Bedan Adjuster Posted April 15, 2009 at 11:52 PM Report Posted April 15, 2009 at 11:52 PM Hey guys. I've just recieved some great news. I've been awarded a scholarship to study at HIT. Although I applied through a different route than most of you guys, this thread was still very helpful. So my thanks goes out to all those who have contributed to this thread and especially extrapages.I think my monthly stipend is 1400. How far will this go in a city like Harbin? I know that extrapages mentioned that you'll need more in a city like Beijing, but does that also apply to a city like Harbin where the cost of living is lower? I need to decide on how much extra money I should bring to China. Cheers. Congratulations jereme88!! I hope many applicants from this forum become successful as well.
airthus Posted April 16, 2009 at 05:38 AM Report Posted April 16, 2009 at 05:38 AM hello everyone (and competition for the scholarship!) my story: I plan to apply to the DC consulate because everyone on the forums seems to think the my nearly embassy (Chicago) is not the best. Its true that I too tried to call the embassy for information but kept being transferred or told that nobody knows about the program. I am currently in the usa, but i plan to go to china shortly after i get my application. I've heard it can take a few months for the results to arrive so i will already be there if i do get accepted! Personally i got all of my documents notarized. my aunt is a registered notary so i guess i lucked out with that. She told me she usually charges $50 per signature O_O (works at a law firm) I did not apply for the school beforehand, as it seems that it would cause problems if i was accepted to multiple schools / and the scholarship so i figured that I would let the Chinese gov't handle the application. As for the physical exam, my family doctor was more than happy to perform everything expect the chest x-ray and i got referred to another local hospital for that. The doctor did question the actual paper for the physical exam, it seems good in theory but the document i got from the official website has several misspellings and it seems the Chinese gov't is pre-occupied with std's more than anything else. advice: dont call the Chicago embassy, it seems they dont know / dont want to deal with people other than Chinese speakers
extrapages Posted April 16, 2009 at 05:41 AM Author Report Posted April 16, 2009 at 05:41 AM airthus, Awesome! Thanks for sharing with the thread. Hopefully it all works out. I'll PM you my guarantor information that you requested. =]
menyawga Posted April 16, 2009 at 06:23 AM Report Posted April 16, 2009 at 06:23 AM Airthus, Did your doctor/hospital affix some kind of official seal or stamp over the original photo of you in the top right corner? They go into detail requiring it on the application materials. -Menyawga
Jenlaoshi Posted April 16, 2009 at 05:18 PM Report Posted April 16, 2009 at 05:18 PM Hello all, Well, I'm getting down to the deadline and slightly worried, but hopeful that everything will come together. I thought I would answer some of the basic questions to share my experience thus far. (I already introduced myself in an earlier post) Where are you applying from? Washington, DC, USA Are you currently in China? No What did your local state embassy say? I have not made contact with them. I have emailed, but no response yet. Where and how did you get your papers notarized? My company has a notary onsite, so I am able to take advantage of that. Did you apply for your school of choice beforehand? No Where did you get your Physical Exam done? I went to my regular doctor for a yearly physical. He was able to add the extra tests that the form requires and fill in the forms, as needed. So far, I have not received a bill and it should be covered by the current health insurance I have through my employer. Anything about the process you thought might be good for others to know about? I, of course, should have completed everything earlier to be more relaxed right now, but I was waiting because I hadn't told my employer about my plans yet. Therefore, I waited longer than I needed to before asking for a letter of recommendation from my employer. Now, I see that there was no reason for me to have waited, but in a rough economy, I did not want to give them a reason to let me go earlier than I want to leave. Any hiccups you had to work through? My original diploma is huge. It is many times the size of a regular piece of paper and therefore it is not possible to actually make a copy of it. So, I had to take a picture, print that, then make a photo of that to make it look like a photocopy before getting in notarized...hopefully that is what they want? Kind of a random hiccup. I'm also curious regarding the Guarantor--Is this simply a person currently in China who they can contact to prove I exist? I have contacts in China who know me and I can put down their information, but I am wondering if there is anything more to it than that. And finally, I am still confused about what address to send the actual application to. I am literally less than a mile from both the old embassy and the new embassy complex in Washington, DC, and frustrated that I can't determine where to send the application (and than I can't personally deliver it because I can't contact them. I realize this is a normal frustration, but the recent previous threads have not really helped calm the frustration. Thanks and good luck to everyone who has made it through the process so far! -Jen
extrapages Posted April 16, 2009 at 10:06 PM Author Report Posted April 16, 2009 at 10:06 PM I'm also curious regarding the Guarantor--Is this simply a person currently in China who they can contact to prove I exist? I have contacts in China who know me and I can put down their information, but I am wondering if there is anything more to it than that. That's all you need. It's not a person who can prove you exist. It's just a contact that will cover for you if something happens to you. They will only contact that person if something goes wrong during the time you are in China under the scholarship. And if you are less than a mile from both locations, why not walk over and ask?
ABQgirl Posted April 17, 2009 at 01:15 AM Report Posted April 17, 2009 at 01:15 AM well folks I mail my application on Friday and then I came back and checked here and heard about all of the embassy location madness. Then I checked yesterday the FedEx tracking number and it has been received and signed for at the old address. This is the address I used: Which was sent to me by Mr. Liu himself. I'm not sure how this helps those of you trying to figure out where to send the app. I am now really worried that it was signed for by a security guard or something cleaning up the old place and that by the time the 18th rolls around and the scholarship guy can look for it (I emailed and got the same vacation response all of you did) it will be hopelessly lost in the move. Maybe I'm being pessimistic. We'll see what happens. But I wanted to report that my app was received somewhere. Please everyone keep us posted! Mr. LIU Jiangyi, Second Secretary, Education Office Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America 2300 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington DC 20008
menyawga Posted April 17, 2009 at 01:32 AM Report Posted April 17, 2009 at 01:32 AM Just to give my experience with sending the application to D.C. : I sent it by EMS from Korea, and it arrived at the embassy on 4/6 and was signed for by "JJA" whoever that is. When I emailed Mr. Liu asking him if he had indeed received my EMS pagkage, he replied, "No worry for EMS. Will update you at the earliest convenience for the next steps." Ok......I guess that means it arrived and he knows about it, and I'll receive information when it's being sent to China...or maybe he just means I'll find out in July whether or not I got the scholarship. I'm just trusting that I've done everything I can, so now I'll wait. Menyawga
jacki Posted April 17, 2009 at 03:53 AM Report Posted April 17, 2009 at 03:53 AM Ok, well, I think my application might actually make it. I'm just waiting on my medical things to get back to me, and so hopefully I will be able to overnight everything to D.C by Tuesday, and hopefully that'll be in time. I have the two letters of recommendation, but I'm thinking of dropping by the dean's office tomorrow to see if I can get a quick "this organization recommends me" letter, but I'm not sure if he will seeing as no one in a high-up position at my university has any idea who I am. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm not too worried as the application doesn't ask for this, but I want to have everything I possibly can.
Bedan Adjuster Posted April 17, 2009 at 04:49 AM Report Posted April 17, 2009 at 04:49 AM Hi jacki, Just a tip regarding recommendation letters. It is a misconception that the referee must be prominent or a high ranking official of an institution. A qualified referee is SOMEONE who can make a better assessment of your abilities. Actually, they could be your friend, classmate or officemate. So don't be bothered too much if they are not that influential.
Jenlaoshi Posted April 17, 2009 at 01:57 PM Report Posted April 17, 2009 at 01:57 PM And if you are less than a mile from both locations, why not walk over and ask? Yeah, you're right, maybe I'll give it a shot. It is a nice day in DC to take a walk. Thanks again for all the advice!
jacki Posted April 17, 2009 at 07:53 PM Report Posted April 17, 2009 at 07:53 PM Bedan Adjuster - Thanks! I am wondering, though, about the 'organization recommending you for this scholarship' - the application itself doesn't state that a letter is needed, but the big amazing first post in this thread says that it can't hurt to have one typed up - and that one seems to me like it would need to be someone important from your organization, so that I guess they have the authority to say the organization recommends you. But I still am not sure I need this. I can probably go get one Monday if need be, but I don't know. My regular letters of recommendation are from a good friend of mine and one of my favorite professors
Bedan Adjuster Posted April 18, 2009 at 01:03 AM Report Posted April 18, 2009 at 01:03 AM My regular letters of recommendation are from a good friend of mine and one of my favorite professors I think these will do. Having a recommendation from a high ranking official of an institution who does not know you personally and cannot say anything about you is the same as a blank recommendation letter.
jacki Posted April 18, 2009 at 01:35 AM Report Posted April 18, 2009 at 01:35 AM I realized that I never filled out this little survey thing! I've been reading this thread pretty steadily since about Christmas, so it's probably time! Where are you applying from? I live in Minnesota, but I'm using my family's permanent address in Massachusetts because I move a lot at school and I know they will be there! Are you currently in China? Nope. I was there in 2007 though, and loved every minute, which is why I'm applying to go back! What did your local state embassy say? I kept trying to get someone to answer the phone at the consulate in Chicago, but never had any luck. So I'm just sending it straight to D.C. Where and how did you get your papers notarized? The tiny bank on my university's campus is fantastic about notarizing everything and anything for free. Did you apply for your school of choice beforehand? No, but I'm thinking of sending an application to my top choice anyway. I have no idea how I'd pay for it, but... I'm thinking about it. Where did you get your physical exam done? I got it done at a walk-in clinic. They were all very nice (although the nurse botched the blood test something fierce and my arms were very unhappy for days) and giggled over some of the questions on the exam, and then didn't even charge me a co-pay, so it was pretty fantastic. Anything about the process you thought might be good for others to know about? Any hiccups you had to work through? I don't have any extra knowledge on this process, per se, but if anyone has any questions at all about Tianjin (particularly Nankai University), please feel free to PM me! So, now, everything in my application is done and all set and I will be overnighting it to D.C on Monday. It's all set and done except for one blank on the application: My school choices, haha. I know this is not the thread for it, so I'm not asking for advice, but my top choice is just so much my top choice that I am at a loss as to what to put for the others!
fanglu Posted April 18, 2009 at 04:43 AM Report Posted April 18, 2009 at 04:43 AM Apparently the whoever gets the top mark in the HSK exam in May in Sydney is being offered a Confucius Institute scholarship (subject to them being the right candidate I assume). The publicity material I've seen says it is only for a maximum of 6 weeks' study, but the person responsible told me they would actually give it for up to 3 years. I have no idea if this is Australia-wide, world-wide or what. It is the first time they've given scholarships this way in Sydney at least. I'm not sure if the Confucius Institute scholarships are the same as the CSC scholarships, but they seem very similar.
yiming Posted April 18, 2009 at 07:29 AM Report Posted April 18, 2009 at 07:29 AM Oh, I never answered any questions either, did I? Q: Where are you applying from? A: I'm applying from the Washington D.C. metro area. Q: Are you currently in China? A: No. Q: What did your local state embassy say? A: They told me the deadline (April 30th) but they weren't much help aside from that. Q: Where and how did you get your papers notarized? A: Unfortunately I haven't done that yet, I've been putting it off for way too long. Q: Did you apply for your school of choice beforehand? A: No, it sounds like that would be a bad idea from what I've read here. Q: Where did you get your Physical Exam done? A: I got it done at a local clinic in the suburbs (McLean Immediate Care). The basic application was covered under a discounted student college application charge. The X-rays and HIV & Syphilis tests were extra. The basic application charge was about $100, but with the extra tests it came to around $450. Q: Anything about the process you thought might be good for others to know about? A: Get started earlier than you think is necessary! Q: Any hiccups you had to work through? A: It's been pretty much a straight shot so far, thanks to all the information on this forum. I'll be applying to be a graduate student (in Computer Science) instead of the standard language study (though I'm applying for 2 years of that as well, as "remedial" Chinese). In case I don't manage to get the scholarship this year I hope to try again next year. Whether or not it goes through I'll let you all know how this goes as it develops. Perhaps I'll have some useful information for other grad students, whether in my success or lack thereof. Extrapages: I was wondering, would it be possible to get the information about your contact in the D.C. embassy? I hope I'm not being too forward. I don't believe I have the instant messaging enabled yet though -- do I have to ask an admin for that? And... how would I go about doing that if... I can't send messages in the first place? Thanks so much for all your help so far.
supergoh Posted April 18, 2009 at 01:19 PM Report Posted April 18, 2009 at 01:19 PM Hi! I am interested in applying for China Government Scholarship. I found out this scholarship in my country Ministry of Education(MOE) website. Shall I use the MOE as an organization recommending me for this scholarship,though I read the first post stating recommender should be apolitical ? Thank you.
Bedan Adjuster Posted April 18, 2009 at 05:36 PM Report Posted April 18, 2009 at 05:36 PM supergoh, Welcome to the forum. May I know where are you applying from? It is good to know that the MOE in your country provides the information about the scholarship. If the info on their website has lacking information, I suggest you call them and ask. Go!
supergoh Posted April 19, 2009 at 02:35 AM Report Posted April 19, 2009 at 02:35 AM Bedan Adjuster, I will be applying for the scholarship from Malaysia next year.I will take HSK this year . My country official seems to know nothing about the scholarship.They just told me to send the application form through them.
Philibuster Posted April 19, 2009 at 04:29 PM Report Posted April 19, 2009 at 04:29 PM I spoke to a lady at the New York Chinese Consulate and she told me that at the end of may there would be a list published of all the applications that were being forewarded to bejing. I hope that it's true. Cause that would be awsome.
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