Studying Chinese as an Advanced Speaker?

[Zac]

Hi everyone,

Some background first - I've been studying Chinese for five and a half years so far (four as a Chinese major in college, and for the last year and a half I've been teaching English in China and studying/practicing in my spare time). I know my Chinese level is much better now than when I arrived here in 2011 (I can watch TV and read books in Chinese, albeit slowly, and I usually don't have any problems in conversations), but I know there's still a lot of room for improvement. My goal is to find a job that requires me to use Chinese on a regular basis, and while I'd consider myself fluent on a basic level I want to study full-time here in China for at least another year.

I'm currently planning to apply to Tsinghua's language program (进修课). Thanks to my student loans, tuition is a big issue, so I'm preparing to apply to the scholarships offered by the CSC (Chinese government), Tsinghua itself, the Beijing government, as well as the Confucius institute.

Would Tsinghua's program be a good fit for someone at my level?

The way I figure it, I'd get much more out of studying Chinese full-time at a university (hopefully on a full scholarship...) than I would with a teaching job like I have now. I still have a decent amount of spare time to study on my own and practice, and I see a private tutor three times a week, but I still feel like this job is distracting me from my main priority, which is becoming more fluent in Chinese. The phrase 适得其反 floats through my head every now and then.

If anyone has any suggestions for other schools to consider, I'd love to hear them. An alum of the Chinese program at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou recommended the school, so I'm thinking about this as well.

[Angelina]

The living allowance for full scholarship holders (your category) is 1700 RMB/month. That's too low for Beijing or Guangzhou, I would suggest you to choose a cheaper city.

[icebear]

Haerbin is supposed to be great for the budget and accent minded. Less distractions, too.

[Zac]

I appreciate the suggestions - any recommendations for particular schools?

Also, I wouldn't be living off the scholarship only. I have some money set aside as well.