BeiDa Fall 2007 - application problems

Hello all,

I am applying to this semester program as an international student but I'm a bit confused. The form asks for a financial guarantor (i.e. a parent), Chinese-resident guarantor (no problem) and a "Recommender". I'm guessing this means Chinese teacher, but as I've been teaching myself to read and write (born in China, lived in UK all my life, so I'm much better at speaking), I'm not sure who to use as a recommender.

Also, though their website offers a 'sample letter' for the Chinese-resident guarantor, I can't find it anywhere, and no-one has replied to my emails in over a month.

I would love to hear from anyone who has jumped through these hoops and got to Beida or anyone who is thinking of going at the same time as me.

Cheers,

Jo

I am hoping to go to Beida this autumn as well... I am applying through my uni though so havent had to do it myself yet... sorry I cant help but thought I would drop you a note saying I was heading there (hopefully) at about the same time... do you by chance know when the registration/start dates are... cheers

What application form are you looking at? The one I see on their website for general visiting scholars makes mention of three things:

• 6. Family Members
  
• 7. Referees, and
  
• 8. Guarantor charging your case
  

As for what these mean, family members are obvious (note, it is not asking for a financial guarantor, just information about your family members).

Referees should be the contact information of the people who wrote you a reference for your application (I believe you need two letters of reference, from "professors, or persons with relevant academic title"). These don't necessarily have to be Chinese teachers, but should be people who can vouch for your ability as a student, so any of your former/current teachers would possibly do the trick.

And guarantor charging your case is not a financial guarantor, but if you look at the Chinese definition of what this is in the notes, this person is really just an emergency contact person in China.

- 8. 在华事务担保人或机构，须为在中国境内的人士或机构，以便在紧急时学校能与其取得联系

I studied at Beida back in 2002-2003, and it was the same form then, and that's what I filled it in as, and they didn't have any problems.

Anyway, good luck with your application, and if you're applying for the 2007 autumn semester, don't forget applications close at the end of March.

Imron, thanks for all your help! Uni tutors should be no problem. How did you find it when you went?

As I thought that applications OPENED on April 1st, I now realise that I'm probably too late. Foiled again by Beida's deceptively shiny and well-translated website. grrr argh. Oh well, still going to get my application in, but would you recommend anywhere else for me to apply (preferably in Beijing, focus on reading/writing)?

Shadowdh, good to hear from you. Are you studying Chinese in uni? If we both get in, we should def meet up for tea or something (I'm a Londoner too).

No problems re the tea...I wont find out if I am in for a couple of months though... I do go to Uni in London... I am at the Uni of Westminster... almost through my second year...

I really enjoyed it and I think it helped my reading and writing quite a lot. As for the closing application dates, I got that based on this document on their website. Although this document lists the dates as 12-30th of March, it also says to check the website for the latest information, so maybe it's not the most up-to-date information. You might want to check again to make sure.

As for other places to study, this thread contains a breakdown of other places and their advantages/disadvantages.

Shadowdh, no probs. The course I'm going for runs from Sept-Jan. Best of luck and hope to see you there.

Imron, that link's broken, could you possibly email me the document you mean? Sorry to bother you, but I've just learned that my tutor's out of town so can't write my reference before early April - this would let me know whether I still have a shot.

My email: josephineamidships@gmail dot com

thanks again

Oops, sorry, there's an accidental character in the link. This one should work fine. If it doesn't, you can always go to their webpage and download it directly. It's the info for "General Visiting Students".

Having just typed that, I've also just realised that this is for the year-long program, and you mentioned that you were only going to apply for the short-term semester program, and the document for that one mentions applications begin on the first of April (but there are limited places, so the earlier you apply the better).

Will attach it to this post - though any future users are advised to check for a more up to date version.

puj.pdf

Ok, and looking into this a bit further, I see the application form for short-term studies is a completely different from the form I was looking at before, so what I mentioned before maybe isn't relevant to you. Sorry for the misunderstanding

No worries and thanks again. I am going for the short-term program, but hey, the school's not the most important thing, the City is.

cheers

And many thanks from me also Roddy and Imron... that pdf doc had just the info I was looking for... nice one... when I get to China I owe you guys a beer...