Yunnan University

[roddy]

On 03/03/2018 at 10:29 AM, Frank Jansen said:

I heard someone said

Where, when, who?

[Frank Jansen]

2 minutes ago, roddy said:

Where, when, who?

A guy I met who studied at YunDa. He was not sure if he would come go back there later in the future because the language students might have to move to Chenggong. But it was not really clear to me if this is a certain thing.

[Kewen]

@Frank Jansen have you managed to find out anything more about where the language students will be this fall? I got my CSC stipend for Yunda but I haven't been able to get any reply from the CIS/International Office about where the course will be held (sure would be nicer at Wuhua, if I'd known I'd get put in Chenggong I'd probably have applied for Yunnan Normal instead...)

[Frank Jansen]

1 hour ago, Kewen said:

have you managed to find out anything more about where the language students will be this fall? I got my CSC stipend for Yunda but I haven't been able to get any reply from the CIS/International Office about where the course will be held (sure would be nicer at Wuhua, if I'd known I'd get put in Chenggong I'd probably have applied for Yunnan Normal instead...)

Nope sorry, I don't know. I only know that this semester the language students were still at Wuhua but I'm not sure about next semester...

[史奥丁]

Hi! I've been at Yun Da for three years. Language students are all at the old campus by Green Lake. 

[Kewen]

Finally managed to get a response, courses will still be at Wuhua this autumn, and the term already starts on August 27th!

FYI: even though a lot of the old websites+information are still up, the Center for International Students (CIS) does not exist anymore, it is now completely integrated into the School of International Education (SIE), the only contact email that actually works for getting in touch with them is sieynu@ynu.edu.cn

[史奥丁]

Honestly, the best way to get a hold of the teachers at the office is to get their WeChat or QQ. There are also several large groups on both platforms international students use to stay in touch with the office.

[Kewen]

@史奥丁 can you tell me the WeChat of some of the teachers or add me to one of the groups? The office did not feel inclined to let me know about their WeChat availability by email..

[史奥丁]

There are QR codes outside of the 国际学院 you can scan to enter the groups. Welcome to Kunming! 

[Kewen]

On 9/14/2018 at 7:53 PM, 史奥丁 said:

There are QR codes outside of the 国际学院 you can scan to enter the groups. Welcome to Kunming! 

@史奥丁 the QR codes outside the 国际学院/宿舍 all say that they're expired, can you post an updated one?

 

Quick update for anyone else considering Yunnan DaXue for a language course: I do not regret my choice, I'm happy that I get to study at YunDa's beautiful and quiet central campus right next to Green Lake, rather than at Yunnan Normal's language course campus all the way out in Chenggong. My teachers are all really nice and energetic, which seems to be the case for all levels. I haven't heard a single one of my colleagues talk about a "bad" teacher, mostly people are talking about their "absolutely favourite" teachers, but all of the non-favourite ones seem to be doing a pretty good job too.

 

Although I have no comparison I would say that the bureaucracy/information flow from the administration is just as bad as at any other Chinese university, but the international student community is really nice and welcoming so people help each other out a lot and everything always works out somehow. The only slightly annoying thing is that the university was originally going to run two groups (one morning and one afternoon class) for the first 3 levels of the language courses, but because the semester started earlier than at most other Chinese universities (August 27th) only around 10 people per level showed up during the first week, which made them cancel the parallel courses (beginners now run only in the morning, pre-intermediate only in the afternoon). Now by week 3 many more students have trickled in, so that we're now at class sizes of 25-30, which doesn't leave a lot of time for speaking per person. The teachers are still making the most of it though, and the Chinese students on campus (including the English language students who are staying in the same dormitory as us) are mostly really curious and friendly and their English isn't particularly good so it's very easy to get a lot of speaking practice outside class....

[edelweis]

@Kewen thanks for the update

On 9/18/2018 at 6:11 PM, Kewen said:

YunDa's beautiful and quiet central campus right next to Green Lake

Maybe you have some photos?

Are you staying in the dorms?

What textbooks are you using?

 

 

[Anitafdez18]

 

Hi all!
I am thinking about studying one semester in Yunnan University starting next March (Spring semester). I have some questions, because the threads about the university are really old.
1º The languages courses are still in the city center campus? (I read that Yunnan Normal University has been moved to Chenggong, I dont know about YU)
2º I love to travel. Would I be able to skip some Fridays to travel or are they very strict with attendance?
3º How are the dorms? Is it easy to find an appartment by yourself? Or maybe staying with a Chinese host family? (I am finishing my thesis so I wont be able to go to China until classes start)
4º How are the classses? Are they worthy?

5º Also does anyone know if I have chances to get the Confucious Scholarship if I am not a student in the Institute?
Thank you in advance for your help!

[Kewen]

Sorry for the delay, @Anitafdez18!

On 9/23/2018 at 5:00 PM, Anitafdez18 said:

1º The languages courses are still in the city center campus? (I read that Yunnan Normal University has been moved to Chenggong, I dont know about YU)

Yes, there are still Chinese courses for all levels hosted in the 国际学院 building at YU's Green Lake campus. One of our teachers mentioned that she's also teaching a course out in Chenggong, but I'm not sure whether she was referring to a YU course or to another university. Best to confirm with whoever you're signing up with, but in all likelihood it will be Green Lake!

On 9/23/2018 at 5:00 PM, Anitafdez18 said:

 2º I love to travel. Would I be able to skip some Fridays to travel or are they very strict with attendance?

Definitely possible, if you're just missing for a day or two you just message the teacher about it, if you're planning to be gone for a while there is a form that you can fill out and hand in to the office. If you're not a scholarship student I doubt that they'll have any problems with you missing a full week, as long as it's not all the time. The school just needs to cover its bases because they are the ones vouching for your student visa.

On 9/23/2018 at 5:00 PM, Anitafdez18 said:

3º How are the dorms? Is it easy to find an appartment by yourself? Or maybe staying with a Chinese host family? (I am finishing my thesis so I wont be able to go to China until classes start)

Dorms are ok, the information/comments on them further up in the thread are still all accurate. Most of the self-funded students are in 4-bed dorms for some reason which are a bit crowded, but you can probably pay up for a 2 bed one. If you're lucky you might end up without a roommate, or one that's hardly ever here (as happened to me). Finding an outside room or even apartment isn't too difficult, but then again it all depends on your expectations and cleanliness standards (have you been to China before?). Small caveat about apartments, in Kunming it is normal to pay your rent 6 months up front, plus 1 month agency fees if you're going through a letting agent. There is a big surplus of housing available so you can just walk into a letting agency in the neighbourhood where you want to stay and they'll probably be able to walk you to two or three apartments straight away. Depending on location you can probably get a nice 1-bedroom for 1000-1200 month, so if you hand them the 6 months rent + 1 month agency fee (+ maybe 1 month warranty for the landlord) = 9000ish kuai in cash you can probably have the keys and move in straight away.

On 9/23/2018 at 5:00 PM, Anitafdez18 said:

4º How are the classses? Are they worthy?

 

Class sizes have become a bit big (20ish for the two beginner levels) but the teachers are all good. Many students are only here for 1 semester and I assume not so many will start in the spring term, so it should be good.

On 9/23/2018 at 5:00 PM, Anitafdez18 said:

 5º Also does anyone know if I have chances to get the Confucious Scholarship if I am not a student in the Institute?

Yes I think so, but the scholarship process depends mainly on your home country, not on the target university, so you should probably check in the appropriate forums. (I wonder if it might be a bit late for scholarship applications for the spring? YU's term dates are early in comparison to other Chinese universities by the way, classes might be starting as early as February 25th, although it's no problem if you rock up a week or two or three later, as many students did this term.)

On 9/22/2018 at 1:08 AM, edelweis said:

Maybe you have some photos?

 

http://www.ynu.edu.cn/English/Campus_Views.htm the photos here are representative, there's actually a lot more green space/park/forest landscaping/sitting areas.

On 9/22/2018 at 1:08 AM, edelweis said:

What textbooks are you using?

 

For the two beginner levels (初级 一+二）we're using Hanyu Jiaocheng (all three different books for the comprehensive, speaking and listening classes), for intermediate （中级）they seem to be using a combination of Hanyu Jiaocheng and Boya.

[Anitafdez18]

OMG! Thank you so much! Life saver! ????

I am still kinda confused cause in their web page it says that application is opened all year long and spring semester start the 1st of March (one of the reasons I am choosing YU)

Also, do you know when we have to pay the application fee and the entire course and how? 

I read that you need to send some documents to their email address. However I wrote them like one week ago and they haven't answered me yet! Plus there is no bank account to make a deposit! I am very confused with all the application process.???

[Kewen]

@Anitafdez18 hm I'm not sure about the application procedure as I applied for a scholarship in my home country and they (= the Chinese government scholarship headquarters) did all of the communication with YU (and especially getting the JW201 form which you need to apply for a student visa before entering China) for me.

I'll ask some of the people who are self-funded and applied from abroad how they did it, but I would generally not take any of the information you find on websites too seriously, it's probably been changed 3 times already and no one bothered to update it. Which email address did you use to get in touch with them? And I don't think you should have to pay any application fee (unless you're going through one of these 3rd party CUCAS service websites, which is probably unnecessary), the application system that I'm aware of (which I have however not used myself) is here: http://ynu.at0086.cn/StuApplication/Login.aspx

[Anitafdez18]

Thank you so much for your reply. I wrote to cisynu@ynu.edu.cn

I don't know if it is the correct email, but it is the one appearing on the web page. Could you please ask your friends about the deadline, application website/process and payment please ??

I really want to study there. 谢谢 

[Kewen]

That email address doesn't work anymore, as the College of International Something (or whatever cis stands for) was apparently renamed a couple years ago. Yes, its website is still happily online in its circa 2010 version, that's why I'm saying don't trust any information you find online. The only email address I ever managed to get a reply from is sieynu@ynu.edu.cn, give them a couple of days and if you still don't get a reply just send another email. Emailing in Chinese will greatly increase your chances of a reply.

 

Most people are away at the moment as it's National holiday week, but I'll ask my friends as soon as they're back on Sunday! Generally I'd say you don't need to worry about the application, deadlines or payment, even if you rock up in the middle of the term they won't send you away as long as you are happy to pay the tuition fees (which you definitely don't need to do in advance, I know people who enrolled and only paid the fees a week or two into the term). The only reason why you actually need to follow the process (and start it early if possible) is because you are dependent on the university sending you a JW201 form which you need to apply for a student visa while you're still in your home country. How early they send these out I have no idea, I know from some scholarship students that their indirect delivery of the form from university via government scholarship headquarters to home country embassy only arrived 10 days before the start of term. So if you're confused about the application process and worried that things might not work out on time, rest assured that you will still be confused about the application process even after you've successfully completed it, and the feeling that things might not work out on time never go away either. It always works out somehow though, just not necessarily in the way that's most convenient for you or easy on your nerves.

[Anitafdez18]

Thank you so much Kewen! OMG 10 days before the start! I want to buy the ticket plane as soon as possible! I am already nervous HAAHAH. Hope to hear your news soon!

[abcdefg]

On 10/3/2018 at 9:58 PM, Kewen said:

but I would generally not take any of the information you find on websites too seriously, it's probably been changed 3 times already and no one bothered to update it.

 

Quote

That email address doesn't work anymore, as the College of International Something (or whatever cis stands for) was apparently renamed a couple years ago. Yes, its website is still happily online in its circa 2010 version, that's why I'm saying don't trust any information you find online.

 

Unfortunately, that is often the case. It makes things difficult. 

[lilynguyen3617]

Can i ask for more information about CSC scholarship in Yunnan?
Is there anyone who applied CSC succesfully ?