Enrolling a University without paying expensive study abroad organization?

[Sebastian]

Hi, this my first post and I am very glad to have found these forums.

I actually want to study in Fudan or in Tsinghua. My university in the US recommended me to enroll through the education abroad network (http://educationabroadnetwork.org/). However their price for 1 semester is around $10000. Do you think that this price is reasonable or do you know if there is a way to cut down this price by registering by myself? Thank you

[muyongshi]

Wow that is really expensive. I don't know all that covers but I pay $750 a semester (at a smaller uni) for tuition and about $500 for housing a semester.

[roddy]

Cutting out the middleman is always going to be cheaper. This is especially the case when there are high mark-ups - not just on the fees, but also on anything else covered, such as accommodation.

An independent application can be more hassle - there are plenty of posts on here asking for help with finding / completing forms, people stressing because they haven't heard back from the school and they aren't answering the phones, fretting about finding an apartment, etc. But if you can handle all that, get onto the university's website, do plenty of Internet searching, and get things moving.

[lilac521]

You can actually cut down on costs and still benefit from having a good program to support you while abroad - CSA (China Study Abroad) has semester programs at Tsinghua for around $5000 or $6000 including the courses and accommodation and a lot of other things too (http://chinastudyabroad.org/tsinghuauniv_fees.htm)

I had a friend do one of their Beijing summer programs last year and really liked it; I am still planning for my next trip soon since I didn't have the time to go with them last time!

[imron]

Tsinghua charges RMB 10,500 (~US $1,500) for a semester of tuition. Staying in dorms will be about RMB 2,000 a month, so RMB 12,000 （~US $1,700) for 6 months. If you stay off-campus it will be slightly cheaper or slightly more expensive depending on the type of place you want to live in. I'm not sure what else education abroad offer, but applying by yourself is a pretty significant price saving.

[mr.stinky]

when you apply/register, have the uni book you into their foreign student housing

for one week. one to four per room, rates should be 25-100 rmb per night.

one week should be enough time to find shared accomodations with another student.

[AxelManbow]

I do not know much about US universities, but I do know a bit about Chinese universities.

Chinese university students who ask their university for overseas study advice typically receive biased information.

Anything other than a top tier overseas university (who can require student fees and command research grants as much as they like) pay a commission to companies that recruit students (my experience is them recruiting from China, I can well imagine the same exists in recruiting from other countries).

The Chinese university is extremely likely to give biased information - they probably have a few key contact universities in a few key contact countries that pay high commissions. The higher the commission coming from the university that has more trouble attracting students (likely because or comparatively poorer tuition or accommodation/social environment - things that would otherwise attract overseas students).

Fudan or Tsinghua probably don't provide bad tuition, but they have the name, you didn't have the information to apply independently, so your home university could get away with asking for such silly fees.

Frankly, I think this is something you inform your university faculty and secondly (if the university is unresponsive) your student union about. There is all the chance an administrator in the middle is skimming some cash. If the university are giving their students bad information, well that should be publicised too/even more. Just make sure you have graduated and nothing can come back at you should you take such action.

[Fergus_1]

Apologies for my ignorance, just want to ask, how long is a semster at Tsinguhua University? Just want to compare fees with term lengths

[vic315]

On School Selection

In the last several years, many schools have appeared in the larger cities in China. In Beijing alone, there are several hundred Chinese training schools. One of the most difficult decisions you will have to make when planning your trip to China will be selecting a school. Many local Chinese schools and universities offer language courses. The choices can be overwhelming.

Generally speaking, university programs are more established and are higher quality. Many local schools in China exhibiting an academic appearance are agency owned and promoted. These schools are often called “Academies”. Most of the academies are private schools. Some hire temporary teachers who have little experience handling international student issues. If the teachers are native Chinese speakers, and do not speak English, you will have problems communicating with them, especially if you have an important issue to discuss.

Many private Chinese owned schools do not have the experience in dealing with international students. As previously mentioned, the ideal place to study Chinese is at Chinese universities, especially the top universities in the major cities. The universities are internationally recognized, have spent many years building up a solid academic reputation, and hire top professors and teachers in the country. The public university programs offer core in-class language training and have an international reputation; teachers instruct students for all the electives and activities after class. However, keep in mind, some university programs are run on a semester basis to fit with the timetable of the university. In this regard, private schools are more flexible with intake dates and can be better suited to students seeking short-term study. Of course, there are some good private schools. The teaching methods and experience have all been looked at in detail.

[imron]

how long is a semster at Tsinguhua University?

It's around 5 months. More information about Tsinghua's programmes can be found on their website.

[Fergus_1]

Thanks for the link IMRON, much appreciated

[self-taught-mba]

Cutting out the middleman is always going to be cheaper.

Not always. But often. And it depends on the value of your time.

We actually had one of programs priced below cost for a long time to due an accounting error. Thankfully, only a few people took advantage of it since it was a side program.

We also took a $1400 hit by getting ripped off on an apartment we got for students by a shady agency (Lian Jia = Pianzi!!!). (3300/mo. X 2 months rent and deposit = 9900) Easily could have happened to a student here that comes on his own but we take on the risk for our students.

As many know, signing a lease here can be a hit or miss proposition. You have to weigh your own risk tolerances and preferences.

If you stay off-campus it will be slightly cheaper or slightly more expensive depending on the type of place you want to live in

I think it needs expansion a bit.

[imron]

I think it needs expansion a bit.

I think the key is to also read the rest of that sentence where I mentioned "depending on the type of place you want to live in" For example, assuming you pay around RMB 2,000 a month to stay in the Tsinghua dorms (RMB 65 a day * 30 = RMB 1,950) then if you chose to live in an older style apartment, it will probably be cheaper than the dorms (I used to pay RMB 1,500 a month for a room in a shared apartment in Wudaokou), and if you chose to live in a newer place it will probably be slightly more expensive (many of my friends and classmates were paying RMB 2,500-3,000 a month).

[Sebastian]

Hey guys, thank you for all those great answers.

I still got to check if my university will accept my late change in study abroad registration, but if yes, it looks like I'm gonna be saving big... thanks to you....

Also, do you guys no the last due date to register for the fall semester in Fudan?