CSC Scholarship - Archives

[Qcash3]

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:

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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

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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?

Concerning the stipend, it definitely wasn't enough. As said, it isn't impossible to survive on 1100元 a month, but if you want like eating out and going to bars and clubs you'll need more. Getting a job will definitely put you in touch with an aspect of chinese culture less seen by foreigners.

[Elwood]

Hi guys. I have been following this forum ever since I got my CSC scholarship to study at Tsinghua University in February because it's been very useful.

There's been tons of information on how to apply for the scholarship but not much on what happens next. So I'd like to see if you guys know more. For example, the scholarship covers living expenses, tuition and accomodation, how does the system actually work? Will I not have to pay tuition and accomodation every month or will there will an amount deposited into my account and I use that to pay for it?

I have all these unanswered questions.

When I got my scholarship the Chinese Embassy just sent me some documents without any explanation of things. I tried asking the guy in charge but he said contact my university. And when I contacted my university there was either no reply by email or they did not know what was going on when I called.

So any answers I can get would be must appreciated.

Thanks.

[sandor]

Great thread, extrapages. I'd be grateful if you could answer the following questions.

When should I take the foreigner physical exam? During the application period or after admission?

Do they allow recommendation letters made by personal friends or siblings?

Hoping for your usual kind assistance. Hope you're having lots of fun in Beijing!

[extrapages]

woah. i wouldve replied earlier to these posts - never got an email that new stuff was on here. my apologies.

There's been tons of information on how to apply for the scholarship but not much on what happens next. So I'd like to see if you guys know more. For example, the scholarship covers living expenses, tuition and accomodation, how does the system actually work? Will I not have to pay tuition and accomodation every month or will there will an amount deposited into my account and I use that to pay for it?

elwood, this is excellent feedback. ive been meaning to update that first post because i feel like theres a lot of REALLY useless information on it - but eh, whatever. and ive felt like i shouldve written more about what happens after, but i was busy answering the questions i got before yours.

well.. the system DOES work - so well, in fact, that I never really ran into any problems - which was a major reason why I never felt the need to write about it. The CSC must have some in-house, direct system set up with their universities because the schools know who the scholarship students are - and they are never asked to pay any kind of dorm, tuition, or book fees... EVER. You can live like they don't really exist. They even register for you every semester for how long you're covered under the scholarship. The only thing that I could think of that I needed to pay for was the housing deposit which was like 200 kuai - and I got that back when I moved out.

And I think the monthly stipend works differently in each school - Qcash3 wrote about how he got an ATM card for an account they set up for him. I go to the office on the 28th of each month and get my stipend in cold, hard cash after I sign my name on the stipend list.

You don't have to worry about any of the bills yourself - they take care of all of it for you. You just deal with the stipend money they give you - and you spend that however you want. But as it was discussed in the earlier posts - that is definitely NOT enough to live a happy life in Beijing. You'll want to come with a bunch of saved cash or another source of income - even if it's small, it'll be enough here because a dollar goes a longggg way.

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Great thread, extrapages. I'd be grateful if you could answer the following questions.

When should I take the foreigner physical exam? During the application period or after admission?

Do they allow recommendation letters made by personal friends or siblings?

Hoping for your usual kind assistance. Hope you're having lots of fun in Beijing!

Thanks, sandor! I'm just trying to help out.

The foreigner physical exam? It's a requirement for the scholarship... So you'll have to get it done when you apply for the scholarship. But I don't understand what application period you're talking about... and I don't really know how you'd take it AFTER admission - because you won't even be able to enter the country without that physical check up. From what I understand, the only reason why it's part of the scholarship application is because they also handle your visa application - which requires the physical.

Unless I misunderstood the questions? Do you mean admission as in ... after you get accepted by the university? Because even if you get accepted by the school - you'll have to get the physical exam done for the your visa application to get into China. But if you end up doing that before sending in the CSC application, you can send in the same physical exam form. Just post back if I didn't get at what you were asking. =]

I don't think they care about who writes the recommendations, as long as you have them. I don't remember if they required one from a former teacher? But if a family member is also a teacher who knows you personally, I don't think it matters. Honestly, I don't think they even read all the applications all the way though. I don't know. Shrug shrug shrug.

And yes... Beijing is SO KICKASS that it's foot smells - as does every other part of Beijing... but that's for different reasons. HARHAR! Gosh, I'm so funny.

[sandor]

Quote selectively, please. Admin

Thank you so much, extrapages. I really appreciate the time you took to answer my questions. You have pretty much explain all I needed to know about the foreigner's physical exam and recommendation letter.

As for the guarantor, should the person be someone residing in Beijing? Can I just leave it blank if I don't know anyone from Beijing?

[extrapages]

As for the guarantor, should the person be someone residing in Beijing? Can I just leave it blank if I don't know anyone from Beijing?

I'll be your person if you still need one. I think it's important to not leave any blanks, if possible/applicable. send me a private message and i'll send you my information. =]

[Elwood]

Thanks heaps extrapages. Appreciate the time you're taking to answer all the questions.

[yueni]

Thanks a ton, extrapages, this has been a really helpful thread for me, because I am currently trying to jump through the hoops of this entire convoluted process. I do have a question for you though, since you applied for the scholarship through the US DOE while you were in Korea.

I am a Singaporean citizen, but a US PR, and I am currently working in the US. I tried calling the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, and they were absolutely no help to me, and told me that I couldn't apply because I wasn't a current university student, so I was ineligible for the scholarship. However, I'm applying for the Chinese learners scholarship where you have to be under 35 years old and have an equivalent of high school diploma or better (I have a BA, so I'm pretty sure I'm fine there). As far as I know, I fit all the criteria for the scholarship: under 35, check. At least HS equivalent education, check. Is there something that I'm missing?

Should I be contacting the US DoE instead, like you did? Or would I do better by contacting the Singaporean Ministry of Education to help me in this? I'm trying to get the scholarship to study at BLCU this September.

[extrapages]

I am a Singaporean citizen, but a US PR, and I am currently working in the US.

i dont think it matters if youre a permanent resident in the states. if you are of singaporean citizenship, you'll have to apply through singaporean authorities. i dont know how far youll get with the singapore ministry of education - but you might get a little further (or possibly nowhere at all) with the chinese consulate/embassy in singapore.

tell us how it goes. sorry i couldnt be of more help. =[

[bottledpoetry]

hi!

one more question (I sent CSC an email about this, but from the experiences here, am not expecting a response anytime soon) - the application says to attach letters of admission from the Chinese host uni. I wanted to apply for CSC and use the money for fall semester at BNU, but BNU's application deadlines for fall aren't until around May, so I don't expect to receive a letter of admission from them by the CSC deadline of April 15th.

Does that mean I can't apply for CSC at all? Also (this may be a bonehead question) - if I am going to pursue language studies after having just graduated from college, I apply under general scholar and not language student, correct?

Thanks for all the help everyone (and especially extrapages!)

[extrapages]

you only attach them if you already applied to the school of your choice and received the admission notice.

if you didnt apply, you just fill in your top three choices in the csc application, and they will choose and register for you.

and you are applying as a language student, NOT a general scholar.

[Romana]

Hi guys,

I'm glad that I found this thread finally, but I'm afraid I've reached the dead end. I am in a similar situation as Yueni from Singapore..I'm graduating this spring form the university in the US, but I am an international student here.But I really want to get CSC scholarship though...

I'm Russian citizen and I contacted Chinese embassy in Russia recently, but their reply wasn't helpful.I seriously doubt that Russian Ministry of edu can help me here. I'm currently trying to contact Chinese Consulate in Huston, may be they can be of help, but after reading how some of you struggled with this scholarship until you found the right people I feel hopeless...

If anyone has any suggestions on what I can do in this situation, please reply!

[extrapages]

I'm Russian citizen and I contacted Chinese embassy in Russia recently, but their reply wasn't helpful.I seriously doubt that Russian Ministry of edu can help me here. I'm currently trying to contact Chinese Consulate in Huston, may be they can be of help, but after reading how some of you struggled with this scholarship until you found the right people I feel hopeless...

1. what exactly did the chinese embassy in russia say?

2. i dont know why i didnt think of this before - but has anyone tried to contact the CSC head offices and see if THEY know if singapore/russia actually have CSC scholarship partnerships? its possible that china doesnt have a deal with your countries. (shrug) of course, thats our worst case scenario, but then at least youll know that this is DEFINITELY a dead end - and channel your resources to finding other scholarships...?

[yueni]

I was going to wait until I got things straightened out, but I had to reply.

i dont know why i didnt think of this before - but has anyone tried to contact the CSC head offices and see if THEY know if singapore/russia actually have CSC scholarship partnerships? its

I did email the contact listed on the csc.edu website, and I only just got a reply back today. (About 2 and a half weeks and two emails later.) I was told to contact the Chinese embassy in Singapore about the scholarship. I had already sent them an email last week, but have not gotten a reply back, so I'll be getting a phone card and calling them to see if I can't get answers from there.

I don't know how much this will help you, Romana, but it seems that the Chinese embassies really aren't much help at all. I don't know any authorities in Singapore that will help me out like the DOE does for US citizens. In any case, I suggest being persistent with the embassies, because it did take half a month for me to get anything back from the guy from CSC.

[Romana]

Thanks, extrapages and yeni for your replies!

1. what exactly did the chinese embassy in russia say?

They said that if I were studying in Russia, I would have to go my university's office of international smth. and do it with their help. Since I'm not studying in Russia, they can do nothing for me.

I contacted Chinese consulate in Huston and also emailed them, the reply was rather strange...Here it is :

"We have a limited number of Chinese government scholarships, we have already allocated all of them to the Confucius Institutes in our jurisdition area in order to promote their Chinese language teaching. " I actually asked them, CAN I SEND MY DOCS VIA YOUR CONSULATE?, but the reply was-we don't have any scholarships at the moment. Weird.

The guy there also mentioned my university and I told him that, yes, there is a Confucius Institute here and I've been there just a week ago, and was told that they cannot help me and I cannot send my docs via them. I guess I'll go to them again...

[Romana]

I have one more option.

Have anyone ever applied for CHINA/UNESCO -THE Great Wall FELLOWSHIP?

I contacted UNESCO office in Russia, they transferred me many times, and finally I was talking to the guy who deals with educational issues. I explained to him everything, but he said that he have never heard about this fellowship or anything of that kind; however, he told me that if I really want, I can send my documents to them, and they'll see what they can do. Well, this is like sending documents to nowhere....so I thought I wouldn't do that. But since I I can't find out anything about chinese government scholarship, I started to reconsider the UNESCO option...

[extrapages]

like yueni has discovered, most chinese embassies outside of the states seem to be of very little or no help with this. the chinese embassy in korea - where i was living at the time i applied to the csc - didnt even know of the scholarship's existence.

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"We have a limited number of Chinese government scholarships, we have already allocated all of them to the Confucius Institutes in our jurisdition area in order to promote their Chinese language teaching. " I actually asked them, CAN I SEND MY DOCS VIA YOUR CONSULATE?, but the reply was-we don't have any scholarships at the moment. Weird.

The guy there also mentioned my university and I told him that, yes, there is a Confucius Institute here and I've been there just a week ago, and was told that they cannot help me and I cannot send my docs via them. I guess I'll go to them again...

haha! theyre giving you the runaround. so it seems like the confucius institutes have definitely been stepping up and looking for untapped resources - this scholarship being a major one. when i was applying, they havent yet been a leading partner with the CSC - and the individual applicants were accepted as long as there was room after the batch applicants from small, relatively unknown university programs were "processed." im thinking that the majority of the open slots will now go to the confucius institutes.

man, this whole situation sucks. i wonder if you could get back in touch with that "guy" and see if he knows of a specific contact at the confucius institute at your university. SOMEONE has to be the person designated to take these applications. and someone at confucius institute was in charge of recruiting and gathering all the potential applicants to send to the consulate - i think its just a matter of getting in touch with the right person... not the people who arent part of this iniative, and therefore dont know anything about it - but instead of finding out whats going on and giving you the right answer, they just want to get you off the phone and they tell you that they just dont know - to call someone else.

good luck. good luck. good luck...!

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CHINA/UNESCO -THE Great Wall FELLOWSHIP

no idea. could you keep us updated while you work through this one?

i love how everyone is being told to run around in circles. a little ridiculous...

[Romana]

SOMEONE has to be the person designated to take these applications. and someone at confucius institute was in charge of recruiting and gathering all the potential applicants to send to the consulate - i think its just a matter of getting in touch with the right person...

The funny (and sad) thing is that confucius institute here was just established in december and I've been to their place about 4 times already-asking questions about everything. All these times I talked to the head of the institute Mr. X. Or if he is not the head-he is at the moment responsible for everything there. You see, I talked to him about two weeks ago and brought with me the printed copy of the scholarship application description. He reviewed it and told me that, unfortunately, confucius institute can do nothing for me.. Well, it is possible that the things have changed for the last two weeks...I'll talk to him soon again.

This is ridiculous.

[Chrissy88]

I'm a US citizen and I'm applying to for th CSC scholarship as language student....and I seem to be running into problems in finding a "guarantor "as well. Can this be an organization or an individual?

A few other questions that are popping up:

- Just wanted to confirm: if I'm applying as a language student, I only need to specify the name or organization that is recommending me for the scholarship? No additional attachments? What "organizations" does the Chinese government deem worthy of giving such recommendations?

- Is My OfficeMax Printer Paper 'Official' Enough?

As far as formal submission goes, just wanted to confirm that the application that I print off my computer, which will be on "normal paper" will be sufficient? (i've read a few people running into problems because they didn't submit it on the official application paper? who knows.)

- Describe your "study plan."

I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be your standard "short essay" describing why i'm such a "great student", and my goals/intentions of study-- or is this supposed to be just simply a "cut and dry" factual plan of what I plan to achieve and when i plan to achieve it? All the CSC websites don't seem to make a big deal out this at all---"200 words or less", but then on the application they suggest attaching an entire separate page? I'm still toying with how to write this...I mean I don't want to write like 600 words and piss them off, but i don't want to do the minimum either and lose the scholarship entirely. Any advice from anyone who won the scholarship? How simplistic is this section supposed to be...especially from language student perspective??

- Additional Supporting Attachments...Employment?

In regards to additional documentation needed, I am also curious as to if there are additional supporting documents needed for this? I just want to make sure to get all documents that require notarization, completed by the deadline.

- Admissions Letter Attachment.

In terms of "attaching an admissions letter," I was told that this is not mandatory, (seeing as the school I pick is entirely dependent on the scholarship). I am told that I can list my top three choices on the scholarship application without additional admission letters...and things are just supposed to "carry on" from there? I'll be applying for a full scholarship--and was wondering if i'll have a better chance if I apply beforehand? (on the other end, I wasn't sure if my chances would lessen if the three I happened to specify already had their scholarship quotas filled or something...)

- Medical Exam.

As far as the physical exam, can't this be done after the application is submitted, I find out if I received the scholarship, and am accepted to the university? Also, in terms of the medical exam itself, can I just take the official form to my family doctor and get an exam there? Or must this be done by a Chinese authority or a special "approved" doctor in a specific office?

- Full or Partial.

Assuming I don't get the full scholarship...am I automatically eligible for the partial?

- Where I am mailing this whole thing? Right now, I'm in Detroit---do I sent it to the closest Chinese consulate is in Chicago (but they are infamous for being completely useless, which is concerning...)? Or do I mail it directly to the CSC? or perhaps just the closest embassy? I'm convinced that none of these people respond to emails or answer the phone...which is why this forum is all the more amazing.

ok...i'm out of questions now...

[extrapages]

Chrissy88,

im going to answer all these questions for you in the next post.

but before you even go through the trouble, you need to work on answering the last question for yourself first. there is no point of actually filling out the application before finding out where the hell youre going to send it - and if that place is the right place to send it. or youll just put yourself through a lot of crap for NOTHING. and thats stupid.

Where I am mailing this whole thing? Right now, I'm in Detroit---do I sent it to the closest Chinese consulate is in Chicago (but they are infamous for being completely useless, which is concerning...)? Or do I mail it directly to the CSC? or perhaps just the closest embassy? I'm convinced that none of these people respond to emails or answer the phone...which is why this forum is all the more amazing.

(i dont think its fair to say that consulates/embassies are useless. they fulfill roles of international political importance that most average citizens would never really understand or even think of... and they are dependable safehouses for people who come from that country that run into trouble.) anyway, if you read this thread or the CSC website at all, youd now that sending it directly to the CSC will be useless. theyll throw it in the trash because they dont accept individual applications. and sending it to the closest consulate or embassy without first finding the right person to send it to will also result in your application being thrown out.

Chrissy88, you need to do your share of the dirty work. call both the embassy and consulate in chicago and ask them to forward you to the right person regarding the CSC scholarship. if the consulate doesnt know, call the embassy, and vice versa. youll probably (not definitely - but probably) have to get through some red tape and numerous phone calls with lots of different people just to get to someone who has an IDEA of what youre talking. if ALL else fails, you contact the chinese embassy in washington, d.c. - but i highly recommend you trying out the one in chicago first because they might have slots (as in quota for applications) that arent filled, while the one in d.c. might have already been reached. hell, try to contact the ones in chicago AND d.c. if you can. and that information can be found online - just google it.

now, im going to answer your questions - but i hope you come back and tell us the obstacles/turns/surprises you run into - not only so we can learn more about the process with the chicago embassy, but also so that we can keep helping you out.