age restrictions on Bachelor Degrees- 4 years

[Fergus_1]

Was just looking through the 1-3 year Chinese language courses and the Bachelor degree progammes offered by the 10 universities in China via Harbin Yale Commercial Consulting website and I note that in some universities offering the Bachelors 4 years courses there is an age restriction ..must be between 17-35. I am 38 and wondering what foreigners do if they are a bit older and want to take a degree in China. Should this be a warning to old times like me to stay away ;-)

Thanks for any info/advice

Fergus

[Banestyrelsen]

Someone told me there are ways of getting around such restrictions with $$$. Sorry I can't be of more help.

EDIT: For anyone who's interested, the universities he's talking about are:

Jiamusi University

Heilongjiang University

Harbin University of Science & Technology

Harbin Institute of Technology

Jilin University

Liaoning University

Shenyang Normal University

Dalian University of Foreign Languages

Dalian University of Technology

Liaoning Normal University

http://hyccchina.com/english/araq/index.htm

[imron]

Perhaps write to hyccchina and ask if they can contact the universities and see if they can make an exception to the age requirements? Very few things in China are set in stone.

[roddy]

That's a surprisingly young limit, I'm wondering if there's maybe some age limit on Chinese undergraduates (might make sense giving the pressure on places) which is being applied to foreign students.

Regardless, I won't be surprised if universities can find a way around it when faced with a paying customer over 35.

[monto]

Age restriction on undergraduates was cancelled in China.

But not sure for foreigners.

[nicefreak]

I studied at Liaoning Normal University in Dalian!

While I was there, about 5 Japanese students (certainly above 60 years of age) enrolled at university. They said, for them standard of living is much higher, if their enjoy their pension in China.

I am not sure if they were on a Bachelor's Program or just ordinary language students, though!

[mrtoga]

I have not enrolled anyone over the age of 35 on a bachelor's programme before to be honest. Actually I think it would not be necessary to get a formal university degree in Chinese Language at that relatively ripe age - an employer looking to hire anyone in their forties is unlikely to put a lot of stress on graduating university. A good HSK score would probably be more useful.

However if it is something you would like to do I can ask my colleague to make some enquiries on your behalf and see if the universities would be prepared to accept your application. Contact us through the address on the website please!

[Fergus_1]

Mrtoga

thanks for your input above. My reading of what you say is that at 38, I shouldn't perhaps go to take a degree at ARAQ listed Uni instutuions as route into Chinese literacy and language fluency but instead should concentarte on HSK? How does one get a good HSK result without doing the degree?

[mrtoga]

Well, there are courses at some universities which are geared to studying for HSK, but you have to be pretty hot on the Chinese characters because a lot of the other students in these classes are Koreans (HSK is important for their future careers).

There are also private schools that have such classes.

One other alternative would be to go to university in the mornings and attend a private school in the evenings focusing on HSK stuff.

[mr.stinky]

this is not official, of course, but someone who knows someone who knows someone....

who says they heard someone say.....

anyway, the short version is that effective this year, there will be no student visas for

anyone born before 1964. doesn't make much sense, i'd at least expect them to pick

a round number....why older than 43....or to start off with a much higher number to

test the results.

anyone heard anything on age limits on visas? or is this certain someone full of a

certain something?

[olayie]

To my best knowledge, the age limit was cancelled a few years ago. I still remember reading a headline on a mainstream Chinese newpaper about a 70 yr old sitting Gaokao with his 18 yr old grandson....