Tsinghua University Fall/Autumn 2010

[calif90071]

@ScarlettWan: The admission notice should have been included in the mailing from Tsinghua...it's on a blue piece of paper. Your student ID is at the top of the page under your nationality.

[ScarlettWan]

O_O there is no blue paper....oh my days...looks like i need to call up tsinghua and ask whats going on =.=

[laurl]

Hi! I'm a newbie here.

Applied recently to the Chinese Language Program and just found out I was admitted...was a little nervous at first but reading all the posts here- getting excited to go. Everybody here seems really nice and eager to go too. =)

[dolldalera]

Hi! In regard to some previous replies I read:

1. With the emails. I've actually called Beijing a few times (probably more than 5 but less than 10) to discuss some admissions dilemmas and the like. In my experience, I think it's better to call FSAO because you are able to get more out of talking to them directly than via email. I've not had much problems with the emails as they seem to reply to mine very quickly, sometimes within one day to even a few hours. The girl I've talked to in the FSAO office understands English pretty well so discussing with her will probably give you more results. The only thing you will have to worry about is the time difference, though that's not much of a problem for me as Beijing is in the same time zone.

2. I don't know how I'll be doing mine as of yet, but I think hospital-wise, TsingHua/Beijing should be pretty okay. Coming from a third-world country, I'd say that whole third-world-country thing is pretty harsh. Beijing should have a pretty good medical system, and TsingHua has its own hospital (looked via GoogleMaps) so the facilities there should be okay. Before going to China, personally, I think people should take all the normal vaccinations/check-ups and the like, just to make sure. With the medical exam thing for those staying a year, doing it in TsingHua would probably be much easier as you're certain that whatever procedures they will do for you will all be accredited to the medical exam, as compared to doing it in your own country.

3. Dorm-wise, my cousin who went to TsingHua last year said it was pretty okay. The dorms are clean and having a single room/AB double room would probably be the better choice unless you're fine with having a floor-wide communal bathroom. My friend who has gotten her documents told me that they clean the room often so that should not be a concern cleanliness-wise. Also, the area near the school, Wu Da Kou, has loads of apartments for students in case you'd prefer that to a dorm.

Oh, for those who are a little iffy with messy/dirty stuff, my cousin warned me beforehand that there isn't much (cleaning/rubbing)alcohol there so better bring loads with you.

Hope that has answered a few questions/concerns.

I've been emailing my cousin back and forth about lots of questions re TsingHua and Beijing so I've been a bit prepared about what to expect.

I hope my documents arrive tomorrow.

See you all in a few weeks

[dolldalera]

Hi! In regard to some previous replies I read:

1. With the emails. I've actually called Beijing a few times (probably more than 5 but less than 10) to discuss some admissions dilemmas and the like. In my experience, I think it's better to call FSAO because you are able to get more out of talking to them directly than via email. I've not had much problems with the emails as they seem to reply to mine very quickly, sometimes within one day to even a few hours. The girl I've talked to in the FSAO office understands English pretty well so discussing with her will probably give you more results. The only thing you will have to worry about is the time difference, though that's not much of a problem for me as Beijing is in the same time zone.

2. I don't know how I'll be doing mine as of yet, but I think hospital-wise, TsingHua/Beijing should be pretty okay. Coming from a third-world country, I'd say that whole third-world-country thing is pretty harsh. Beijing should have a pretty good medical system, and TsingHua has its own hospital (looked via GoogleMaps) so the facilities there should be okay. Before going to China, personally, I think people should take all the normal vaccinations/check-ups and the like, just to make sure. With the medical exam thing for those staying a year, doing it in TsingHua would probably be much easier as you're certain that whatever procedures they will do for you will all be accredited to the medical exam, as compared to doing it in your own country.

3. Dorm-wise, my cousin who went to TsingHua last year said it was pretty okay. The dorms are clean and having a single room/AB double room would probably be the better choice unless you're fine with having a floor-wide communal bathroom. My friend who has gotten her documents told me that they clean the room often so that should not be a concern cleanliness-wise. Also, the area near the school, Wu Da Kou, has loads of apartments for students in case you'd prefer that to a dorm.

Oh, for those who are a little iffy with messy/dirty stuff, my cousin warned me beforehand that there isn't much (cleaning/rubbing)alcohol there so better bring loads with you.

Hope that has answered a few questions/concerns.

I've been emailing my cousin back and forth about lots of questions re TsingHua and Beijing so I've been a bit prepared about what to expect.

I hope my documents arrive tomorrow.

See you all in a few weeks

[nazreal]

@MGMT: the girl on the other end of the phone had quite a good command of English if a *little curt in her own replies but hey ho - I agree with dolldalera - call 'em! But my goodness, you've already done a Masters abroad? what was it in? and how come you're doing another one? At the moment, the idea of going into another Masters is like O_O but maybe I might consider it in the future...but definitely not whilst I'm working at the same time which is what I did last year (with no breaks to write up my research...)

@ScarlettWan: what's happening with your documents? I hope you manage to get in contact with people cos that's just strange - oh and you need to book an appointment online with the Chinese Visa Centre before you actually get your visa otherwise they won't let you apply. I'm getting mine done in a couple of weeks when school's finished....good luck with it though and keep us updated!

[MGMT]

@dolldalera: thanks for all the info, it's definitely nice to hear opinions/advice from people who've been there. I have another question about the dorms you may know the answer to, actually: do you know if it's possible to specify who you want to share an AB room with, or should I just forget it? I don't want to share with a complete stranger so I might go with a single room if it's impossible.

@nazreal: great, thanks! I'm gonna try emails one last time, and if all else fails I'll get up in the middle of the night and try it! And I did a Master in finance last year, then realized it wasn't really what I wanted to do with my life, so here I go again! Though I have to admit most of my friends reacted pretty much like you when I told them But I figure, better realize it and change course now than in 20 years, right? I can't imagine working while doing a Master, though, kudos to you for managing it! So are you working now if you're done with your Master? Are you taking a year off from your job to go to China, then?

[dolldalera]

@MGMT: From what I've surmised through my emails with my cousin, I think you're allowed to pick who you can room with (as long as that person is of the same gender). She mentioned to me how she had a friend with her, but they both decided to take single rooms but asked that they be put beside each other. Something like that. As I've not yet received my documents, I don't know how the online reservation process will go (I think someone mentioned this in an earlier comment). Personally though, I'd prefer a single room, as the difference in price from AB Double is not that big (I saw on a site somewhere that the price goes down if you reserve for more than 180 days), and you never know when a spare bathroom can come in handy.

[Irumi]

I have finally decided to give FSAO an international call today. I double confirmed that I did not get any scholarship, full or partial, and I have also found out that the tuition fees are paid by year, not according to semester. As for MIR, it's 28,000 RMB every year. There are about four semesters in two years' time.

Btw, I got to know that there ARE separate MIR courses in Chinese and English medium. I found out that the one I applied for was the Chinese medium one. Not too surprised, since my mother tongue is Chinese anyway.

But on the other hand, I'm not going already this year. I've asked about delayed admission, the office replied that I would have to fly to Beijing to register myself on August 31 this year, and then only I can apply to defer for up to one year.

Though as matter of fact, after considering all factors, I'm giving up the place. I'll try for Master degree again some other time. Hope all of you who are going, a very good year ahead in Beijing.

And thanks, MGMT for the reply.

[dolldalera]

I received my documents yesterday, I'm really happy. So much stressing over a few measly pieces of paper though. Lol.

[Posche]

Wah suprise, suprise! I called the FSAO today and wow, the girl spoke really good English, was extraordinarily nice and even (at least seemed) very well informed!

So what she told me about the dorm for the scholarship students is that we get the AB room (the single with 2people shared bathroom). That is kind of funny since on that website of CSC it said that u always get the cheapest (which would be the double room) and I remember MGMT said sometime they told her that its the single room with own bathroom... But the girl on the phone, she surely sounded convincing, I will just blindly trust her. The full-scholarship students dont have to apply for the dorm room of course, it will just be "reserved for us" (nice, I feel important!). But seems like we couldnt get in before 30th of august, at least thats what she said, but maybe she only said it because I mentioned I will arrive in Beijing on 30th, so I didnt really ask that again...

Any further information about scholarship, medical insurance etc. will be given to us once we are there.

Then today I also got an email from my MIR department with a "elective course schedule", but then I rather think those were the compulsory courses since there were only 5 of them and they seemed quite basic to me... But since there is no one left in this forum studying MIR, I guess no one cares anyway

[4leaf]

hi all chinese semester students

has anyone sat the placement test before ?

what is it like ?

4leaf

[MGMT]

@Posche: wow, really? Great news! So weird about th AB room, but if she was sure about it... So we don't need to get on the website or send an email or anything, just show up and ask for our room? I don't know whether to be reieved or stressed they'l screw it up and I won't have a room!!

[asianguy]

@Posche & MGMT - Thats funny, actually I got a reply from them that CSC scholarship students will be having a single room? Well I hope that we can get single room but at least the AB room is all right if we can have soome form of privacy. The only thing I hope is that they won't suddenly list down a lot of funny terms and conditions when we reach there and accept the scholarship. By the way, do you people know if there is a so called bond involved in this scholarship?

Really excited at the same time a bit nervous, after all I have been working for a while and have not touch books for some time. Also wondered what is the level of English like over there.

[adel86]

Hi everyone..

so glad I found this forum!!! i'll be coming to tsinghua from Australia.

Is everyone here going for the september language course till mid-january 2011? i'll probably be under the beginners class.

I've got everything I needed i think? just waiting for 3 aug to register for dorm.

couple of questions..

is everyone here getting the single or the multiple entry visa?

i was thinking of single since its easier... which means i wont be going anywhere out of china for a good 4 months.

advice would be great!

cheers.

[dolldalera]

@4Leaf: I've yet to take the placement test too but based on my email correspondence with my cousin who went to TsingHua last year, this is what she said when I asked about the placement test...

Well during the placement test in Tsinghua they ask what level you want to be in but final placement still depends on your score for the test. For the beginners level, you have 3 classes (general Chinese, listening and speaking) and in the intermediate level you have 4 classes (general Chinese, listening, speaking and reading). The general Chinese class is a combination of grammar, vocabulary and speaking.

She didn't get to answer it in detail, but I guess we'll have to see for ourselves when we get there. I'm assuming that since some of the classes are like this, they'll test us with (and I'm just guessing so don't take my word for it), maybe some reading comprehension, fill in the blanks, and maybe vocabulary? I have no idea really.

Hope this answers your query to a certain extent though I was probably not at all helpful.

[Irumi]

I got my admission package yesterday too, despite that it's irrelevant to me now. =/

And, yeah...calling the office is a good choice if you want to clarify things, they can speak English. Though when I called, the girl who spoke to me sounded relieved when she saw that I have a Chinese name and found out that I could speak Chinese.

@Posche: Aww...there are still a lot of people here going to the same university! ;)

[4leaf]

@dolidalera: thanks i guess it's just a case of going in and seeing what happens

so which class do you reckon you'll be placed in ? im thinking maybe the one above beginner :/

[dolldalera]

@4Leaf: For me? I've no idea. I've been learning Mandarin for more than 18years, truth be told. We have it in my elementary/high school, but it's like an hour each day and the structure of the class is not so good at my school. They say it's a Chinese school since practically all students are Chinese, but it's really not. Lol. That's about 13 years of my life wasted. And they taught us in traditional mandarin with the phonetic alphabet too. XD

I guess I hope they put me in the somewhat beginner levels, not too beginner, but I sort of want to go back to the basics if you know what I mean? I really have no clue where I'll be though.

[4leaf]

@dolldalera: 18 years ? wow, you must be pretty good, you'll hardly be put in the beginners class. anyway sure i guess you won't know until the test so no point wondering, whatever happens happens.

i've got a question about the accommodation for anyone who knows.

so online application open on august 3rd.

confirmation on august 16th.

so if you are accepted, when can you move/check in ?

if im accepted on 16th can i move in on 17th ?

also im thinking of waiting for the week before registration as it's seemingly cheaper.

BUT: what's the catch ? i mean is there a risk you won't get your room ?

or the remaining rooms are in bad condition ?

also i definitly want a single room, not Double room or AB.

would moveing/checking in on the week before registration pose a risk to getting a single room

or is there a good enough supply of them ?

i'd really appreciate anyones info on this.

cheers