I really need you to help choose where to study in Beijing

[Vilew]

(I don't know if i'm posting in the wrong topic and if so, i'm really sorry ! )
Hi guys ! I'm still a highschool student from Mauritius, so I apologize if my english is broken. So It's been a while since I've decide that I will take a year off after highschool to go in Beijing and learn chinese, at first I was thinking about BLCU since it seems to be the most well known University to learn mandarin as a foreigner but after doing some research on the web and reading a lot of student reviews, I got scared. I've heard nasty stories like corruption in the administration, dirty bathroom and kitchen, not the best courses to learn chinese, in the end I did some more research and got interested in Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) The dorms looked better, the environment seems nicer, but the most recent students reviews i've read about it looks outdated, (the most recent one being like from 5years ago). They were as many bad reviews as good ones on BLCU but the bad ones were the most well written so i'm really conflicted, is it really a good university? After asking some questions in another website, someone recommended me to go to Tsinghua University, someone else told me to come in this forum because it will be easier to find a answer. Are the stories true about BLCU ? Is it really better to go to Tsinghua instead of BLCU or BFSU ? Or are there better University that I wasn't considerating ? I'm even hesitating whether i should go to a University or a private school like Mandarin House or That's Mandarin (I didn't really do research about private school so if you guys could recommend something I would be glad) but I would prefer to study in a place where I could easily make friends a create connections, i'm not obsessed about study and would like to have an enriching experience in Beijing.

[grawrt]

BLCU has a really good Chinese program. This school caters to more foreign students than Chinese students. The teachers are fun and some of them teach in a super non chinese style. I never studied there at beginner level but I've met people who have and they really got a grounding knowledge. But cons about the bathrooms and kitchens are honestly if you live in the cheapest dorms (Dorm 1 & 9, but 9 is just for girls...), if you pay a bit extra you can get a dorm with your own bathroom in it and i ts not so bad. A lot of people end up doing this in the end. Other cons would be that youre going to a University that literally has more foreign students than Chinese so some students go there and just find their countrymates and only hang out with them speaking their mother tongue instead of going out and practicing. Another Con in my opinion is that BLCU is in Wudaokou, which is soo far it really is a pain to leave that area, of course its also a place that has literally every students needs, good food, bars and clubs if thats your scene, international food, etc. Since you're young you'd probably love it. My friend still reminisces about wudaokou but it was admittedly not my favorite area. BLCU publishes most the study material for learning Chinese, and usually whats used is the latest newest additions. During my time there textbooks were free. 

 

I've never gone to Tsinghua but I met a few people studying Chinese there that had a really good grasp of the language, actually think way better than mine. I still remember walking to the subway with (I forgot his chinese-forums name) but he was spitting off chengyus and I was like uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sure  

 

Private schools will be more expensive and class sizes smaller, I think students will be more focused on getting their moneys worth instead of socializing and making friends. so For that reason I would just recommend you go to a school that's got a sizable foreign population (because honestly speaking, foreign students are a lot more fun to be around than Chinese hahaha, plus you get to meet people from other parts of the world that you might necessarily ever have the chance to), and a school thats  near to a bustling night life.

 

If you wanted to go outside Beijing, Xiamen isn't a bad choice but maybe not the best for studying Chinese, but good for like 'fun'. My friend learned a bit there but had more fun than anything else. Plus its cheaper living costs and better climate. Just thought I'd mention it because it was a fun place and when I visited my friend twice I found that it wasn't bad at all.

 

[Vilew]

Thank you for taking your time to reply to my worries ! I think BLCU is a not such a bad choice in the end thanks to you. I have another question, I want to go to china this Fall but i see that the requirement for being accepted is being at least 18, I was born in 2000 and i'm going to be 18 this December so I am still 17, will I still be able to go this year or do I need to go next year ?

[Vilew]

It's suck if I can't go this year just because I'm born at the end of the year :/