madik Posted October 5, 2010 at 01:25 AM Report Posted October 5, 2010 at 01:25 AM Hello everyone, I have been considering my master's in China for a while and have visited a lot of uni websites but can't seem to find an information regarding GPA. What would be the minimum GPA needed to apply the schools? I know it varies from program to program but I just want to have a rough figure before I start applying next year. Also, is GPA a single most important factor in determining my acceptance or do they also look at the reference letters and my personal statement? Thank you in advance. Quote
jbiesnecker Posted October 7, 2010 at 06:13 AM Report Posted October 7, 2010 at 06:13 AM In my experience, GPA matters little, if you're talking about a purely Chinese program at a Chinese university (rather than a joint program run by a foreign university and their Chinese counterpart). It's all about getting a minimum HSK score (6, normally, IIRC), and then satisfying the department head/your advisor's requirements that you are competent enough to do the work. The standards are often... not particularly high. Quote
madik Posted October 7, 2010 at 12:21 PM Author Report Posted October 7, 2010 at 12:21 PM Thank you so much! I have been going all over the websites but they simply didn't have the details:S Is it common to contact possible supervisors and talk about my research plan before I apply to the program in China? or volunteer in their lab to see what kind of projects they are doing? I will be Beijing until next summer and I am planning to stay here for winter break so I figured it would be good if I can get some indirect experiences by volunteering. Thank you in advance! Quote
jbiesnecker Posted October 7, 2010 at 09:47 PM Report Posted October 7, 2010 at 09:47 PM Yes, absolutely possible. If you're planning to go to school in the Beijing area, you should just find their contact information online and make an appointment, or if you can't do that (university websites are notoriously wacky), just go down there and ask to talk to people. That's always worked for me. Quote
madik Posted October 9, 2010 at 09:07 PM Author Report Posted October 9, 2010 at 09:07 PM Thank you so much! I guess I will just go to the department office sometime this month and talk to some of the people there.. There are two or three programs I want to know more about and I sent an email two weeks ago but haven't received anything from the university at all:S By the way, is it possible to get the emails of some of the students already in the program just to get an idea of what kind of projects are going on in the lab and what not if I do get hold of people in the office? Thank you in advance again! Quote
jbiesnecker Posted October 9, 2010 at 09:13 PM Report Posted October 9, 2010 at 09:13 PM Yeah, I'd just go talk to them. I have much better luck face-to-face than I do via email/telephone. Quote By the way, is it possible to get the emails of some of the students already in the program just to get an idea of what kind of projects are going on in the lab and what not? No clue, but the advisor/department head would probably be able to help. Quote
madik Posted October 9, 2010 at 09:47 PM Author Report Posted October 9, 2010 at 09:47 PM you are really fast! A couple of more question before you get tired of me.. Some of the programs I am thinking of are taught in English and does GPA guideline you have given me above apply there as well? I know it is not a joint program run by a foreign university and their Chinese counterpart. They are rather a program Chinese university designed entirely for international students. Is getting a work experience in the university lab hard in general? (or it really depends on the prof? My university back home was pretty flexible so if you were interested, it was relatively easy to get a volunteer assistant position but not sure how it works here:S) Right now my Chinese is not competent to conduct any research in Chinese but if the profs has anything like summarizing English journals, I am totally in! (I guess the best bet will be go to the department office, get their emails and contact them before I approach them in person? I can't find their projects let alone their emails:S) A big thank you in advance! Quote
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