Anyone studying at Peking University (Beida) - Fall 2008?

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thanks james li that will really help me iron out my plans for the year.

[miss-amy]

Hi all,

what a relief to have this forum...so much useful information!

I've currently registered with BNU to start a 5/6 month language programme for the spring semester 09...but i haven't completely decided on the choice of university.

Beida sounds great from everything i've read on this forum and i'm really considering sending off my application forms (and unfortunately another registration fee), but with Beida being such a prestigious uni i'm sure it's worth that bit of extra money, time and effort.

Will many of you be around for the spring semester 09? Any tips on the best options for accommodation? I'd love a en suite room...in a nice safe feeling complex, preferably surrounded by more international students!

How's the social side of things amongst the international students? I've been a foreign student before (in France) and one of the best things about the whole experience was meeting really cool people from all over the world and getting used to a new city together.

Ooh it’s all very exciting- I can’t wait to get on the plane!

Any help, info, general tales from Beijing would be massively appreciated. I’m sure the slightly apprehensive feelings just before jetting off to china won’t be foreign to you guys!

xx

[roddy]

The two files James has provided are now available in a .rar archive - here. Two PDF files, named

Beida CLSP Handbook (English Section) [9-2008] and

Beida Study Guide for International Students (English) [9-2008]

total 1.1MB zipped.

[James Li]

Hi miss-amy:

You won't have any trouble meeting international students (or, if the mood strikes, avoiding them) when you study in Beijing. The Wudaokou area is the epicenter for international students to hang out. There are other parts of the city, such as Sanlitun, where you will also be able to easily meet foreign professionals and students at the clubs and restaurants.

In my two language classes, there are students from over a dozen different countries. A few are children of diplomats, some are professionals taking a break from working, and many are young people on Chinese-sponsored scholarships. All have interesting backgrounds and stories.

If you are considering Beida, double check the deadline. It has one of the earliest application deadlines of the schools around here.

There are lots of housing options, depending on how much you want to pay, the proximity to your school, and whether you want a roommate. Some apartment complexes have a high concentration of foreign students, although I don't know the ones near BNU. I have never felt unsafe in Beijing but, then again, I come from a place where the murder rate is 15 times higher than in China.

I will be around in the Spring semester. Welcome to Beijing!

[miss-amy]

Thats great thank you so much for that information! I have a big smile on my face now- very excited and a lot lot less worried!

I've been emailing the people at in the international office of Beida- they have said that they are already full but my application form is ready to go- so there may still be a chance i can have a place...if there's a cancellation or something like that.

I have also been in contact with Tsinghua- they have spaces available and that campus is pretty close to Beida right? Do the international students from the two unis mix?

Hope you're having a good festive season- far far away in Beijing