Application not received - very anxious

[sandeehoo]

Hi everyone,

I just want to know how long it takes for Tsinghua university to receive a student's application to study Mandarin there.

I sent in my application from Australia exactly 6 weeks ago and have just called Tsinghua regarding the progress of my application and was told that they still haven't received it yet.

I'm starting to get a bit frantic considering it's already been 6 weeks. They have told me to call back next week to check. I'm beginning to think that my application may have become lost in the mail or something happened to it...

Ok, i'm starting to freak out now...

Is it normal for the China/Tsinghua mail system to move so slow?

What should I do if they still haven't received it in the next week or so, keeping in mind that the closing date for applications is 15th December.

Thanks.

[MartinF]

by what method did you send it?

the reason I ask, is I have had no luck with sending stuff by air mail from London. 2 packages never arrived and it's been 4 weeks.

Fedex or DHL, might be much more reliable.

[yonglin]

Why don't you ask if you could just e-mail it over?!

A lot of universities will let you do that these days, being aware of how unreliable postal services can be. I have no personal experience with Tsinghua though.

[Jamoldo]

Email is a nice thing in name. They never check it. I would DHL/FEDEX is asap to be safe. Or ask if you can fax it.

[Quest]

Insure it next time you ship something important or of value to China. That's been my experience sending packages to China from the us.

[roddy]

If you've managed to call them, communicate, and get information then you're probably doing better than most. Ask them if you can fax or email it over - fax is maybe better as you then get something physical lying around their office, which is harder to ignore.

[sandeehoo]

i wish i could just email or fax it to them, but the problem is I need to attach my application fee to it.

I'm going to wait it out for a week or so and call them again to see whether they have received it, and then consider sending them another application.

Why is everything of China so dodgy ?!?!?!

[johnd]

The normal post between UK and China will arrive in 7 to 10 days, so I guess it's similar for Australia. I've not had post go missing, but sounds like yours has - unless you accidentally sent it by surface mail (i.e. by ship will take several months).

So I think you better send it again now, don't wait any longer. Use DHL/Fedex etc. or registered mail - one where you can track its progress online. And if the university can accept it, send your application fee by postal order (or whatever your mail service calls it), so that the money can't be stolen and you have a chance to get it back if the university doesn't receive it.

[adrianlondon]

They may let you pay the application fee when you arrive. I know that kind of defeats the purpose of the fee, but I've known someone do that at BNU, and BNU can be as strict as hell (they needed a notarised copy of my degree certificate, despite the fact my degree was in Engineering and I graduated in 1991).

[Shadowdh]

I sent something to the UK and it took quite a few weeks... so sometimes the post can just be messed up...

[sandeehoo]

I emailed them a few days ago, and they replied (surprisingly prompt) confirming that they have now indeed received my application. What a relief!

So, to all those people out there still waiting for your application, I suggest calling or emailing them, and be mindful that things actually do take ages to process.

Also, I was told they will send out their confirmation documents around December - "please wait patiently" they said.

Thank you for all your helpful advices. This forum is the best!!

Cheers.

[Suvlaco]

I'm going to SNU next year, and I e-mailed them my application and had recieved confirmation and I was accepted within 36 hours.

Very impressive.

[Aziza]

Anybody knows how long it takes to get application notice from Tsinghua uni?

Did someone got it already?

[sandeehoo]

I've already received my application confirmation and all the documents from Tsinghua.

It takes quite a while for them to process send out documents.

To give you some idea, I sent out my application early October and received my confirmation from the university around 10th December.

When I emailed and called them to chase things up, they did mention that students should expect to receive their confirmation/documents around December.

Perhaps email or call them up to inquire about the status of your applicaton.

[md1101]

can't you just sign up when you get there? should be possible if all else fails. i can't see them turning students away.

[applepie42]

the admission letter helps when u're applying for the visa to go to china (x-visa), this visa also allows u to stay in China for up to a year. however, if u just go then u'd be applying for a f-visa and that only allows u to stay in china for 6months. therefore in the long run there will be a bit more work without the admission letter.

in general, the admission letter does arrive (takes a while though) but eventually does. things are always a lot easier if you have all your paperwork ready to go in china because most people are not that helpful. in addition, there are normally ALOT of people registering and (on a good day) 3 people working. they won't turn students away if u just go, but they will give u the runaround.

and just another piece of information, the application fee for tsinghua DOES NOT need to be paid wit the application (yes i know it makes no sense). but rather it can be paid at registration.