CSC Scholarship Applications/Results - 2015

[mcytrynbaum]

I have a question regarding scholarship categories - perhaps someone is more familiar with this than me. I am quite interested in applying for the Chinese Government Scholarship as a "General Scholar" just for 1 year rather than e.g. doing a 2-3 masters.

 

In the west, being a "general scholar" or general student usually means you have almost no formal restrictions on which classes you can take (since you are not seeking a degree), though the scholarship application does require me to select a specific major. It would be great to hear from someone who knows about the general scholar program to get a sense of what kind of classes you can and cannot take and if there are any other annoying restrictions.

 

The document Presando posted above shows a Chinese university recruiting Master's and PhD students. Does anyone happen to know if most Chinese universities offer places to "general scholars" or if they are usually only interested in Masters' and PhD students?

 

Thanks!

[DongLian]

@ifyin  sorry for delayed response.

 

All I did was email the school using whatever contact email they had and asked what I should send.  Not all schools do it though.. Tsinghua wouldn't let me.  Anshan Normal University and Zhejiang University of Science and Technology both only asked for passport scan and highest diploma scan.  ANU asked for a short paper about why I am a good candidate to study Chinese and why i want to go to ANU but that took me all of 10 min.. it was very informal and relaxed.

[Nnedi Ugo]

For some reason now, the csc website is not working for me. I tried gaining access to it from multiple computers and still nothing. Is anyone else experiencing this same issue? 

[shuoshuo]

myctrynbaum - Some well-established universities offer general scholars the 'pass' to enroll in masters degree or PhD courses at the school, so that if they want to extend their course for more than 1 year, they can turn this 'general scholar' year into a masters degree or PhD. If it is not extended, the person will just graduate with a postgrad certificate. So the general scholar title isn't just for those wanting to study language.

 

I know some people who have done these programmes through the scholarship. If you have a bachelor's degree, they will accept you into their pre-masters programme, and if you have a masters degree they will accept you into their pre=PhD programme.

[lfyin]

@zhangkairong, i didn't know you couldn't enter their language program as a scholarship student! I am also aiming for Renmin. Im sorting out recommendation letters, transcript and medicals now, my only concern is the pre-admission!
by the way, do you know if they are stringent on getting documents 'notarised'? or can it just be certified? Certifying documents in Australia costs nothing, but getting a notary public to notarise documents costs about $100 a document! Damn Australia

[lfyin]

Do you think Beida is unlikely to accept CSC students for their Chinese language program considering they haven't in the past?

[Voyager2014]

A couple of days ago I sent an emailed to Xiamen University's admissions office. Back then I got an instant automatic reply saying the office will be close till February the 26th. Yet strangely yesterday I got an email from them answering for my questions.

 

Now here is the thing I was waiting for them to go back to work before sending my application documents to them (for masters degree), so should I trust in this email and assume they got back to work earlier then they should, and if send my application documents I would encounter no problems like loss of package, etc.

[talhyw]

Hey everyone, here is my story: I started a Bachelor's degree here in my home country (Hungary) back in 2013. After 1,5 years, I decided the major I chose wasn't for me. I wanted to change majors and possibly study abroad. I found out about this scholarship and figured this would be great opportunity as I had been studying Chinese for a while and China in general has awlays interested me. My question is: In my case, what would qualify as an academic transcript? My high school final exams?  The grades I got in the last year of high school? And what does notarized actually mean? Do I just have them translated by professional agency or is there more to it? I'm a little confused about this. Thanks in advance.

[Xiaowei M]

@ talhyw You need a notarized copy of your degree and transcripts in Hungarian and notarized translation of the same documents from Hungarian into English or Chinese, translated by court translator. The certified translator signs and stamps the translation and declares that the translation is a true and faithful rendition of the original document. 

[Voyager2014]

I have asked this in the last year's csc scholarship: 

 

 

When applying for a master degree, you get to pick three Universities you want to enroll in. Do you just send application documents to your first choice or you have to send them to all three? 

 

and @shuoshuo said this:

 

 

 

Voyager2014 - If you are applying for a pre-admissions letter, send your application documents to all 3 (do not include the CSC form that states the 3 choices in order of priority). If your first choice university sends you a pre-admissions letter, you're good to go.

 

To make it clear, lets do like this!

 

I am applying to three different universities:

1)Zhejiang Daxue 

2)Xiamen Daxue

3)Tongji Daxue

 

Zhejiang Daxue: I have got an pro-visional acceptance letter by a professor at the U.

Xiamen Daxue: asked them to receive a pre-admissions letter and they said no need for pre-admissions letter- see below

 

你好！感谢来信！

 不需要的。除非你申请的是国别奖学金。一般的政府奖学金不需要预录取函。

 

谢谢！
 

--
Sincerely yours,
Admissions Office of Xiamen University

Admissions Office, 
Jiageng 3 Bldg,
Xiamen University,
Fujian Province, 361005
China

Tongji Daxue- have not got anything because I wish to enroll at the Zhejiang Daxue

 

--------------------------

Above is the progress I have made so far. 

 

When I complete the online application form, I put down my choices as I listed above, 1) Zhejiang, 2) Xiamen, and 3) Tongji. 

 

After I complete online CSC application form, I put it in a application package and send it to my first choice (Zhejiang) because I will use its Agency Number. so far no confusion...

 

But do I also send same application materials to my second and third choices. 

 

(Do I have to do like this:

 

*apply all three-complete their online application forms and everything

*send printed CSC online application form with other application materials only to the first choice

*but make sure second and third choices also receives my application package which has transcripts, diploma, etc. (is it???)

*if my choice rejects me for some reason, csc contacts the second choice, since I send them a separate package they know me and proceed like that...)

 

Do I need to prepare only one package to be sent to first choice or three packages for all three?

 

Please rescue me from this confusion!

[ZhangKaiRong]

@talhyw

 

You need to translate your high school diploma at a translator office. If you live in Budapest, I can help you recommend a good one.

I don't know which BA are you doing right now, but you should take into account that the Chinese education system is not a top-notch one, and you have much better options in Hungary/Europe. If you plan to work in Hungary in the future, you will have problems finding a proper job with a BA degree from China, since demand for people who can speak Chinese is disappointingly low in the region.

You can apply for the Chinese Government Scholarship for a one-year language program as well, I recommend you to try that one, this way you have some fresh air far away from your BA, and after a year you can reconsider whether or not do you want to seek a diploma in China. But experience shows that first you should do a BA in your home country (or in your case, in a European country), and do a Master's in China if you really want to study there.

[shuoshuo]

Voyager2014 - Some teachers come by they office on the weekends during the holidays. Even if they wanted to process a piece of work such as a scholarship application, it might require more than just their authority. My opinion is that it won't make much of a difference whether you send them the application before or after the holidays, they can only process it after the holidays. I wouldn't suggest posting anything at this time though, due to delays or possibility of getting lost. I ordered something locally right before the holidays and usually it takes 3 days or so for local mail to get to me. It was a registered package and its tracking info actually states that it has been received by me, which isn't true...I haven't received it! I can't resolve this issue until after the holidays. You really might want to avoid that kind of hassle.

 

You only need to send your application documents to your first choice university. If they reject you, CSC will try the other 2 universities on your list. What do you mean by provisional pre-admissions? Does it have a red seal that states you have been accepted to the university as long as the CSC accepts you? It is obvious Xiamen Uni are unwilling to comply, it means they will make their decision on who they want, later when they receive everyone's applications. You can do one of two things: be more persistent with them, or take them out of your list. That said, if you have a 'proper' pre-admissions from Zhejiang uni, you might not need any other admissions notice. As you are applying directly to the universities, a pre-admission notice is necessary, because if none of your 3 uni choices want you, CSC will not bother finding one that will take you. It's not like the bi-lateral scholarship. At least, I doubt it.

 

talhyw - My experience, you don't need to send notarized copies. If you just scan your original and submit that copy, they will accept it. If they need to see the original, you can always show it to them when you get to the university. But they never ask for it and are more likely to take your word for it. Your high school diploma will suffice, if you have a transcript from your current university (although you have not completed) you can submit that too.

[diit]

Hi everyone, 

 

I'm currently in my final year of a Bachelor's degree and looking to spend the coming year studying a language program at a university in China, preferably in Shanghai but I am also considering Xiamen (not sure whether this is an easier one to get into so if anyone could shed some light on that it would be appreciated). Spent this weekend reading up on the 2014 Results and Application threads and they were a very valuable information resource. I won't be applying to the universities directly but through the EU Window as I'm from the EU. In any case good luck everyone this year! 

 

And also @shuoshuo: you seem to be quite experienced with the application process judging by all the posts I've read, could you perhaps send me a PM so I could ask you some further questions I prefer not writing about in public? 

[英泰inte]

incase any one will call their university for a "pre-admission letter" the word in chinese is 预录取函 (yù lù qǔ hán)

 

“我要一个预录取函 wǒ yào yí gè yù lù qǔ hán” (i want a pre-admission letter)

[lfyin]

Hi guys,

 

now I'm on some university websites and I am reading that to apply to get a pre-admission letter, I first need to provide them with the 'award letter for Chinese government scholarship.' I am so confused because I thought it was the other way around (get pre-admission, send that all off to get CSC, not get CSC recommendation, then send application off to the university). Can someone please clarify this process and what an 'award letter' is? 

[Nnedi Ugo]

I have read most of the posts in this forum so far and I haven't come across this question (from skimming the pages). I am a student currently at a University in the US and I plan to study abroad through a 3rd party program called The Education Abroad Network (TEAN) through my school. I was wondering if anyone know if this scholarship will apply to my study abroad program itself? Or just straight to the school? I plan to study at Fudan University. I am in a very different situation and I am honestly not sure if this would work for me, but I would love to try it out honestly because paying for study abroad through a 3rd party program is expensive. And I don't want to directly enroll into the school just yet because I don't know if I would want to transfer there yet. 

[talhyw]

@ZhangKaiRong

 

Thanks for the advice, I'm keeping my options open also applying for a 'pure' language scholarship too. But then why are a lot of Chinese univerities consistently ranked higher than any Hungarian university? 

 

@shuoshuo

 

I'm confused as to what you mean by original. Do you mean an untranslated one? How would they understand that?

[shuoshuo]

Ifyin - Some universities refuse to process direct applications if they do not have an award letter (i.e. the document given by the Chinese embassy in your country). The award letter is usually necessary only for those applying for a bachelors degree, but last year when some of my friends wanted to apply for masters, the university we were in told them that they would need an award letter, and that they do not process applications without it. So if you are applying to a university that insists on an award letter and you feel there is no way you can obtain one, I suggest you just move on to another university.

 

Last year I contacted my embassy inquiring about the 'award letter'. They told me that it takes a spot from the country's CSC scholarship quota, so it is not the same as a recommendation letter from the embassy. The award letter will state that the student has been awarded a scholarship from their country. The original file then has to be sent to CSC by the embassy or by the university. This is similar to the bilateral scholarship, except that for the bilateral scholarship, the embassy handles the entire process without issuing the award letter.

 

diit - I am unable to send you a private message, I think you need to submit more posts in order to enable that function.

 

Nnedi Ugo - Check if your university has a sister university in China, the universities here always organize exchange programmes with their sister or partner universities in other countries. The university I was in last year does accept exchange students (it has to be students from certain universities because they were allowed to transfer credits after the 1 year exchange programme was over). If that isn't an option, you can apply for the 1 year CSC scholarship as a general scholar. Just go on their website and read through their general scholar scholarship programme.

[ZhangKaiRong]

@talhyw

 

There is no unbiased ranking methodology. Chinese universities are ranked higher because they have more funds for researchs - but it doesn't mean that their education method works. Several of my classmates pursued their Master's degrees in China after graduating in Hungary, and they were very disappointed in the general education niveau (and they attended good universities: BeiJiao, ShangJiao, SISU, Xiamen University). I attended some accounting classes in China because I needed information for my thesis, and the classes were plain awful. Exams are about memorizing the textbook due to the Confucian idea of "learning". Yes, the Hungarian higher educational system has a lot of  problems and isn't too good compared to the Western European/American one, but the Chinese is way more worse. If you don't like the system here, you will hate it in China.

 

And contrary to the popular myth, Chinese language skills don't really open up any doors in Europe, especially not in the CE region, because most employers find it not useful. You can't rely on that one in terms of finding a proper job.

 

About the documents: You need to send a copy of your high school diploma and its English or Chinese translation. Nothing more. You should ask at your Student Office (TO) for your academic transcript as well. I don't know which university you were attending, but they should be able to print out your transcript in English.

[Voyager2014]

Thanks a lot @shuoshuo

 

I don't think applicants who are interested in masters program will need an 'award letter' from their embassy because in csc websites applicants are suggested to apply directly to universities, so they will take a place in University quota, that being said i think there is some truth in what Xiamen said "不需要的。除非你申请的是国别奖学金。一般的政府奖学金不需要预录取函。"   Rough translation: I asked if I need to obtain pre-admissions letter, they said "no need for one, unless apply through other dispatching authorities, "

 

It kinda makes sense since they are the dispatching authority who will evaluate your application