CSC Scholarship Results - 2014

[shuoshuo]

Depends on the universities.  Some will not allow you to apply early, others will.  But if you tell them you need the pre-admissions for the CSC scholarship they know the process so it really should not be an issue.  The new school year/semester begins some time around late August to early September this year.  So perhaps you can start contacting the universities around late September or on October.  Or you can even contact them now, and then they will tell you the best time for you to apply for a pre-admissions notice. Best of luck to you!

[papapung]

Anyone know when result csc of scut (south china university of technology) will publish?

[洋人丹]

Thanks for the information.

 

I have been thinking about whether to contact them now but thought it might be too early. Might as well send some e-mails, if I don't get replies I'll just try again in a month or two.

[Tianlongprc]

@shuoshuo I completely agree with your sentiments. This is for you and all other people that currently are looking to get the scholarship and future students.

 

The road to get into Peking University was a long road for me. It was about 3 years ago that I decided that I wanted to go to Peking University and I wanted to get a full ride scholarship. However, I knew getting into the university was going to be hard and getting the full ride scholarship harder. So I set up a plan to succeed. I was getting good grades but I felt I needed to do more. It was for this reason that I planned to graduate with honors. I applied to the honors program at my university and was accepted. To complete the honors program I had to write the equivalent of a master’s thesis. The program took a year. The last year I was in school, I thought it would be best to visit Peking University. So I started to contact professors from Peking University, however none would respond to my emails. So I talked to my friend whose dad works in the Chinese Foreign Ministry. He knew a few professors and was able to set up a meeting with a professor. After going to the university and meeting a few professors I knew that Peking University was the school for me.   

 

After I returned from the trip to China, I started my last semester. I then did research on the Chinese Government Scholarship and waited until January to start contacting the Consulate that represented my area. I shared with them my intent to apply for the scholarship and informed them that I planned on attending Peking University. When the time came, I applied for the scholarship. After I received a formal award letter, I asked one of the professors I met to write me a recommendation letter. Also during this time I completed my honors thesis and it was later co-published with a professor from my university. With the award letter, a copy of my publication and 3 recommendation letters, two from my university and one from the Peking University professor, I applied to Peking University. Once I received a pre-admission letter from Peking University, I sent all the required CSC paper work to the consulate. The consulate then sent that to CSC.

 

Even with all the work I did, I was still having a problem being patient. After sending all of the documents off I had to wait 2-3 months before hearing anything from anybody. That was the hardest time. I was confident but there was always a nagging doubt that I might not get accepted. However, sometimes I thought, if I cannot get in who can, lol. A lot of time and planning went into my approach and I probably did more than I needed to. But when it comes to a full ride scholarship to any university anywhere in the world, you should put in a lot of time and work. It is a great honor to get a chance like this and you should work hard to get it. For many of us, this is a life changing opportunity and how much time did you put in to get this chance? If you spent 10 hours to get a full ride scholarship that is not enough. I went to China a year early and then spent countless hours researching, planning, and studying how this process worked. I was not afraid to call and ask questions. This is so big, that I knew that I cannot let myself done. Nobody is going to give you something free for nothing. It takes time and effort to get where you want to go.

 

So now that know I got in 100%, I not only feel good and am excited, I feel that I completed a task that took me 3 years to get here. I would encourage all future applicants to put more time into this application and acknowledge that you get what you put in. If you want to go the top universities’ and have a chance at the scholarship it will take time, research and work on your part. Don’t just wish you will get in, don’t expect to receive charity. Dream big and work hard towards those dreams. If you give 100% and don’t get anything back at least you will not have any regrets. I hope this post will encourage others to work harder and leave less to chance. This is a great opportunity for all of us and I give my thanks to God for his grace and to the Chinese Government for this amazing opportunity.             

[chanda]

@shuoshuo

You are giving people very insightful advice. I was awarded a CSC scholarship through the embassy over five years ago. My advice to those who applied through the embassy is just to be patient, your scholarships are all but guaranteed. Yes, as Shuoshuo has already alluded to, if you didn't have a pre-admission letter at the time you made an application through the emnassy, you may NOT necessarily be placed in those 3 universities you had chosen. My three choices were top top universities in Shanghai and Beijing, but I was sent elsewhere. Bear in mind that the majority have chosen prestigious univeristies like Tsinghua, Zhejiang, Beida, Tongji, Fudan etc, but the places are limited. The MOE through CSC have the responsibility of distributing the scholarships equally across the whole country. As someone mentioned, what is important is to have a scholarship, don't be obsessed with prestigious universities, or glammourous cities. By the way most cities where these CSC approved universities are based are quite developed to the same level as cities in the Western World.

 

By the way, most Chinese Universities are very poor when it comes to responding to emails.

Finally; BE PATIENT, don't lose sleep over it, if you applied through the embassy, you will all receive your scholarships before the end of July. Relax

[chanda]

@Tianlongprc

Fantastic advice there.

[Guest scooby]

@chanda,

 

just out of curiosity, did they send you to places near Shanghai, Beijing or totally away from those cities, let's say, somewhere in Xinjiang? 

[chanda]

@Scooby

Hahahaha, hilarious.

I was sent to Wuhan, not a bad city

[Lin You Le]

A lot of people talk about pre-admission letter, I don't know about Pauan, but when I ask about it in my universities in China they all told me I first need to receive the scholarship, then they can give me a pre-admission letter. I think in every country and every university the process is not the same. For example, when I ask for a pre-admission letter from Fudan, they told me I need to apply as a common student, but in this way the classes would begin in March!

I also have a pre-admission letter just from 华师大 and was not accepted there because was accepted by another university (probably Fudan, which I don't have pre-admission letter, just recommendation letter from Fudan`s professors).

Those process are very complicate, we don't should think too much about it or we all will become crazy haha

[Guest scooby]

@chanda, 

true, just it's too hot and humid, hehe.

 

@Lin You Le,

of course, it starts to appear that the process is different at every university. When I told that I was awarded with the scholarship and asked for a pre-admission letter at one university, they said that I should provide all the necessary documents and do the formal procedures (application form, recommendation etc) in order to obtain the letter. When I asked for a letter at another university, they sent me the pre-admission letter via e-mail already on the next day.

But I agree, no need to go crazy about it, better to enjoy the summer.

[CafeTim]

Hello,

Did anyone here apply through the Chinese consulate in Sydney ?

If so any news? I will give them a call Monday. I have the mobile number Of the consular

Who processed my application, the department fixed line never seems to be answered. His last name is Liu. Real nice guy.

Cheerio

[wpskinner]

Hello @tianlongprc;             

 

Congratulations on your well deserved success! People's stories vary greatly.  I did not consider applying for a Chinese Government Scholarship until I happened on some information about it about a month before the deadline.  I am a new JD graduate and was interested in Zhejiang's LLM program in Chinese Law.  Their brochure states almost everyone accepted into the program gets a full scholarship. I applied directly to the LLM program and was awarded the full ride. I'm not an honors student, and I don't think my effort mirrors yours. Honestly, I still haven't decided for sure whether to accept the scholarship or not, although I would agree that its an amazing opportunity!  The difficulty of receiving a Chinese Govt. Scholarship seems to depend on the program, the situation, and when and how you apply.

[wpskinner]

An additional comment: as unfair as it seems, WHERE one applies from seems to be a factor, with an advantage for those from western nations.  One website, (I think it was Chinese University of Hong Kong), has a map depicting the home locations of their international applicants; who was accepted, and who was not. It clearly showed a preference for students from North America, Europe and Australia over other regions of the globe.  I don't fully understand the politics and rationale behind the Chinese decision to offer the scholarship, or why that may result in preferences for students from particular regions. Thoughts, anyone?

[BanZhiYun]

@wpskinner I can only talk about Undergrad, but it makes perfect sense. I was thinking to apply for a university in HK, but the process, documents and the whole policy is completely different from the universities in mainland China. The require internationally recognized diplomas to be eligible for admission (therefore, limited scholarships as well) such as IB, A-Levels, SAT and so on. In some countries these are the diplomas obtained in a normal high school, however in most of the countries (mine included) you need to go to a private school with very high fees to obtain such a diploma. Therefore, it's much easier for Western (that doesn't include Eastern Europe most of the time) countries to apply for universities in Hong Kong.

 

About the CSC, it's so much easier to apply for a Postgraduate program than Undergrad, because almost all of the applicants are successful and there are just so many ways to do it. If it were me, I would strongly reccomend to not apply through the embassy for Postgraduates in most of the countries. Just because it takes the longest time to recieve any notification and the chances to go wherever you applied are so slim. The best way is to apply through the university itself for Postgrad and hope for the best. (simple, sufficient and will not exhaust you as much.)

 

On the other hand, since not everyone can do what Tianlongprc did given we all come from different countries and the opportunities are different, but there are many applicants who apply from a country close to China or are in China already. My advice even for people far away from China is to research the universities you would like to go in your area, then go just go visit them if possible. The best would be if you could get enrolled during the second semester for the Chinese classes in your target university and forward your application from there (since the whole process is during Spring-Summer every year.) This way you'll have something to do while waiting, aka studying some Chinese.

 

Basically, there is no need to panic, especially if you applied through the embassy. You may not go to your desired uni, but you will definitely end up being in China, so just make the best of your summer and relax! For those who applied through universities, I'm pretty certain almost everyone will be successful too, so no need to worry!

[chanda]

@wpskinner

Hong Kong Universities don't fall under the jurisidiction of Mainland China-Ministry of Education. Only universities in Mainland China receive students on the CSC scheme.

 

Granting scholarships to foreign students is one way China wants to exert her influence on the world stage. When students go to China, they learn about the country and the language. The numbers for embassy administered scholarships in different countries are not really fixed.The time I applied for CSC scholarship through my embassy, the number was doubled from previous year due to growing resentment among the locals regarding Chinese investment in my country (Africa) at that time. In the part of the world where I come from, it's not uncommon for politicians to lobby for scholarships for their kids from the embassy officials. For political expedience, the embassy does give out scholarships to politicians in addition to those advertised.

[Guest scooby]

@wpskinner

 

I can agree with @BanZhiYun on this one. Hong Kong and China are like two separate places, including academic standards and the way how things happen there. Quite hard to put them in one basket. Or as one Hongkonger put it, 'Education in China, that's useless', however taking into account a fact that this person is used to have friends from Oxford and Cambridge, no surprise there. Though there are many universities (not including Peking and Tsinghua universities) in China, internationally most of them are having a hard time to keep up with the top schools in the US, Europe and Hong Kong, therefore I am not surprised that people from the region (Korea, Japan etc.) decide to study in Hong Kong. 

 

Well, politics behind it, as @chanda said, it's about influence (well, politics always is). If you look internationally, China's reputation is not that good, many people are afraid of it, don't know what to expect and the rapid development could be seen as a threat to them. Luckily recently China has started to understand that it doesn't matter how large army it is going to have because as long as it is going to have problems with neighbors like Japan, territories like Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, internal problems with human rights and pollution, foreigners still will view it as something they should be afraid of. So, to improve the situation China has started to work on its international image like boosting tourism, sending Chinese teachers abroad, investing in less developed countries, providing humanitarian aid and providing scholarships because look at it from a foreigner's perspective "oh, Chinese government is going to pay for my studies, amazing!'', thus it's one of ways how to boost its reputation among foreigners. However, it's nothing new, Western countries have been doing it years, China just recently decided to play actively by Western rules. 

 

On the other hand, boosting its image is not the only reason, again putting a reference to @chanda, such scheme is a smart way how to get resources in other countries, let's say somewhere in Africa. Of course, when you talk to Chinese in Africa, they are going to say that they provide assistance to African states because the evil America and Europe were using and suppressing them, so suddenly the friendly China came to the rescue. Long story short, giving scholarships to specific countries is one way how to tell the press that China helps foreign countries and their students without an ulterior motive while at the same time extracting their natural resources.

 

Well, that's how one theory explains it. I can be wrong, hehe.

[shuoshuo]

Chanda - This happens in Asia too as I have met some on the scholarship and they had been "unfairly" given, e.g. they know someone on the board, or it's actually their dad, uncle or whatnot.

 

BanzhiYun - Applying through the embassy doesn't mean you will not get the university of your choice.  If you do not apply with a pre-admissions notice, then you might not get the university of your choice.  But applying through the embassy gives you a better chance of getting a scholarship, if your choice universities do not accept you.  The CSC then sends your application to other universities and they try to find one who will take you.

 

Wpskinner - Recognized education: I believe the Western applicants have education certificates that may be more recognized in places like Hong Kong.  I remember a friend of mine wanting to apply for a scholarship recently and the requirement was an GMAT or GRE certificate (the examination is not even available in my country).  Many of these scholarship abroad ask for qualifications that students from these Western countries would probably consider standard requirements.

 

Additional application requirements: This year, my friends who have applied for the CSC English-medium programmes had to submit a Toefl or an English proficiency exam certificate. One of my friends did not have such certificate so he was not allowed to apply.  This certificate is not required for students in English-speaking countries.

 

Application fees:  In the Western countries or regions you have mentioned, a $100 application fee is almost pocket change.  I've seen people in poorer regions of the world that can't consider applying for e.g. admissions because the school has asked them to pay for application processing fees that only cost $100, and they cannot afford that.

 

Scooby - China has stated their motive: "to strengthen diplomatic ties".  I think that entirely leans on political motives.  There is no need to patronise.  The students in the wealthier Western countries are receiving a full scholarship just like students in Asia and Africa.  Wherever it is you apply from, however you apply and whoever has applied, the scholarship conditions are the same and to me, it can all be categorised as financial assistance.

 

The worst thing about many schools with CSC students is that when we get to China, they no longer call it 奖学金生 (scholarship students).  They call us 公费生 (i.e. public fund students, i.e. we're all on Chinese tax payers money).    Makes me want to just bury my head in the ground.  We leave our countries with such pride and glory and then that term is used to refer to us, and it makes me feel like some sort of charity case or worse, a freeloader.

 

I really hope the universities still using this term modify it into something with more 面子.

[justforget]

@Scooby,chanda, banzhiyun(半只云) what is the chance of getting 公费生 from Shanghai Jiaotong University and Tongi University..I haven't received any email till today..is it right to wait for the result or I have to give up waiting 公费生?

[shuoshuo]

I was going through some of the posts here where some people say they feel they have exceeded 20 pages and not following that rule might have affected their chances.  But here's the thing, the application form states:

 

"Each set of the complete materials should not exceed 20 pages"

 

I actually understood it as: 20 pages or less for study plan, 20 pages or less of articles written or published, 20 pages or less of foreigner physical examination documents, etc.  Did I misunderstand?

 

Because they did say "each" and not "total".

 

That said, when I submitted my application, I submitted possibly over 50 pages.  It included my bachelors' dissertation/thesis.      My physical examinations also included about 7 attachments, so I figured it made sense that each set of it would be less than 20.

[Pauan]

After this statement I've gotta love you shuoshuo. Thanks for the relief.