds right near the east gate whenever you get homesick for western food.

If it weren't for the generally crappy environment which is Beijing, I'd love to stay at Beishida longer. I will be going to Beida in the fall, so hopefully I will be able to compare the two programs. From what I understand from the program director, Beishida is far more accomodating than the bureaucratic nightmare which is Beida (in Beida the bureaucracy is the exact opposite of what you expect -- there are basically only two levels in the administration, which means the top level is flooded with requests and it takes months to get anything done) and the corrupt Qinghua (the program director in charge of Qinghua is only there because of guanxi and is quite incompetent, a fact well known to most westerners who tried to setup study abroad programs at Qinghua, which is why Beishida is the now popular alternative).