CSC Scholarship - Archives

[arbigelow]

Hey guys,

I just have a few questions. I'm thinking about applying for the language scholarship after I finish high school (in a year) but was wondering if it would be more beneficial to apply later once I've studied Chinese a bit more. Plus, is it possible to get a chinese host family? I actually did a one year exchange to Switzerland and having a host family really helped me with the language and it was really nice to have them, just on a personal level. One more thing, do you usually find out if you've got it around July? Because I would be postponing university, and you usually have to accept their offer around April/May-ish.

Thanks for all your help?

[extrapages]

hi, kids!

we're going to clean up this thread after we get all the word in from people still waiting to find out if theyve gotten the scholarship - can i get a post from those still without final decisions?

also, of those who have definitely received the scholarship, how many have yet to be in contact with their school?

---

as for arbigelow's question...

how much chinese you have studied doesnt seem to make a difference when it comes to getting the scholarship - but from my personal experiences of learning chinese and from what i know from other students, it would be best to NOT learn chinese before getting to china for the following two main reasons: 1. youll learn considerably faster in china

(don't waste your time spending 6 months learning something you'll learn in two weeks), and 2. you will most likely have to unlearn the crap you learned in your home country and relearn things correctly again - especially pronounciation and listening.

(do others agree/disagree?)

if you get a host family to live with - youll have to arrange it yourself. the scholarship will pay for housing, but you can forfeit that and live off campus... but thats all you. it shouldnt be hard to figure it out - but youll have to take initiative and responsibility and take care of whatever financial costs will be required of you.

and you can see whats going on right now with the posts - some people found out earlier, while some people are still waiting - and its the middle of august. its a very frustrating process and a maddening wait. please dont ask an insensitive question that would annoy those feeling like their hanging on very thin string...

[extrapages]

And for those worried about the "general scholar" status,

no worries. thats what i was listed under when i received the scholarship - and i was a total beginner. apparently, it works that way because certain schools dont bother to make the distinction - youre either a scholarship receiver or not.

---

AND one more thing - when i received info from my school (BNU), i basically just got the visa form and acceptance letter with another sheet telling me to be at school by a certain date, that airport pick up can be arranged online, and that i would be in a certain dorm building. my room number was given to me once i got to the dorm's front desk.

[sarapao_na_ka]

Thanks a lot Marco-Polo ^ ^

Now I would like to know that has a person who still waiting for this scholarship like me or not???

[evasiege]

"it would be best to NOT learn chinese before getting to china for the following two main reasons: 1. youll learn considerably faster in china

(don't waste your time spending 6 months learning something you'll learn in two weeks), and 2. you will most likely have to unlearn the crap you learned in your home country and relearn things correctly again - especially pronounciation and listening."

I'd like to think that I haven't wasted 2 years in college and several months of self study simply because I haven't used it in China, but you might be right in some cases. I would not use this to deter someone from wanting to start before arriving however. If you are ok with the fact that some of the vocab you learned will be worthless and accents might differ from what you are used to, then I can't see any harm. I wouldn't spend money on a class for a semester or anything, but practicing on your own for 6 months is just fine. There are plenty of sources for learning modern, updated Chinese. Even if you forget the important parts of what you studied, its always easier to learn the second time around.

[arbigelow]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Just one more question: If you apply for a 2 year language scholarship, can you come home after just one year? I'm guessing obviously you wouldn't be held there 2 years against your will, just wondering how that all works out should you decide to go for just 1 year.

[Bedan Adjuster]

Dear All,

This might be a thread record. I received an email confirmation from the inetrnational office of Lanzhou Uni that I they've enrolled me as a scholarship student. Please take note that the said university has its own deadline which was last 15 March 2009 (I applied directly to the school). From the time I sent my application, I have not received any communication from them whatsoever as opposed to other applicants in this thread that they are exchanging emails from the person in the university where they applied.

Come 31st July, the scholarship winners was posted by Lanzhou Uni on its site. My name was not on the list as I previously posted. Still, no communication from them confirming that my application was rejected. Hence, I accepted the fact that I did not get the scholarship.

Today when I checked my email, they're now confirming that they've already enrolled me as one of their scholars. I said, what the heck? Are they serious about it considering that classes are starting very soon. I suppose that I was on the waiting list. If that was the case, they should have inform me such fact cause I really don't have an idea.

The whole mysterious process of this scholarship is indeed a mystery! I hope it would become less mysterious in the next years.

Have a nice day peeps.

[Sam07]

1. When did you apply: End of March

2. What consulate: FRANCE ( Paris)

3. What schools: 北京师范大学，北京语言大学，北京大学

4. What they chose for you: 北京语言大学

5. When you found out: End of July

6. How you were notified: We had to go to the Consula.

[ricardo]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to these forums, having stumbled it in Google a few weeks ago. Since then I've read this forum over and over

A small self-introduction, before I start inundating the board with questions: ;)

I'm applying in 2010, after having intended to apply a few years (but started my PhD instead). I'm intending to apply for a school in Beijing (probably BNU as first choice). I've been studying Mandarin at community college for around 18 months in Australia... and all I've spent around 4 months holidaying in China (Beijing & Chengdu) and 5 months working in China (Hsinchu, Taiwan) previously.

I'm going to be applying directly to the Chinese consulate in Sydney, Australia. I note in the intro post with all the info about applying (thank you so much for compiling this!) that it seems possible to apply direct here in Australia, since you have contact details for someone here dealing with CSC.

My questions are:

Has anyone here applied from Australia in 2009, or particularly from the Sydney Consulate? If so, how did it go? Any advice you'd like to pass on (which would be gratefully received!).

Has anyone else applied with a passport full of Taiwan visa stamps / anyone anticipate any problems because of that? :S I've never had any trouble getting a China (mainland) tourist visa with the said passport.

Many thanks, and look forward to sharing my experiences as they evolve!

Richard

[ricardo]

A newbie's contribution to extrapage's questions:

how should i clean up this thread for the next wave of applicants next year?

Whatever you do, please leave your first post with all the info in it. The way it's set out, and information in it, is great.

what could have helped you more if it was different?

There's a great list of what should be included in your study plan. It would be nice to have a consolidated post of feedback from people who didn't get the scholarship at all. What they feel let them down in their application, what their educational background is, what they did or didn't include, perhaps their age too (if being close to 35 makes you less likely to get it, for example). Likewise for partial scholarship recipients... along the same lines as what is presently on the first post for successful applications, but it's unsuccessful counterpart (if that makes any sense).

roddy thought maybe i should start a new thread for a clean slate - and keep this one so people and sift through it at their leisure. what do you guys think?

An application-year specific forum sounds like a good idea, with the header post being a summary of the previous years (like the first post of this thread).

Regards,

Richard

[hingy]

Great thread.

Im just reading through from the beginning and its quite a lot to take in. So ill throw this post out before ive got to the end. Maybe my questions will be answered while im reading though.

Im a 30 year old without any kind of degree. I want to study chinese and was wondering if im eligible for the scholarship.

Also, are these scholarships for entry into language schools only? Or for full degree study programs?

Thanks guys and sorry if theyre basic questions.

[menyawga]

Greetings all,

I haven't posted in a while, but there's 3 points I'll mention because my case was a little different than most people's.

1. I applied to both the regular "Chinese Government Scholarship" through the DC embassy and the "Chinese Government Scholarship Postgraduate Study Program" directly through Xiamen University. It appears that DC didn't even forward my application to the CSC. Despite getting the scholarship through Xiamen, I still want to say for the record that the DC embassy was VERY UNPROFESSIONAL throughout. They never knew the answers to any questions I had. Anyway, congrats to all who received the scholarship through them.

2. The "Postgraduate Study Program" arm of the Chinese Government Scholarship only allows for 1 year of Chinese study prior to transfer into Graduate study programs. Mine is in Linguistics, so it'll require HSK 6 for me to pass. I'm starting classes from beginning level because it's been a long time since I've studied. I doubt I'll be at level 6 in 1 year, and I emailed Xiamen more than once about this problem. They told me that even if I didn't pass level 6 I'd be able to "negotiate" a way into the graduate program. Even if I were able to eke out a level 6 in 1 year, I want to be really proficient in Chinese, not stumble through a program that's above my level. I've come to the conclusion that once I'm there I'll show how good a student I can be while appealing for another year to properly study Chinese before transferring to Graduate study. From what I've heard about how the scholarship is handled in practice, it seems possible to get another study year.

3. My visa application was easy. My wife is Korean, so the travel company we applied through got the paperwork together that officially shows we're married to the Chinese authorities. We'll use that paper to apply for the same status of residence (5 years) instead of my wife having to get a tourist visa and reapply every year. I just wanted to let people who's spouses are joining them to know it's not that hard to have them included in your status.

As for advice to Extrapages on reformatting the thread, I recommend distinguishing the regular "Chinese Government Scholarship" from the "Chinese Government Scholarship Postgraduate Study Program" because ever since 2008 the government has really been branching out in the diversity of the scholarships that it offers. For specific differences between the 2 (and others), see http://en.csc.edu.cn/Lianhua/Default.aspx?cid=275 and the Postgraduate Study Program is the second from the bottom.

Blessings,

-Menyawga

[xiaoya]

Long time no see everybody:

So I've decided to accept the 2 year scholarship as a general scholar to Zhejiang Normal University even though it's not what I applied for. It might turn out to be awesome and if not, a friend in the know assured me that it's easier to negotiate transfers once you're actually in the system.

There's some discrepancies in my visa/scholarship papers that I'm a bit confused about. I'm going to visit the consulate tomorrow but I wondered if anyone here could shed some light.

My admission notice from Zheshida says to present myself next semester March 3rd or thereabouts (I can't start in Sept due to Honours here) at the university and all registration will take place then. As far as I can tell, the usual process is just to apply for a student visa here, get it all sorted, fly over and show up at the uni at the right time. But my visa form also says 'register by Sept 9' and I can't work out why, unless it's just an oversight. I emailed our national embassy who just replied ambiguously saying to apply for my visa now, but the local consulate doesn't like to take applications until closer to the date. So I'm very confused as to what my best course is!

[Hudson]

Hey Everybody,

This discussion is very informative so thanks to everyone for posting. I want to apply for a 2 year scholarship as a language student and I'm trying to get an idea of how competitive it is. I was wondering if some people who got the scholarship could just give a little information like GPA and what part of their application they think was very helpful in terms of getting the scholarship.

Thanks everybody!

[Hudson]

Also one other thing,

Does anybody know why the website is acting all funky? I used to be able to go on but starting a week ago it hasn't been able to load. Thanks.

[cm202bc]

"I applied to both the regular "Chinese Government Scholarship" through the DC embassy and the "Chinese Government Scholarship Postgraduate Study Program" directly through Xiamen University. It appears that DC didn't even forward my application to the CSC. Despite getting the scholarship through Xiamen, I still want to say for the record that the DC embassy was VERY UNPROFESSIONAL throughout. They never knew the answers to any questions I had. Anyway, congrats to all who received the scholarship through them."

This. For all prospective applicants and those that have been accepted, learn to get used to this mindset, you will encounter it just about everywhere you go over here, to the point that any time you deal with administrative staff from any institution it becomes an exercise in your own creativity and ingenuity to accomplish your goal. Always verify with multiple sources that what one person said has been done has actually been done. Learn to be patient and learn to refuse to accept 'No' for an answer.

[Meshaq7]

Hey Everybody,

This discussion is very informative so thanks to everyone for posting. I want to apply for a 2 year scholarship as a language student and I'm trying to get an idea of how competitive it is. I was wondering if some people who got the scholarship could just give a little information like GPA and what part of their application they think was very helpful in terms of getting the scholarship.

Thanks everybody!

I think the most important things are the personal statement and the recommendations. A friend and I both applied. We have similar GPAs (3.90-4.00 range), majors (languages) and chinese level (no previous experience). I got the scholarship and my friend didn't. The only major difference between the applications were the personal statement and the recommendations.

Or CSC is somewhat random in their choice of recipients... a possibility that seems very probable based on what I have read on this forum and elsewhere.

[PowerBook3400]

I have some very specific questions! and I hope I can get them answered here!

I would like ExtrePages to answer me please!

I got to admit, I am a bit fearful about being rejected for CSC scholarship, But I am very hopeful.

I would like to apply for the full scholarship.

I am Pre-Engineering (They are college level classes) Student in my High School, and I am currently in my Junior year.

First, I would like to know, does the CSC even know about or care about ACT/SAT scores?

I have not heard here they even know about it, or I may have not fully understood this topic. I am not passionate about this exam.

Second, I would like to go to any 4 year university in China that offers Computer Engineering or general Engineering. Would it be complicated to get a scholarship for this? I am not looking for Chinese language scholarship.

Third, I currently have GPA of 2.5, but I am well aware I could get this up to a, say 3.2 when I graduate, this is where I get afraid... Do they want PERFECT grades for being acceptable for these scholarships? I am not really the best out there... but I have maintained As for all of my Pre Engineering classes since I was freshmen.

Fourth, I can really cook up an outstanding study plan, the essay for the application. Is it partially true some times the essay can provide some relief for the non-perfect grades I have had? I would like to also, attach a picture of a computer design I have rendered, I would like to staple it to the essay or study plan, will this be acceptable? It really would allow the essay to be far better understood if my computer design would be seen.And I will make sure my Language Ph.D teacher would review the essay, and I could be well doing an outstanding essay! I think this is my strongest point on this situation. I think,I have a truly well constructed reason why I should be in Chinese land.

Fifth, I have not understood this very well. As many know, I get my High School Diploma on May, But I have read here that the scholarship application is due by March? How does this work? Is there another due date for students who get out of high school and want to go to China right after they finish high school? By march, I do not have high school diploma.

Sixth, I am bilingual, I speak English and Spanish, and learning Chinese, will this also favor my chances of getting such scholarship?

Seventh, am I allowed to send my 5 notarized copies of Engineering Award Certificates? I was awarded one for being the "best improved student of Intro to Engineering class" I actually think this would really help the Application.

Eight, I would like to step into reality... Should I be well aware that there is a high chance I would not get a full scholarship for Engineering studies in China? or should I keep good hopes and just think I would perhaps get it?

oh, the obvious, this the first post was targeted towards language students, when should I be starting thinking about and filling out the scholarship papers? should I start now, or should I wait until senior year?

I truly thank every one who have given me good hopes about the scholarship, I see very many positive cases for applicants! I hope this also happens to me one day.

[aloneboy]

i would be grateful if someone here would reply me...

i would like to know about csc stipend for the master degree scholarship students...

i heard csc do provide stipend for the spouse for the master degree scholarship ,....is it so???

[Bedan Adjuster]

aloneboy, I got the masters scholarship and the information packaged CSC sent me says that living expenses of spouse and/or dependents are not included in the scholarship.

Where did you hear your information?