Finances on CSC Scholarship

[sommerzeit]

Hey everyone,
I'm applying for a CSC Scholarship this year (waiting for my university to start its application process...) and have been going through the information provided by the Scholarship Council recently.  I saw that a Master's student receives 1,700Y per month (along with free accommodation and stuff like insurance, though some have said the insurance sucks and you should get your own private one alongside).  I was just wondering how people who've been on the scholarship previously have found the money situation, as comparing 1,700Y with the information on numbeo.com about prices in China and stuff...it kinda seems 1,7000Y won't really go very far, and to live off it for 5 years might be a little...tough.  This could be me getting confused though, so I was just hoping to ask people who'd already experienced it, especially people who've lived in Beijing.  Might look into getting a SECOND summer job after graduation before the scholarship, if the money sitch is actually difficult...

Thanks everyone!

[mikevwilliams]

I lived for 4 years on the 1700yuan/month scholarship.  I also received a one-off relocation payment with my very first monthly payment, which I think was around 2500 yuan, and the first payment at the beginning of each autumn/winter semester had an extra 500 yuan (it's supposed to be for books or supplies you need). 

 

I bought private travel insurance every year in addition to the free insurance they gave you which I paid for out of my own money. 

 

In the first year I mostly ate at the canteens on campus which was pretty cheap, usually less than 10 yuan for a meal.  For the 2nd year onwards I bought a fridge, toaster oven and an electric hob so I could cook stuff in my dorm as well.  I was never out of money, but I didn't go out to bars or expensive restaurants very much.  I went to the supermarket to buy stuff like bread, soft drinks, snacks etc to keep in my room.

 

I went travelling a few times during the holidays which was mostly covered by my own money.  The times I travelled within China I mostly took the train rather than flying because it's much cheaper and you can have fun trying to practice your Chinese with the other passengers. 

[FadedStardust]

Out of curiousity, where were you studying, mikevwilliams? I'm thinking of going to a second-tier city like maybe Qingdao for my MA and living in a similar fashion as you describe, but I wonder which Universities would allow cooking utilities in dorm rooms. I studied previously on an undergrad exchange program at Zhengzhou University and they didn't allow them.