Mandarin Scholarships/Programs

[roni_e]

Hello, I am new to the website. I am in my 30s, from Berkeley, California, live in Taipei now and have studied Chinese for a year. I am interested in studying Mandarin in China next year. I'd like to receive some friendly advice from people who are studying in China. Here are some questions:

1. I would like to apply for a scholarship, but the government website is confusing. Which scholarship is most appropriate if I would like to study Chinese for 1-2 years?

2. If I don't get a scholarship to study Mandarin, is it still possible to study it full-time while teaching English? In Taipei, this is pretty difficult to do (it's possible, but you end up having no life and being quite stressed).

3. For a year-long program studying Mandarin, how much would I need to save up for tuition, room and board?

I am sorry if some of these questions are already addressed in the forum, but mostly, I am trying to make a personal connection with someone who can give me some advice.

Thanks!

[Dan334477]

I am definitely interested in the answers to these questions as well, so I encourage people to reply as you'll be helping out at least 2 individuals.

[Xiao Kui]

I would maybe check out and post in this thread at forumosa.com - I think there's quite a few folk there that have studied in Taiwan on scholarship.

[zarathustra]

It seems like a Chinese scholarship is only possible in Taiwan. In China, I think there's an age limit. I forgot exactly what it is but when I checked I'm past the age limit (33). Perhaps schools offer some scholarship but i haven't found out yet.

[tuxoar]

I am in Taiwan right now on a scholarship from the Taiwan Ministry of Education. The scholarship decision process is handled by the Taipei Economic and Culture Mission local to your area (in my case, Chicago). They are very generous scholarships to study chinese language for 1 year. After that most language centers that I know of in Taizhong (taichung) also offer other scholarships once the MOE runs out.

Taiwan is a nice place to study, but the experience is very different from that of China. Overall a great place, but I am currently planning to go back to the mainland. (Mainly because my research interests are about minorities of the southwest.)

If you want to study in Taiwan, don't go to Taipei. It is a great city but there are too many foreigners and too many locals with good English. Also, it is a lot more expensive compared with central and southern Taiwan. Lastly, northern Taiwan and southern Taiwan are two very different places in many respects. Some might argue if you want to get a feel for the more authentic Taiwan, stay more south.

As far as mainland scholarships, the CSC english website is a maze that will confuse even the einstein of rats. The chinese version isnt much better. I was informed of these scholarships through my Uni in the USA. But is seems like you have to apply through a diplomatic mission or embassy or affiliated body (ie. US or UK Department of Education). That said, I am still a little confused on the process.

Hope that helps a little.