CSC Scholarship - Archives

[Ariane]

Don, thanks a ton! That's a load off my mind. I was a bit afraid I'd have to stretch out my money for another two weeks, but that'll give me more than I need. Thanks again for checking that out.

[sakura_girl85]

dear all,,,

i applied to :

1st Tianjin univ

2nd BLCU

3rd i forget,,hehe, i think shanghai univ

i applied language scholarship for one year n already have admission letter for tianjin univ,,,

but i read from this forum it can make a little problem when i get it,,hua,,,

as i said yesterday, i found this forum after i applied,,huix,,

and i do many things that not same like ur suggestion,,

so i really hope i get the best result (of course that is i get the scholarship:mrgreen:)

cia you!! !

[benhadad]

@Sarpedon

Sorry for the confusion, my last post was not in response to your post but to someone who asked about TJ compared to other areas.

As far as living comfortably you can find an apartment in TJ for around 1500-2000 yuan a month that is clean and comfortable. A rule of thumb I came up with is around 15-35yuan per square meter. Of course if you look like a foreigner or don't want to hassel with dealing then you will need to pay double that amount. I know my last apartment was 2500yuan for 130 square meters, in a nice part of town. People nearby paid 5000yuan for something smaller and not as nice. So I would say 1000-1500 for living outside campus for apartment.

Food wise you can eat comfortably for your average meal for around 12-30 yuan a meal. 12 is your local restaurant, and 30 is like KFC and McDonalds. Of course if you need something better than what the rest of the students make due on then you will need to double that (65yuan) per meal.

So food - 1000yuan-4000yuan a month

Travel, well if your in school then you will travel when you have breaks which means everyone else will be traveling too. A overnight train sleeper is around 500yuan say from BJ to Shanghai or BJ to HK. So a quick trip will run 1000yuan for train ticket and probably 150-500 yuan a night for hotel. Rujia (homesinn.com) has comfortable and clean rooms starting around 150yuan a night. Their rooms have sometimes been much better than some 500yuan a night rooms. So say 2 trips 5 days each= 4000yuan.

transportation. You can buy stolen bikes (not recommended) under the balitai bridge for around 60-100yuan. You can go to the giant bike store and get a new one for around 400-800yuan. You need a couple of locks which run around 50-150yuan. The better the bike the more locks you need. I would even recommend bringing a lock with you as I have seen guys with all the keys for the Chinese ones. Ofcourse another option is an electric bike which is cool. You want one with an Li-Ion batter as you have to hall it around and the lead or nickle ones are very heavy. 2400yuan will get you a Li-ion one that is fold-able type bike. Need to pay around 50-75yuan a month for a parking place for it (if you don't want it stolen). So i would say here 1000-3000yuan for bike/transport.

The buses are 2 kuai each way. So say 2-4 trips a day = 2500 yuan a year.

Cab rides are 8 kuai min. with 1.6kuai

Electrical cost if you have to pay it would run around 200 yuan every month if you have AC or us a Heater. So 2400 yuan for the year.

Water if you wash close in an top loader will be around 50yuan a month.

Gas was pretty cheap around 30yuan a month

Drinking water - 10 yuan per large bottle - 1 bottle per person per week = 520 yuan a year.

I would also include international health insurance. Which the company I knew of before cost around $400 - $800 US a year. This company was part I think of AIG and is not offering insurance at this time, so I am looking for a new one.

So I would say around 40,000 yuan/year or ($6000 US) [Not including Health insurance or trip home or tuition if your not on scholarship] starting at this level

I think I went thru $10000 US.

[Meshaq7]

benhadad, thanks for a very detailed and informative post. I have been wondering about costs for TJ too and haven't been able to find them anywhere.

[evasiege]

Just posted this in another thread, but want to put here too.

Do all universities place you in classes based on your least developed ability? Honestly if this were the case, I probably wouldn't attend a university even if I did get the CSC scholarship. I haven't studied speaking/reading for the past 3 years to sit in beginners classes again.

[Don_Horhe]

Does anybody know what the procedure is for giving up a government scholarship? Are there any penalties or other specific points that one should know about in advance?

[benhadad]

What do you mean giving it up?

You applied were accepted and no longer want it?

If this is the case it would best to write them and tell them so they know. I think they will tell you what you need to do.

You accepted it and have started to attend.

Talk to the school first and explain that you do not want to suspend and you want to quit. This may affect your ability to get a visa or remain in china. I have heard other that offered or were asked to pay for the time in school they attended.

If it is at the end of the year and you have more than a year left, then you can exit at that point. The first thing they normally do is ask if you want the scholarship suspended (unless you are doing really bad and they don't like you in that case they will terminate it).

[Don_Horhe]

I'm considering the option of staying one more year and then going back home to my old university, because staying here is just a waste of time.

[DARCY]

Hi all, I would like to study Chinese Mandarin and Traditional Chinese Medicine in China. I am 21 years of age and a UK resident. I have A-Levels, a level 2 in Chinese Mandarin, a CELTA (TEFL) and an Art Foundation Diploma. Do you think I stand a chance? Also it appears I have missed the deadline for applications for this year. Does this mean I must wait until January next year to apply? Thanks.

[bigtops]

Darcy... As you're still under 25, you definitely have a chance. The CSC considers the 5-year TCM program offered in Beijing undergraduate study, so just apply before you go and get too old like me. If the CSC can be used with other TCM schools in China, it'll probably be much the same situation everywhere.

Your grades will probably matter; whatever an Art Foundation diploma is, can't hurt to put it on your application. But I don't think they'll care much about the CELTA cert. What you might use that to do is come over here and teach while brushing up your Chinese during the following year, because if what you mean by level 2 Chinese is that you have an HSK level 2, that will not realistically be high enough to study.

Chances are, however, that if you get the CSC scholarship to study TCM then you will get a year of language study first. I know kids who're tackling bachelor's degrees in chemical technology and international finance after only one year of Mandarin and they say that while it is very hard, it is certainly doable. TCM, since it has specialized vocabulary for the materia medica and often defines words differently than they are defined in daily use, may well require more than one year of preliminary study. Even so, I know a Russian girl who is entering her fifth and final year at the Beijing TCM university... She began after only a 6 month language intensive! It is worth stating, however, that her personal support network was already strong in Beijing, as she has a close relationship with several TCM doctors who're on hand to help her with her questions. She's also a person of very unique study ability, from what I've seen.

And yes, having missed deadlines, you must wait.

[menyawga]

Just thought I'd verbalize what we're thinking. "When do I hear the results?" I'm getting impatient now that July is rolling along. Has anyone who applied directly to schools asked them for individual results?

[Bedan Adjuster]

I already have a scholarship to study Mandarin in Taiwan. Since CSC will inform us by the end of July, I accepted the offer to study in Taiwan cause I have the perception that I won't get the CSC scholarship because I have not received any communication from the university where I have applied.

It's better to be safe for me than sorry.

[bigtops]

Menyawga... I know two people on scholarship here, one at Beishida and one at Tsinghua. Both told me it was late-July or maybe even early-August when they heard last year. July may have to roll along a bit more before you hear.

Speaking from recent experience... You may be able to find somebody at the university or universities where you applied who will give you info. They probably can't tell you, "you're in for sure," but you might be able to ascertain if your application's been received or not. What I was told was that if you applied for a language scholarship (not a degree) and your app is received by a uni, then it's a stamp and you're in.

Depending on where you applied, talking to anybody who knows anything might still be a long shot. You may not get anybody at the foreign affairs office who (a) has heard of the CSC scholarship, (B) can figure out what the heck you're stuttering on about in broken Chinese (assuming you ain't fluent), or © knows who's in charge of your application. You also might not get anybody to even pick up the phone. Finally, I wouldn't take being told "no" from them as a final word, because things here can be plenty disorganized and confusing and you don't really know till you got that acceptance letter. Nevertheless, you just might get lucky and be told, "yes, we have your application, looks like you're going to get the scholarship." Worth picking up that phone, eh...

Edited July 6, 2009 at 11:35 AM by bigtops

[benhadad]

@ Don,

Ok I understand. If you give up your scholarship and you plan on paying your own way I don't think that is a problem. I would just tell CSC that the school your at is not good for situation and you plan to continue studying at another at your cost. From what I hear they just don't allow you to transfer your scholarship, or get another one in the future.

Ben

[Meshaq7]

I called the embassy in Washington and spoke the man in charge of the states-side CSC work. He told me that he would be receiving the names of those receiving the scholarship mid July, and that the embassy would send out emails to everyone who applied to say if they had received or not. Then those who received the scholarship will get a package in the mail with further information.

He also said that the scholarship is very competitive this year. He didn't give any numbers (ie scholarships/applicants) but he gave the distinct impression that a lot of us will be disappointed come mid-July. That was a little disconcerting.

[evasiege]

I just received a letter of acceptance from the University I chose (South West Jiaotong) confirming I had been enrolled as a new student. I never actually applied directly to the school so I'm guessing it means my application was accepted and I got the scholarship. Still waiting on confirmation from the embassy in DC though.

[menyawga]

That sounds like pretty good news. Congratulations! Hopefully we'll get similar news.

[benhadad]

I have been monitoring various websites for information being posted. This bulitain seems to have been recently posted as the dates are correct.

http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/Elementals/Bulletin/t1062239.htm

Here it says that CSC will notify the embassies by July 31st. This means that it is likely we will not know until Mid August. However enrollement start August 15- Sept 15th. So I assume that CSC would want people to know by July 31st to give enough time to get a ticket or make travel arrangements.

[menyawga]

I just got a confirmation email from Xiamen University! I GOT IT!!!!!! They asked me to reply confirming whether or not I'll accept the scholarship.

Big thanks to everyone who's been contributing to this forum, especially extrapages for starting it. Godspeed to all you guys as well!

-Menyawga

[xiao an]

I am applying for xiamen university too...still waiting for the answer...getting so anxious... anyway, CONGRATULATIONS