Scholarships at BLCU or other universities for a non-degree program

[Ele176]

Hello everyone,

Has anyone ever got a CIS scholarship or a CSC scholarship at BLCU for studying Chinese in a non-degree program for one semester or one year? I'm trying to find out if I have a chance to get one of them. Otherwise, at which other universities in Beijing it's more likely to get one of these scholarships?

I don't know if I'm wrong and it's just my impression, but it seems quite difficult to get a scholarship for a non degree-program at the more prestigious universities in Beijing (BLCU, Peking, Tsinghua, Beijing Normal etc.), isn't it?

Thank you in advance!

[crisgee]

I have. Back in 2009 to 2011 i was able to study in BLCU and Beijing Normal on the CSC. Until this day it is still a mystery how the selection process is done. There is really no point in guessing the likelihood of landing your target school. if you check out the years worth of CSC threads nobody still has figured it out. So I consider myself just pretty damn lucky. I reapplied in year 2 and i chose blcu again but they assigned me to BNU. I don't know why.

My theory as to why it's hard to land a non degree scholarship in these universities is they just dont care about these kinds of students. They would rather grant opporunities to graduate students who are actually contribute to the academic resources of the university. And don't worry about not being able to study in those prestigious ones. Some if not most of them don't specialize in teaching chinese anyway.

[Ele176]

@crisgee Thank you for your answer!

I wish I could be as lucky as you and get a scholarship for BLCU, but it seems I can't have any certainty about it I already attended a course in BLCU last summer, that's why I'm so interested in studying there.

By the way, you wrote you got a CSC scholarship 2 times, first at BLCU and second at BNU, but I knew they can assigne a scholarship to a student only once, is it correct? And how many options could you choose? Sorry but I'm not well informed about it, I'm more informed about CIS scholarships, and I still haven't decided for which one I'm going to apply (or for both).

[esteebao]

Hello crisgee,

 

I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about your personal experience. Firstly, I was really surprised to read that you managed to obtain two CSC scholarships since I was told that once you apply for a scholarship and succeed in getting in, it is almost impossible to be chosen for a second time. Should I suppose this is a common fallacy or what else? And, as far as your second scholarship is concerned, were you sent to BNU because you chose that university as an option or just randomly? Secondly, have you ever considered applying for a Confucius Institute scholarship? I'm torn about whether to apply for both scholarships (and then choosing the option I prefer, if I'm lucky enough to get both of them), or to apply only for one of them, because I'm afraid that turning down a scholarship would mean to throw away the possibility of applying again in the future. 

 

Thank you in advance.

[crisgee]

@Ele176 and @esteebao

 

BLCU is a fantastic school and it's no wonder a lot of students want to study there!

 

I guess I'm just really lucky. I really don't know what I did differently during the application process. And also maybe that time the CSC was still more generous and allowed students to apply more than once. This has happened to my friend too, who was my classmate and fellow scholarship student in BLCU. He wanted to stay one more year so he applied again before our first year was over. He applied to Shanghai Foreign Studies University and got in. If the CSC changed the rules recently, then I guess that's how it's going to be! Regarding my second scholarship stint in BNU, I don't exactly remember if I choose that school as my second or third choice. It was a long time ago. All I remember is I chose BLCU for the second time.

 

If you have a HSK and HSKK grade, I think it's better to apply for the CIS. I handle the CIS applications for the Confucius Institute at the Ateneo de Manila University and I am also active in this thread, so I can answer most questions about it. From my experience, my applicants get in 100% of the time as long as they have complete requirements.

 

You can apply for the CSC and CIS at the same time. In my country (the Philippines), the CSC Scholarship is handled by the Chinese Embassy. I'm actually out of the loop already and they don't really promote it. But the CIS is widely promoted (by our CI and me haha), so I would say it is easier to apply for the CIS than the CSC.

[Ele176]

@crisgee thank you for you help!

Since you work in a Confucius Institute, I would like to ask you another information. I still havent't decided whether to ask for a one-year or a one-semester scholarship, and some people said me it's easier to get a scholarship covering one year. Is it true? According to your experience, what would you suggest me?

[crisgee]

Hi Ele176,

 

Sorry for the very late reply. I can't say which one is easier. In our Institute's case everyone who are qualified and have submitted complete and satisfactory requirements were awarded. I suggest you apply for a one-year scholarship. There is a rule that if you apply for a scholarship and get accepted, you can no longer apply again in the future (except if it is a Bachelor's or Master's degree).

 

If you don't get accepted, you can always try again next year. 

[Ele176]

@crisgee

Thank you again for your help

I have one last doubt. Am I allowed to apply for both the CSC scholarships and the CIS scholarship at the same time? Obviously receiving only one of them in case I'll get both!

[艾墨本]

@Ele176

 

I notice Crisgee in post #5 said:

You can apply for the CSC and CIS at the same time. In my country (the Philippines), the CSC Scholarship is handled by the Chinese Embassy.