zmblum Posted April 16, 2008 at 04:26 PM Report Posted April 16, 2008 at 04:26 PM Hey Extrapages and all... responses to Extrapages' response to me awesome. thanks for the post! you're welcome, it was nothing really i know that your PMs havent been turned on by the admins yet (hopefully, theyll turn it on soon as ive sent them a message), but could you send me the contact info at the embassy at the bay? absolutely, thanks for expediting my case with the admins... I'll send contact info when my PM capabilities are switched on i would love to add it to my "ultra top secret, absolutely brilliant, effing kick-ass CSC contact list. any way I could get in on that secret file? I'm also curious about how this whole thing works, especially since she said she won't send app materials in until the 30th keep us posted with what happens! did you apply to any schools beforehand? how did you complete the physical exam - just at your family doctor's? also, WHERE did you get your papers notarized and how much did they cost? are you trying to come to beijing? =] will keep you all posted ... I did not apply anywhere beforehand. I took the physical at my University's student health center (I was still eligible there since I graduated last December). I got my diploma notarized at the University registrar's office for free! And my transcripts are sent in an official school sealed envelope so I could not get them notarized, and the woman at the Consulate did not mention a problem with that. sorry for all the questions... just trying to see how you completed your application (because you definitely did it right for the woman at the embassy to be satisfied that it's complete.) I'm surprised that they even review each application before they're sent out... and that she caught that some stuff was missing...! i think you should consider yourself extremely lucky that there's such a competent person taking care of your application. =] luck is my middle name.
extrapages Posted April 16, 2008 at 05:01 PM Author Report Posted April 16, 2008 at 05:01 PM any way I could get in on that secret file? I'm also curious about how this whole thing works, especially since she said she won't send app materials in until the 30th so basically its a database that im compiling of contact information for those who will try to apply in the future (too late for this year) - people who are part of this forum and share their experiences, add more to our knowledge base (but can't seem to find a specific contact/address to sent their stuff to) will get the contact information for the person they need to contact. that depends on what country/state they're in. so im going to add your contact to the list for future applicants in the bay area that (for whatever reasons) may not be able to find the right person. the contacts i have so far are: - the main guy in dc - this is who your embassy is going to send the files to - the main guy for the eu - he handles all the applications of all the eu countries - now your person in sf - and waiting for the contact info for the embassy in la and none of us know how this works, really. all we know is that you need to fill in the application completely and make sure it gets to someone who knows what the CSC is (and hopefully is the one who handles the applications) before the deadline. haha!
zmblum Posted April 16, 2008 at 05:37 PM Report Posted April 16, 2008 at 05:37 PM Thanks for the great advice Extrapages... keep up the good work.
floatingcomma Posted April 17, 2008 at 03:54 AM Report Posted April 17, 2008 at 03:54 AM Many thanks extrapages and jawshoowa! I'm not in China yet, and I'm a working professional, so not taking IUP through any universities (so I guess I'm taking IUP as noncredit student). I also applied for the Blakemore this year and got rejected; looking at who got it this year that is listed on their website, it seems they are geared more towards supporting students *sigh*. While looking feverishly for other sources of funding, I noticed a lot were just for undergrads, so I wish I thought of doing this while I was an undergrad. So for you undergrads out there, sieze the moment! You might be older and wiser later on in life, but you're be scrounging for money like me
wl239 Posted April 17, 2008 at 08:39 AM Report Posted April 17, 2008 at 08:39 AM Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and advice, it's really helpful! Extrapages, unfortunately I'm also having some difficulty contacting you, and I'm worried I won't be able to get my PM function turned on and reach you in time. If I have to as a last resort send my application materials to the China-US Educational Exchange Office at the Chinese Embassy in DC without a specific contact person, would that be application suicide? Has anyone had to send their applications to their local/national Chinese embassy without listing a specific contact person on the envelope? If so, what happened? Thanks in advance!
extrapages Posted April 17, 2008 at 11:28 AM Author Report Posted April 17, 2008 at 11:28 AM Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and advice, it's really helpful! Extrapages, unfortunately I'm also having some difficulty contacting you, and I'm worried I won't be able to get my PM function turned on and reach you in time. If I have to as a last resort send my application materials to the China-US Educational Exchange Office at the Chinese Embassy in DC without a specific contact person, would that be application suicide? Has anyone had to send their applications to their local/national Chinese embassy without listing a specific contact person on the envelope? If so, what happened? Thanks in advance! wl239, ive asked the admins to turn on PMs for you. they should be on that in a few hours. I don't think the "China-US Educational Exchange Office at the Chinese Embassy in DC" handles the CSC. And I don't think it ever makes sense for anyone to send any application for any program without a specific contact person on the envelope. Have you contacted your local embassy? There might still be time - each embassy has their own deadlines. Also, where and how did you get your papers notarized? Did you apply for your school beforehand? And your physical exam? Did you just get that done at your family doctor's? Anything about the process you thought might be good for others to know about? Any hiccups you had to work through?
jawshoowa Posted April 20, 2008 at 01:46 AM Report Posted April 20, 2008 at 01:46 AM Hey all, Something I forgot to mention about my LA application experience: You don't need everything to be a notarized copy. This should have been obvious I guess, but I got a little paranoid. The only things that need to be notarized are those things of which I had a single, official document. For things like transcripts and letters of rec, for which there can be multiple originals, just send multiple original copies (just make sure each copy of the letter of rec is hand-signed by the recommender). This will save money, as notarization cost me about 10 bucks a pop. In the end, the only thing that really needed to be notarized was the diploma because there is only a single original copy. The application form, study plan and the health form (I think) can just use regular photocopies. I did my notarizing at a place called "We the People" which is a chain, so there ought to be more of them out there. For others who are silly, like me, and don't really understand this notarization thing: all you are doing is signing a form in front of witness that states the copy is an accurate duplicate of the original document which you hold your possession. Ten bucks for that! Good luck everyone! Hope to see some of you in Beijing next year!
extrapages Posted April 20, 2008 at 04:05 AM Author Report Posted April 20, 2008 at 04:05 AM oh sweet. thanks for the info! although im an american citizen, i was in korea when i was applying and had to get stuff notarized there. my experience in korea was similar. i went to some public law office and had to pay about ten dollars for each notarized page. i notarized EVERYTHING - even the duplicate of the entire application. =/ I should update the intro page so people dont waste as much money as we did...
wl239 Posted April 20, 2008 at 12:59 PM Report Posted April 20, 2008 at 12:59 PM woah.1. your local consulate would be the chinese embassy in florida. call them first - go in person if possible. i only give the dc information to people who have first done their fair share of the work and contacted their local embassy. some embassies know of it and have their own contact info, others have no idea it exists. 2. if you get awarded, they're going to send the package to the address in the states... make sure you have someone to send it to china for you. 3. i hope youre not planning to get the csc to pay for iup prices.. because they wont. there was a discussion about this already with floatingcomma on page 12. 4. if you're already in china, that means you already did the physical? so did you just get a notarized copy of that? but the physicals are valid only for 6 months... they need to still be valid by the point you re-enter china under the csc scholarship. 5. how did you get stuff notarized in china? unless you were planning to do that in the states? please post all these answers on the thread where everyone else can see them. Hi extrapages, Thanks for your quick reply! To answer your questions: 1. For Florida consulates the local consulate is Houston. I tried contacting them several times last week but didn't get a reply to my emails, and I can't find anything at all mentioning the CSC scholarship on their webpage. That's why at this point I'm getting a bit desperate and feel that mailing it directly to the embassy in DC is the best idea. 2. I've listed my permanent address in Florida on the application, and my parents will still be there to forward on any correspondence. 3. I'm finishing up my year at IUP now and am planning to use the CSC for a master's degree in International Relations. From my reading of the CSC, the scholarship can also be used for degree study of topics other than Chinese language. IUP is associated with Tsinghua, but it is entirely run and administered by a consortium of universities headed by UC Berkeley. 4. The physical I'm planning to use is the one I got in China in September when I first came, on the physical papers it says it's valid for a year. So I'm going to get a notarized copy of that. 5. I have my complete application now and am planning to do all the notarizing in the States since I'll be going home to Florida this Tuesday. I'm going to do the notarizing at my local bank, they can do it there and I've heard that many local bank branches (including mine) will do it for free. It's worth checking out as a notarizing option. Hope others find might find this useful - good luck all!
extrapages Posted April 20, 2008 at 01:44 PM Author Report Posted April 20, 2008 at 01:44 PM has anyone gotten through to csc people in the houston chinese consulate/embassy? do they even have anyone who handles it? does anyone know?
amphivera Posted April 20, 2008 at 11:46 PM Report Posted April 20, 2008 at 11:46 PM An update on my situation: Thanks to extrapages and other's helpful advice, I'm finally about to send off my application. - My University notarized my diploma and sent the copies to me (good thing my tuition was worth something!) - I got the medical exam done here (in China). Actually, I too am using the old one I did when I got my visa seven months ago. One last nagging question: Extrapages, you mentioned something about sending in 2 copies (sets) of applications. Maybe I'm blind, but I've read the application several times over and can't find that instruction. Am I missing something? I guess it wouldn't hurt to send them 2 copies but I would rather not if I don't have to. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed for two months.
extrapages Posted April 21, 2008 at 12:03 AM Author Report Posted April 21, 2008 at 12:03 AM One last nagging question:Extrapages, you mentioned something about sending in 2 copies (sets) of applications. Maybe I'm blind, but I've read the application several times over and can't find that instruction. Am I missing something? I guess it wouldn't hurt to send them 2 copies but I would rather not if I don't have to. towards the bottom of the page at both: http://www.csc.edu.cn:8080/en/readarticle/readarticle.asp?articleid=572 (csc) http://www.csc.edu.cn:8080/en/readarticle/readarticle.asp?articleid=587 (eu csc) 1.Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship (printed by CSC), one original and one photocopy, in Chinese or in English. --- as for the physicals - i dont know the individual situations... and i dont really know whats up with the dates of validity, but i followed the directions on the site. i definitely remember that my physical was valid only for 6 months, and i had to be IN china before it expired... which was why i had to make my flight a couple days earlier than planned. if possible, contact someone within csc to double check!!!! 8.Photocopy of Foreigner Physical Examination Form (printed by Chinese quarantine authority and only for those whose period of studies in China lasts up to six months) filled in English. The medical examinations must cover all the items listed in the Foreigner Physical Examination Form. Incomplete records or those without the signature of the attending physician, official stamp of the hospital or a sealed photograph of the applicants are invalid. The medical examination results will be valid for 6 months. All applicants are kindly requested to take this factor into consideration while determining the time to take the medical examination.
yoshi81 Posted April 21, 2008 at 09:56 AM Report Posted April 21, 2008 at 09:56 AM Hi extrapages, just wondering if I could use you as a guarantor in CSC application. I can't seem to message you on the forums. Cheers Paul
extrapages Posted April 22, 2008 at 12:41 AM Author Report Posted April 22, 2008 at 12:41 AM yoshi81, from the intro post: Those who do not FIRST post up their experiences, insights, suggestions, etc. will not be given any information. For first timers, start by telling us your story and answering these questions: Where are you applying from? Are you currently in China? What did your local state embassy say? Where and how did you get your papers notarized? Did you apply for your school of choice beforehand? Where did you get your physical exam done? Anything about the process you thought might be good for others to know about? Any hiccups you had to work through? . ive contacted an admin to turn on your pms. --- UPDATE: yoshi81, i did not turn on your pms so you can ask me again to be your guarantor without you giving anything back to the forum. come on, people. im doing this out of the little goodness thats left in my heart. dont push me. a couple more people who make the wrong move, and im just going to leave this thread. its already got all the information anyone would ever really need. SO READ THE FIRST POST
yueni Posted April 22, 2008 at 08:59 PM Report Posted April 22, 2008 at 08:59 PM I've finally FedExed off my CSC application, so it's all out of my hands now. I don't know if I'm doing it the right way, but this is my story. Hopefully it helps you guys out there. First off, I'm a Singapore citizen, but a US permanent resident, so I needed to figure out if I could mail off my application to the embassy in the US or if I had to go through the embassy in Singapore. I sent two emails to the email address on the CSC scholarship website, and heard back a month later with: "send it to Singapore". That was it. No contact info, nothing, so I tried contacting them again to see if they could help me. No reply. Frustrated, I called the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, and was informed that the scholarship doesn't even exist. I managed to confirm on this thread that it does indeed exist and that people were applying for it, so I ignored that advice. I was told that if I wanted to apply for a scholarship, I could just send it to San Francisco anyway. Maybe. I tried the Singapore Consulate in San Francisco, hoping that somebody there could help me, and the lady I talked to there basically told me that I would have to contact the Chinese Embassy in Singapore. She gave me a phone number, but warned me that she had no name to this number, and that they weren't exactly that great at getting back to people. I called the number she gave me. No answer. The phone rang out. I ended up calling the CSC people again, and somehow got a real live person on the line this time. I got routed to about 5 different people, none of whom had any useful information whatsoever. I finally managed to get some guy high up on the food chain there to give me a telephone number for a contact at the Chinese embassy in Singapore. He did not have a name, and he wasn't even sure if the number was working to begin with. He did manage to confirm that I needed to send the packet to the Chinese embassy in the country that I was a citizen of. I called the number he gave me. No answer. The phone just rang out. Eventually, I went to the Chinese embassy in Singapore's website and found a list of about 10-15 telephone numbers of contact information there (no names attached to any of them, just departments). I called every single number on that list. I did not get a single live person. Instead, I got fax machines if I was lucky. Mostly, the phone just rang and rang and rang and then just stopped. I eventually got a live person on the line for the visa number, but she was of no help. I asked for contact information for some other department that could help me. Same story, I got a number but no name, and that number just rang out. By this time, it was early April, the deadline was looming, I had most of my packet ready, and I still didn't know specifically where I was to send it. I had the address of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, but that was it. I managed to get my transcripts from my university (it came sealed in an envelop with a "void if opened" tag on it), so that was considered "notarised". The diploma was a different issue and the first notary I spoke to was very confused and told me that she couldn't notarise it because it was just a random document. As I work for a bank, it was easy for me to find another notary, who managed to figure out what the application wanted. What they mean by notarised diploma is that they want a certified true copy of it. Notaries can do that in most states. You have to bring the original copy of your diploma with you, and they will make the copies for you and notarise it and stamp it. In some states, you have to go to the courthouse to get it notarised. Pro tip: most banks will notarise stuff for free for you if you have a bank account with them. A few larger banks will notarise things for free for anybody if you ask. Anyway, since I had run out of options, and the deadline's really only a week away, I finally just created two packets and addressed them both to two departments in the Chinese Embassy in Singapore and FedExed both of them off. =/ It's the best I can do, unfortunately, considering I really have zero contact info to go off there.
extrapages Posted April 22, 2008 at 11:28 PM Author Report Posted April 22, 2008 at 11:28 PM yueni, AW! I wish we had the contact information for someone in Singapore! Hopefully, it will get to the right person. I'm hoping that the smaller departments within the Chinese embassies don't really get a lot of mail - so that your package will get to the right person. I'm surprised that CSC even wrote you back about where you should send the application... even if it was a whole month later. And I feel that it's a good sign if they told you to send it to Singapore - because it means that Singapore has a CSC agreement with China? Thanks so much for your update. Hopefully, you'll hear back at the end of May/June. I'm crossing my fingers for you. =]
klukoff Posted April 23, 2008 at 01:02 AM Report Posted April 23, 2008 at 01:02 AM Hi all, I'm a senior at a Bay Area university applying for the CSC language scholarship this year. The director of my school's East Asian Studies Department has a contact at the San Francisco Chinese Embassy, and the info I've heard from the department via this channel is identical to that which "zmblum" posted earlier. In terms of logistics, I'm including official transcripts, had my home physician fill out the health forms, and had an HIV test performed at the student health clinic here. Both hospitals were very confused though when I asked for an official stamp; hopefully the CSC folks will accept my documents without. I did not have any notarizations done (no diploma yet, as I'm a senior now). So, all in all, not much to report on this front. I have, however, been engaged in a Q&A with a student from my university who went to Beida on the CSC scholarship last year and I thought these two tidbits might be useful: 1) Do "Chinese language student" scholarship students have any opportunity to take any non-Chinese language courses? (NOTE: that this may be specific to Beida) I applied as a Chinese language student. I did take two other classes in addition to my two Chinese language classes. These classes were, however, in Chinese. It was a great boon to my studies to sit in two real classes with the Beida undergraduates (and one graduate course!) There are no classes in English. Of these extra courses, I took only half for grade, the other half i just audited. 2) The foreigner health form, in particular, is bizarre. They want a "Chest X-ray report" attached? Did you get the sense that including these things mattered? You do need to fill out the health form. The most important things on there are the HIV (and other) blood test. Don't worry about a chest x-ray. Just make an appointment asap at the student health clinic and bring the sheet when you go talk to the doctor. The doctor will probably laugh at how intensive that form is, and then fill it in. The only important thing is the HIV test. And then this from my contact at my East Asian Studies department: At first I did not submit his [the applicant I am in contact with] physical exam. The Chinese Consul called and told me xxxxxx's competitor, from xxxxxx University, submitted everything so it's better for xxxxx to have one as well. I hope this helps contribute to the info on this thread!
extrapages Posted April 23, 2008 at 03:14 AM Author Report Posted April 23, 2008 at 03:14 AM klukoff, hi! thanks for the post! here's some of the stuff that i can tell you about: Both hospitals were very confused though when I asked for an official stamp; hopefully the CSC folks will accept my documents without. this is from the intro post: "You don't need a "seal," as stated - the signature of the doctor and a stamp with the doctor's name and address and contact information of the hospital/clinic is fine." and i think that if it's got some kind of official looking "proof" that you did get your physical done at the health clinic at your school and your family doctor (as opposed to just having a random person just fill in the form), it should be fine. i think they just use the term "seal/stamp" because that's the way things are proven to be official in many countries in asia. They want a "Chest X-ray report" attached? Haha! Nononono! They don't need it attached or copied and sent in with the application. But it DOES need to be done in order to fill out a big part of the physical. they expect you to have it with you when you come to china as part of the original physical exam form - which you are supposed to treat like your passport. keep the original and only send out copies to authorities that request it. but honestly, i dont know where mine is now - i probably threw it out. one of my friends used it to decorate his bare walls. another used it to block a draft that came in through a window. but the most important thing IS, in fact, the HIV test. they've got a huge HIV problem here in china that's kind of kept quiet, and i guess they just dont want it getting any worse. The Chinese Consul called and told me xxxxxx's competitor, from xxxxxx University, submitted everything so it's better for xxxxx to have one as well. its always smart just to stick to what we know is safe and give them everything they ask for. we have only one real shot at applying - so its a good idea to follow their rules - the few that we know of. --- hope you get the scholarship! which schools did you list as your top choice?
kisha Posted April 24, 2008 at 06:31 AM Report Posted April 24, 2008 at 06:31 AM hi! i'm from the philippines. when i was searching for scholarship programs i came upon the CSC site. but unfortunately for some reason (i do not know until now), i could not access the application form page. i tried sending an email both to the CSC and the chinese embassy here in the country. i had not received any replies from the CSC and my emails to the chinese embassy here in the philippines just keep coming back. can someone help? thanks very much in advance!
extrapages Posted April 24, 2008 at 07:40 AM Author Report Posted April 24, 2008 at 07:40 AM kisha, ive noticed that too - that the applications are no longer available from the link we have. it might be different if you can find someone who can navigate the CHINESE version of the site. theyve made a brand new chinese version, and i think it might be available somewhere in there. maybe this is a sign that they are almost ready with the new english site? i know that there are a few people who have applied from the philippines. i know that barb_punk is already in beijing have being awarded the full scholarship. read about what how he/she got it on the first page of the thread. it seems like he/she actually WENT to the chinese embassy numerous times - and got an official copy of the application from the embassy on special green paper. --- barb_punk, are you still around on this forum? it would be great if you can give me the contact information for csc people in the philippines so i could add it to the "Ultra Top Secret, Absolutely Brilliant, Effing Kick Ass CSC Contact List."
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