Deciding where to study for the fall semester 2007

[ray313]

Hi guys

Im having real difficulties deciding between where to study in Beijing this fall.

I guess what primarily makes it so difficult, is that I cant physically go there and check the schools/universities out for myself. Also, theres so many contrasting views and opinions about each university circulating the internet forums these days.

Anyway I just wanted to run some things by you guys. From what I understand, Beida, BLCU, and BNU all seem to be the most popular choices for foreigners wishing to learn mandarin. The impression which I get from reading other people's posts are;

1) Beida - A very well respected university in China. However the name and reputation seems to outweigh the quality of the mandarin course itself.

2) BLCU - Ranked by many as the best place for a foreigner to learn mandarin. However since so many foreigners enroll here, you may be speaking far too much english for the good of your learning.

3) BNU - Far less foreigners than BLCU. Im not sure how people rank the teaching quality here though.

Please help me decide!!

Thanks

[FyKnight]

From my trawling through various forums I think you've got that pretty much right.

However I'd elevate BNU a little. It seems to have even a better rep than BLCU.

Note however that there aren't nearly so many course options at BNU (or probably BeiDa) as at BLCU.

Other popular choices are non-university schools like DiQiuCun (Global Village) which are chepaer and more flexible.