University Entrance to Tsinghua or Beida

[tian cai]

Hi there,

First of all just to tell everyone I'm only in year 10 so please forgive me if some of the questions I'm about to ask sound unbelievably stupid and ridiculous but I'm not quite sure where else to ask.

My situation:

I'm a Chinese born Australian currently living in Australia. I can speak mandarin fluently but reading and writing is still a big task for me. ALL of my family lives in Beijing, I'm the only one that's here.

Right now at school we're all talking about the universities we'd like to go to once we graduate senior school. I don't want to stay in Australia; I want to go back to China and I figured it'd be easier to do so if I went to a Chinese University.

Of course the first two that came into my head were Beida and Tsinghua and that's what I'm needing help with.

1. Just how hard is it to get into these two universities? Much less as a student from a small city in Australia?

2. I read somewhere on the Tsinghua website that we had to be Band 6 or something? What exactly does this mean?

3. Is entering as an international student easier? (I'd have to do this anyway since I have an Australian Passport)

4. What exams would I have to take?

5. Your personal opinion; which out of Beida and Tsinghua is the 'better' one?

Not to sound overly self confident or self obsessed and stuck up but at school I am an A grade student (except the constant C in sport -_-) but I figured thats here in Australia so you can't really compare that to Chinese school standards ....... I want to get a degree in Law and my teachers say I have a high chance of getting in, but again that's in Australia.

Yes anyway sorry about the long post and tons of questions. ;

Thanks for the help.

[anonymoose]

I can't speak for Tsinghua or Beida, but for Fudan at least, if you are a foreign student (that is, a foreign passport holder), it is not too hard to get in. Just make sure you at least have a reasonable level of written chinese. The Band 6 is probably refering to the HSK. If you are fluent in Mandarin, passing Band 6 should be very easy, but again, you will need a certain ability to read and write characters.

[Daan]

See also this discussion that might be of interest if you're thinking about getting a degree in Law: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/881-undergrad-degree-in-china (scroll down a bit).

[fanglu]

1. Just how hard is it to get into these two universities?

I could be wrong about this, but if you're paying the fees and not on a scholarship, I don't think its actually possible for an international student to not get into a course.

[tian cai]

Thank you everyone for the help.

fanglu - when I read your reply I think my heart stopped beating. Do you mean that if we are entering as an international student paying the fees, its impossible for us not to get in?

[fanglu]

I was being a bit facetious. If you look at this you'll see that you need to sit Peking Uni's entrance exam, which is Chinese, English and maths. I think all unis have their own requirements for entry for international students. But I think you can safely assume provided your Chinese is upto scratch you won't have any major trouble. I have a vague memory of this being discussed on these forums before, but I couldn't find the thread.

One thing to consider is that given how easy it is (for a non-Chinese) to get in, how much value is going to be placed on your degree by non-Chinese? Since you say that you intend to stay in China maybe you don't care, but it might be worth researching the salary difference between a graduate lawyer in China vs Australia.

[Daan]

You should probably also consider that the legal systems of Australia and China are so different I think it would be hard to obtain a degree in China, then practise law in Australia. I'm assuming Australia has its own bar exams that one would have to pass?

[tian cai]

My sister said that I could do an undergraduate in Beijing and see how that works. And if I don't like it and want to find a lawyer job in Australia then to come back to Perth and do my masters here or something.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

[wai ming]

My sister said that I could do an undergraduate in Beijing and see how that works. And if I don't like it and want to find a lawyer job in Australia then to come back to Perth and do my masters here or something.

Not to discourage you from doing your undergraduate in Beijing, but if you think there is a reasonable chance you might want to come back to Australia, be aware that an Australian Masters in Law (with a Chinese undergraduate degree) is not going to be sufficient to qualify for admission as an Australian lawyer.

You should check with the Supreme Court of WA and the WA legal profession legislation, but chances are you will need to do an Australian Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor to meet the the requirements for admission, as well as some kind of graduate legal practice course or clerkship. Don't forget that the Australian legal system is very different to the Chinese legal system