CSC Scholarship - Archives

[marcusat]

Hi All,

Just a couple of quick questions about the scholarship - im having difficulty finding answers to them through the boards...

1. one question on the form states "Please specify the organisation or person recommending you for this scholarship" - im really just an individual applying, but I am in a UK university and about to graduate - is the best thing to do is ask my university to recommend me, or are there only certain organisations that can recommend?

2. they ask for a guarantor charging your case in china - who is this supposed to be and what should I do if I don't have one?

3. Does anyone have any advice on who to chose for the letters of recommendation. eg one academic one personal etc.

4. With regards to an EU scholarship, does anyone know whether you still have to apply to the universities you want to go to or just put them down on your application form? the web page states

"CSC will send the List of Enrolled Students, Admission Notice and Visa Application Form for Study in China (JW201) to the Science & Technology, Education & Cultural, Mission of P. R China to the European Union by July 31, so as to have these documents forwarded to the awardees."

so if they send the admission notice, do they apply for you as well? otherwise I need to apply myself and send off the transfer application money to BLCU.

thanks in advance for your help!!!

Marcus

[extrapages]

1. one question on the form states "Please specify the organisation or person recommending you for this scholarship" - im really just an individual applying, but I am in a UK university and about to graduate - is the best thing to do is ask my university to recommend me, or are there only certain organisations that can recommend?

YES get your uni to recommend you. all you need to do is write them down on the app and get any teacher to write a letter on behalf of the school saying that youre a good student and that he/she would recommend you. the end. HOWEVER, the process might be different for the UK.. try to find out as much as you can - but honestly, considering that all these apps are reviewed in china, i think youll be fine.

2. they ask for a guarantor charging your case in china - who is this supposed to be and what should I do if I don't have one?

ill be that person for you =] send me a pm and ill give you my email address.

3. Does anyone have any advice on who to chose for the letters of recommendation. eg one academic one personal etc.

how many does it ask for? cant remember... sorry. but if it asks for one - do both. if it asked for one each - throw in a third. the more the better. just to be safe. i remember i intentionally included another recommendation.

4. With regards to an EU scholarship, does anyone know whether you still have to apply to the universities you want to go to or just put them down on your application form? the web page states

they apply for you. they say that they encourage applicants to apply to their school of choice independently ... but it only causes more trouble. because then you get registered TWICE - by yourself and CSC. and sometimes they wont get your sex right. i was registered as a female by me.. and a male by the CSC.. and things got BAD.. had to go through A LOT to sort it out. save yourself the trouble and just let them do it for you. =]

[marcusat]

amazing! thanks extrapages! I've already emailed the international office to give me a letter of recommendation, they know me there so should be no prob at all!

Great to know that they apply for you as well! This is easier than it first seemed, definately got my head around it now!

thanks!

[harroldb]

Extrapages,

I was just curios how your time at BNU has been thus far.

Also, I appreciate your posting and would like to know who it was that you contacted in the Department of Education at the Chinese Embassy. Last, I am not familiar with these joint programs that you referenced, what are they?

Thanks very much.

Bennett

[extrapages]

Also, I appreciate your posting and would like to know who it was that you contacted in the Department of Education at the Chinese Embassy. Last, I am not familiar with these joint programs that you referenced, what are they?

harroldb,

id rather not post up his information in a public forum. i feel that its not only disrespectful to him but also irresponsible of me to post information without permission - and i wouldnt want this coming back to me as someone referring everyone to him... when i didnt even get the scholarship following their procedures - i just got lucky.

if you want it, send me a private message. =] i want to make sure that this information only gets to those who are serious and will not waste his time.

as for the joint programs - from what i remember, they were almost all university programs. i did a google search for "csc joint scholarship program" and two of the listings i got for the US were:

CSC-Georgetown University Fellowship Program

UMich-China Scholarship Council Agreement

I was just curios how your time at BNU has been thus far.

my time at bnu has been incredible... and as someone who knew pretty much nothing four months ago, im at a level where i can hold basic conversations with people - and i havent even opened the books outside of class, never did my homework, and missed A LOT of class. i think this was the perfect experiment to show how much someone can improve JUST by keeping up with the BNU curriculum and paying attention in class. My classmates, who have been studying and going to every class and doing all their homework - they're able to get by without even mentioning that they're still learning beginner level chinese. they classes go fast, but the teachers are amazing, and the material is easy to follow and exceptionally well thought out. your improvement depends largely on how much initiative you make to study, memorize, practice and make what you learned in class yours.

i had some personal issues that had to be sorted out when i first got here.. and i ended up moving out to my own place... and somehow ended up with a puppy... and two freelance projects... and you KNOW youre going to party and network and meet people like the world will come to an end tomorrow. so needless to say, i was a little.. unfocused and managed to forget why i was even in china - to learn chinese. but come next semester... OH ITS ON. ive got a week of class left, and finals on the 14th and 15th. woot!

[hepingrob]

Hi! I found this forum after doing some searching for information on the CSC Scholarship. I'm planning to apply for the scholarship as a Chinese language student for the 08-09 school year. I've been in China the past year and a half with the Peace Corps, and have really fallen in love with the language and culture. I'm looking forward to focusing more on the language after my time with the Peace Corps ends this summer.

Extrapages, I have some questions I'd like to ask you. How exactly do I send you a private message? I tried to email you through your profile, but that wasn't working for me.

Thanks!

[extrapages]

I've been in China the past year and a half with the Peace Corps, and have really fallen in love with the language and culture.

if youre in china right now, you might be out of luck, unless you're going to be out of the country when you apply. i remember it saying that you're not eligible for the scholarship unless you are NOT currently in china. but i'm not really sure.. and i cant find where i read that anymore... you might want to peruse the site and double check - because i'm pretty sure i read that somewhere when i was researching it.

Extrapages, I have some questions I'd like to ask you. How exactly do I send you a private message? I tried to email you through your profile, but that wasn't working for me.

when you're at my profile, there are two links: one to send a message via email or one to send just a private message that'll go to my inbox here on this site. here's a link

http://www.chinese-forums.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=16867

[Jamoldo]

This is an excellent point put forth by extrapages. I think my failed experience has been written about somewhere in these forums, maybe even in this thread. I did forget to mention that I was currently in China when I applied (well I was in another country when I sent in my application) but I was a registered student at BNU, so they might have just thrown out my application, seeing how I had already made it here on my own (hence the guy at the consulate in NY not even knowing my name).

As for guarantor, I think you can pretty much put down any name you want. They'll never check it. Good Luck

[naturegirl]

Very insightful thread.

I just looked through the physical examination form (http://www.csc.edu.cn/en/readarticle/readarticle.asp?articleid=574)

Does someone know what they are expecting in "development, nourishment, neck, skin, spine, extremities, ..." This is so bizarre o.O

Thanks!

[extrapages]

Does someone know what they are expecting in "development, nourishment, neck, skin, spine, extremities, ..." This is so bizarre o.O

from what i know, the physical examination can only be done by places approved by the chinese embassy of that country... or something to that effect. thats how it was for me anyway. you might want to call your chinese embassy and see if they have a list of places that do the exam - if that's the case, they should know how to deal with the form.

development im sure deals with if you had any growth issues during childhood that might be physically apparent now.. nourishment probably has something to do with possible malnutrition and its affects on the body; neck, skin, spine, extremities (arms, legs) - probably if there are any medical problems you may have on them (tumors, rashes, maybe?)

[Jamoldo]

Really? I just went to my Internist and he filled out the necessary forms. It took no more than 20 minutes. The embassy and the university didn't even blink. I think the HIV and other blood tests are what they look into more seriously (ie. Look at for more than a second).

[naturegirl]

from what i know, the physical examination can only be done by places approved by the chinese embassy of that country

Thanks, I will ask tomorrow.

But if I have no neck, skin, spine etc problems, should my doctor the just write "Fine/ no problems" in there, or what?

Also, did you all apply for full scholarship? So if I don't get the full one, am I completely rejected or is there a chance to get the partial one? Because I know an exchange program, where I applied for scholarship, and even though I didn't get the full one, they put me on the partial scholarship program. Here, I also assume, that the full scholarship is more competitive, so is it saver to apply only for partial?

[tdkage]

Didn't get one either.... the spanish embassy doesn't give one to undergraduate students through the CSC.... crap....

[Jamoldo]

Your doctor will figure it out. Let him do the filling. I'm positive of one thing, my doctor most certainly was NOT approved by the Chinese gov't esp since I bet they had never heard of him...

Ask for a stamp on your paper though with the doctor's name, address and contact info.. the more stamps/official looking dodads on the form the better...

[Loriquero]

doctor's stamp is useless,the form should be filled with a hospital stamp, better if looks like a real serious stamp, if is a doctor's stamp, when you arrive to China you have to do all tests again... but I think is better this way, so you will be complete certificate by chinese hospital, approved by chinese government.

I applied for complete schollarship (through the education ministry of Colombia) and got the partial one.

[Jamoldo]

My experience was the complete opposite. But then again, I only filled out health forms as a self paying student, rather than scholarship, though I don't think it would really make too big a difference.

[extrapages]

got a private message asking about some stuff - and i thought itd be good to bring it into the thread as they were good questions that not only would be good for others to see but also could be good discussion starters:

Like you, I'd be applying individually so I figure I should start early. Futhermore, I want to do language study AND study film. It's theoretically possible according to the website but I want to check before I send in an application and get rejected outright.

Thanks for your help.

-taryn

p.s. Is the stipend really enough to have a good time in Beijing?

i know a friend here who got the scholarship to learn chinese the first year and film the next three. but he got the scholarship from south africa, as opposed to the states. but i think all the same people look at it - and you pretty much get what you check off in the application. go for it! good luck! contact this guy - and thats the address i ended up sending the application to, but im sure he'll give you that when the time is right.

[--contact information removed--]

the stipend is not enough... and the room they provide is a tiny room with basically just two desks, two closets, and two beds in the oldest dorm, and you share a bathroom with the rest of the floor. i moved out on day 1 to a nicer dorm, where i paid the difference... but i really didnt feel at home there either - so i moved off campus - but lost the housing money. oh well.

the stipend is 1100 yuan a month. but a normal person will blow that in about a week eating out, exploring beijing, buying daily necessities, keeping up the standard of living in the states. but it is POSSIBLE to live off just that if you just stay home and study, eat at the cafeteria, and have no life.

i make money from a previous editing job in korea that i still do via email... and ive started doing some marketing/pr freelancing and landed some projects to keep the cashflow alive. youll definitely need and want more than just the stipend - but it does help. so make sure you either have people back at home to send you cash or find a job. honestly, having a job while trying to study sucks, but it helps you get out there and be exposed to more of the real, daily beijing.

that was a good question... (about the stipend) do you mind if i post in the thread?

AND

once I did the translation online i was like, um, that stipend sounds like chump change!

unfortunately for me, I have credit card bills to pay as well so I'd definitely have to have a side hustle! My undergrad was journalism/PR. I'm hoping between writing and editing I can work something out...

so, is beijing freezing in winter or what?!

-t.

i wouldnt say its "chump change" though - because you can go a long way with just $10 US dollars. a huge meal - split between you and friends at an average chinese place would be like 3 or 4 dollars... hang out at a club for the night and you can spend like $30 and be drunk off your ass. the 1100 yuan wont be enough to keep you alive, but itll feel like you just got paid when the money comes in.

but remember also that you wont be making any big money in china - definitely not enough to be paying off bills at home.. because even if its okay for life in beijing - back at home, itll boil down to pretty much nothing.

---

FREEZING. FREEZING. i went out with my hair wet yesterday and it froze.. FREEZING. averaging about 10 degrees right now. i hear that the weather will stay cold until the end of february?

ps. also, feel free to post up some of the everyday questions in the thread - youll get more perspective that way. especially about the money and such. ill post what we discussed so far though. itd be nice to put up a post after mine with a short, short intro of yourself. =]

what do you guys think?

[taryn]

Tis' I, the inquisitive applicant!

Unlike several fabulously qualified CSC applicants on this board, I haven't had any formal training in Chinese and my net worth is approximately negative 52 times my present income but I digress...

Basically, I'd like to apply to the CSC as a "General Scholar" 1 year language study, 1 year subject study at Shanghai University in the film department. I may be running a fool's errand for the reasons stated above and 100's of others I haven't even thought of...BUT free advice is much appreciated.

[extrapages]

hah! ive had no formal training until my first day of class here. taryn, my friend who got the scholarship from south africa, he learned chinese for a month before getting here... and started with me at hello in chinese. haha! don't worry about it.

GO FOR IT! tell us how it goes!

[naturegirl]

Is there anyone from Germany who got the scholarship? Pleas PN me then