Confucius Institute Scholarship

[emstarrz]

Unfortunately thats all it says, there is nothing underneath it. Yea, i'll contact my CI and see what they say

[NANDA]

@Bjnsharp I didn't receive any email from my host uni, so i decided to contact them and they replied it.

I think i have to wait the admission letter, even though it's totally killing me to wait it

[amvtop10]

@shuoshuo

Once we fill out the visa form, what do we do with it? Who do we give it to? And what is this Visa thing? A card or something? Sorry I never done anything like this before.

So this Visa thing is the only thing we need to go to China and study? How will the university know it is you? You show them an ID or something?

Oh and how do we get a phone in China. Will they provide us one or do we have to go to one of their carriers there. I hear phone hear dont work there.

[Bjnsharp]

@amvtop10

You have to send it to your nearest Chinese embassy with your passport and they will put the visa inside. (This is a sticker). When you reach China this will be converted to a student visa by your chosen university. The details on applying and everything required will be on the embassy website. You can apply through a company who will do it for you, but will charge more, perhaps worthwhile if you are worried about not being able to fill the forms out correctly. You will need the admission letter from the university before you can apply.

The visa will be in your passport, they will photocopy this and it is obviously the I.d required.

The university may provide you with a SIM card. Zhejiang university provided me with a sim that would let you send messages or make calls to other university phones for free. I bought a cheap £10 phone to use this in.

I also bought a SIM card for my iPhone so I could use Internet. This was actually a cut down full size SIM card and proved a bit more difficult to get. My chinese speaking girlfriend managed to arrange it, I'm not sure if I could have made them understand what I wanted without her, but depending on your level of chinese this is an option.

Most modern phones will work over there if they are not locked to a network, otherwise they could be unlocked, but a simple phone for texting and calls is so cheap it's probably better to just buy it all.

[shuoshuo]

@amvtop10 - Yup, Bjnsharp has covered pretty much what you need to know.

I hear some universities provide you with a sim card. But no, I intend to do everything on my own and that includes choosing my own number. You can get really cheap sim cards, even for about 50RMB or so (well, that was a few years ago so I don't know if they have even cheaper ones now). If your phone doesn't work with the Chinese cellular networks you will have to purchase a new phone yourself.

The Chinese visa is in the form of a sticker that is stuck on one page of your passport. You will have to get a Chinese visa before you leave for China. Then when you get to China your school can help you change it to an X visa (student visa) for the entire duration of your course. If you will be in China for only 1 semester, you can apply for an F visa as far as I know. This will cover you for the semester and you won't have to convert it to an X visa.

The university will know it's you because you will be carrying your passport and your admissions document. Remember to bring the original physical examinations form and attachments. Although you might need to re-do your physicals.

Forget your ID card. That is only valid in your country. You will need your passport wherever you go.

Anyone active on this thread who is currently on the Confucius scholarship? I'd like to know if they are on time with allowance payments? Thanks.

[ATkinG]

hey frnds,

Well, today i contacted to my Local C.I nd i asked them that some ppl around the world already got confirmation frm their host universities but i didn't, why?, so they told me that i should wait till 15th of july cuz its the final date of confirmation that who's admitted nd who doesn't..

Is it true guys? Any update about it?

[shuoshuo]

@ATkinG - If that's what your CI told you then that's what you have to do. But I find it strange that they themselves don't know the current status of your application. It really wasn't helpful at all for them to give you that kind of response. When you log into your online account, there is an email (it's a hanban email) that tells us to contact them if we have any questions. Have you tried emailing them for an update? I sent them emails prior to my application and their response time had always been impressive.

Having said that, not all host institutes will send out email confirmation to students so there's nothing for you to worry about in this department. I mean, don't expect it to be part of the admissions protocol.

Have you tried contacting the university that has accepted you? Do not contact their main email. Contact their international students office email. If you have been accepted then you can confirm with them.

[SuEn]

@ATkinG - June 15th was the final confirmation date, although some people were notified a bit later. I don't think that's true. I just got an email from our CI today, they said according to Hanban we should get our admission letters by July 1st (the university told me they will send them out at the beginning of July, though). Your status online says you got the scholarship, right? Then don't worry, some universities do not send any confirmation emails and you just get the admission letter. My university didn't send me any confirmation either, I emailed them myself, otherwise I don't think they would have contacted me to confirm the scholarship.

@amvtop10 - Just to clarify what's already been said about the visa, usually, if you go for one semester, you go to the Chinese embassy in you country and apply for F visa (one entry) as shuoshuo said, this kind of visa has a duration of max 180 days, the embassy will decide on the duration according to the visa form from the university. I had it once and got 170 days, which was actually enough to come a bit earlier before registration and then stay for about a month after the end of the semester. I actually decided to stay longer and got a residence permit before the end of the first semester that was valid until the end of the following semester. If you have have a year scholarship, you will apply for X visa in your country, which will also be one entry and the duration is actually 000 days, you use it to enter China and within 30 days of entering China you need to apply for a residence permit. You can only do that after you register at your university and sometimes you need to redo your physical exam. Don't worry, your university will tell you what to do when you get there and there will be other people getting residence permits.

@shuoshuo - Two weeks before registration date should be ok, though the university probably won't let you stay in the dorms so early. I asked if I can come early and they told me after September 1st ( registration is 3rd and 4th). The thing you need to keep in mind is the residence permit, the earlier before the registration date you enter China, the less time you're going to have to apply for it. There is some paperwork the school needs to do before you can apply. The university I studied at actually had someone take us to do it. Most students enter China just a few days before registration date, I think, so if your university takes students to apply for the residence permit, you might end up doing it on your own because you will need it a bit earlier than other people. Also, when you apply for the residence permit, you don't have your passport for a while. So I'm considering doing it on my own to make sure I have it back for the October holidays. I think there is one thing you can do on your own before registering at the school, you can go have your physical exam validated (or redone). That might save you some time. I'll probably do that as soon as possible, I'm not going to wait for the university to tell me about it.

[shuoshuo]

Thanks SuEn. Do you know if we can apply for the X visa from our country instead of applying in China? The last time I was there, it was my school that applied for us. I also remember once I had to convert my F visa into an X visa. I needed proof of accommodation in order to do that.

But I have no idea if my Chinese embassy have the power to give me an X visa for the 1 year duration that I will be in China. I just don't want to go through the hassle of lining up in China, filling out a form and having to pay again for the visa when I might be able to do all this in my country.

[SuEn]

shuoshuo, these are two different things. There is no such thing as X visa for a year. You get the X visa in you country and you use it to enter China. It will be a one entry visa with duration of stay 000 days, because when you enter China on X visa, you need to apply for a Residence Permit within 30 days. Embassies only issue visas, they can't issue residence permits. I'm afraid you will have to go through the hassle of applying for a residence permit in China. Everyone who studies in China for more than half a year is supposed to enter on X visa and apply for a residence permit (which will say purpose of residence: study) after registering at the university. I think the you need the following to apply for a residence permit: passport, the physical exam form either done at or verified by the official place (Entry-exit quarantine something, I can never remember what it's called) that does it in that city, temporary residence registration form (everyone who comes to China has to be registered, if you stay in hotel, you don't see it because the hotel does it for you. If you live in the dorms, they will also register you when you check-in, so you might need to request this from whomever responsible for the dorms or from the international student office, if you live off campus you need to register at the police by yourself within 24 hours of moving in), some kind of residence permit application form that is issued by the university, this is like a proof that you are a student there and that they are an accredited institution (which is why you can only apply for a residence permit after you register at the university) - this is something that might take a bit of time, I think, then I assume you will also need the admission letter and the JW something something visa form, though I am not entirely sure about the last two.

[shuoshuo]

Thanks for clearing that up SuEn. I was getting the residence permit confused with the X visa. I just checked my passport and the last time I went, I got an F visa here in my country, and then I changed it to a residence permit with the specific dates.

I'll just enter with the F visa again, so I get ample time to change it to a residence permit when I get there.

[emstarrz]

Hey, just want to check with you all.

Did anyone NOT do the HSK but got the scholarship?

[shuoshuo]

@emstarrz - Well, I did the HSK but because it was the old one they told me that my certificate had "expired". So even if I submitted my old certificate, technically it was invalid. What documents did you attach to your application?

As far as I know, if you do not have an HSK certificate you must at least be recommended by your Confucius Institute or your Chinese Embassy. Did you include a recommendation letter in your application?

[emstarrz]

@shuoshuo - I attached my reference letter and my application essay... I don't know what my CI did tbh :s

[Bjnsharp]

@emstarrz

I have never taken a HSK exam. I had done a year of classes at my local confucius institute and a letter from my university lecturer to say I had done 2 years of Chinese language. This added up to over the 240 hours required, which I think is an alternative to having a HSK certificate. The first Confucius institute I tried refused to support me as I didn't have a HSK certificate (they said they had become very strict).

Personally I think the key to this scholarship is being accepted by the host university and as my confucius institute is run by a teacher from my host university, she had a quota of people she could recommend and whoever she recommended they would be accepted by the host university. I applied several days after the deadline and she just rang the university and had me added on.

I was told they had 10 places, but it seems only 6 people applied, which implys it was a pretty sure thing.

[shuoshuo]

Yes, Bjnsharp is correct. The alternative to an HSK certificate is proof that you have done a substantial amount of hours at a Confucius Institute. Before I submitted my application, Hanban emailed me this:

如果没有HSK和HSKK成绩，必须要有孔子学院学时证明才能申请一学期或是一学年奖学金。

@emstarrz - were you able to contact your CI to ask them what's up?

[ihcahieh]

In my case the HSK also served as the criteria. Even if it is stated that a certain number of hours spent learning Mandarin in a Confucius Institute would suffice (which should have qualified me for a one year scholarship), the head of the Confucius Institute in my country decided to follow the HSK criteria, which left me no choice but to apply for the one-semester option.

I did not really know that an HSK would be this useful in applying for scholarships. I just took them because I collect language certificates! Well, now I know. Haha. Hopefully I could upgrade my HSK 2 to HSK 4 by February next year, and then apply for a one year CSC languag scholarship. Is that possible?

The Taiwan Huayu scholarship is also an option, and I actually applied for that too, but the fisherman controversy between Manila and Taipei meant that all scholarship applications were withheld. Maybe next year they would start granting scholarships again.

[emstarrz]

That is so odd, I have never received an email from Hanban.

Nor did my CI ever instruct me about a HSK test or the 240 hours language requirement (which i do have).

Yes i emailed my CI and unfortunately I was informed that my application was unsuccessful. So i guess il just apply directly to the universities now, seeing as I was intending on going in Feburary of next year (Spring 2014). Is there anyway to get a scholarship at a later date? Any ideas?

[ATkinG]

@shuoshuo - Well i tried to contact to my host university, nd i tried to send them application in Chinese as well for verification of my scholarship, but i m keep getting "Servers r keeps failing to forward ur application error" frm zhongnan daxue general email address. i looked over for their sub email addresses but they dun hav any either. Idk what to do. Suggest me something :S

[shuoshuo]

@ihcahieh & @emstarrz - 240 hours of learning Chinese is not equivalent to an HSK certificate. There is a specific requirement to apply for the scholarship, as it's stated on the CIS website. They mention an HSK requirement, not number of hours. You have to understand that each and every country is different. Their resources and stage of development (esp. in terms of Chinese learning) are all different.

So some Confucius institutes around the world will give scholarship quota to their students even if these students do not meet the official criteria.

@ihcahieh - Well then, you should have applied for the CSC one-year language scholarship this time round instead of the CIS. The CSC has no requirement, so it is much easier to obtain. If you get a recommendation letter from your university, or Chinese embassy then that's good enough to get the CSC. You can then extend the CSC for another year. There are also muncipal, provincial, etc. scholarships. Some universities also provide scholarships to individuals. China offers so many scholarships to international students.

@ATkinG - Have you tried calling them? Right now it is about 6pm in China so there's no point in bothering anyone. Call them tomorrow at around 9-10 am China time. I don't understand why you are sending emails to their main email address? Contact their International Students Office.

By the way, you're probably worrying for nothing. Your status already states that you got the scholarship. If you are worrying because you have not received any emails then you are worrying for nothing. Most universities don't even bother sending out emails to confirm, so do not compare your situation with others here by thinking that because some of us received emails that means your application is in trouble. You are stressing yourself out for nothing.