Want to study in China cheap

[Dukat]

Hello everyone. I want to become a doctor or learn nuclear physics in china. I have 10k Australian Dollars, I noticed an airfare to China is $600AUD. I have afew questions.

How much does it cost to do a medicine/dr degree in china.

How much does rent cost?

How much does food cost?

How long would 10k last me in china

I have downloaded pimsluer chinese vol 1,2 & 3 off the internet and have started learning mandarin, but I am finding it difficult.

I have allways wanted to become a doctor but the cost was too high and I didn't have high enough uni marks to get into medicine in Australia. I wouldn't mind becoming a surgon?, what are some good cheap universities in China? Are chinese degrees worth much in other countries?

Thankyou for your help.

[roddy]

For reference, I did check and this is not the same guy who wanted to join the Chinese army.

[Dukat]

I saw that post of the guy who wanted to join the chinese army. It's a serious question, education in my country is way to expensive, but I would love to Study in China. How long are the semesters and holiday breaks?

I would appreate any information you could help me with.

[roddy]

I realise it is a very serious question. I would hate to deprive Australia (nay, the world) of a doctor or nuclear physicist. I hope you get many helpful answers.

[imron]

You might want to spend a portion of that money learning Chinese first. It's unlikely that you'll be able to get a degree in Medicine or Nuclear Physics with only the Chinese you'll learn from Pimsleur. Learning Chinese in itself is by no means a small feat, and should you wish to spend say 1-2 years doing that first, it'd probably take up most of your $10k Australian.

Semesters typically run from September to January, and March to June, with the school year beginning in Sept.

[Dukat]

Thanks imron. How much are the high level degrees and how much is average rent, I live well below my means and more than happy to live in a place that cheap, how much would i be looking at? Also are the chinese good with hygine in regards to preparing food, is it best to avoid resturants and cook your own food?

[imron]

You might also find this page useful. It's the Tsinghua admissions page for foreign students, (Tsinghua is one of the most prominent Chinese universities for Science and Engineering). Should you wish to take an undergraduate degree, you will need at least an HSK level 6, and if you're studying Medicine or Physics you will also need to pass examinations in Chinese for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and English. I imagine that you'll need more or less the same at any university that will be able to give you a degree worth anything.

Tuition fees for Science, Engineering, Management are 26,000RMB (roughly AUD$4,000) per year. Living costs will be at least that if you live cheaply, but probably slightly more.

[mr.stinky]

hello. china is greet place to study. especally if you want to be surgon, bcause the

hygine is not too good. you can can save money on rent and on soap. iThink you will

do really really really well in your career bcasue many western companis look for surgons

and nukular physicksers with china degree. your cv wil be especally atractive bcasue

your uni marks are bad. there is nothing like mediocrity to show tru potential.

please post agian when you have yor advance degree. i will keep you in mind nexst time

i have brain surgonry.

[imron]

It depends on what kind of accomodation you want. You might try searching some of the other forum posts regarding the kinds of accomodation available, and the costs involved.

Most of the cheaper restaurants probably wouldn't pass a health and safety inspection in Australia, but eating at them is just fine. If you want the ability to cook by yourself or if you want to eat at restaurants with higher standards of cleanliness and hygiene, then you'll be paying more for it.

[roddy]

If you are even halfway serious, try India. You'll find courses offered in English (I'm assuming, could be wrong) and there's a tradition of Indian-trained practitioners going on to work in other English speaking countries - the British NHS, for example.

If you decide to opt for nuclear physics, try Pimsleur again, they have a very good course that stops just short of bomb-making.

Roddy

PS Mr. Stinky, could you watch your spelling please.

[mr.stinky]

sorry about that. it's just that i've got a splitting headache and can't seem to think

straight. any idea where i can find a good brain surgeon? i don't think my problem is

serious, so he doesn't have to be a good one. oh, if only the cheap doctors hadn't

transferred to work at the nuclear facility at chernobyl !!!!!!

[Dukat]

In Australia, I see alot of Asian doctors. How much is india compared to china in relation to rent and cost of study. I feel China would be better because they are going to be the next world ruling power and I would like to have chinese culture under my belt.

[imron]

I don't mean to seem harsh, but if you didn't have the marks to get into Medicine in Australia, why do you think it will be any easier in China? Especially given that the entrance exams will be in Chinese - a language not exactly known for ease of acquisition.

[Dukat]

I assumed the entrance exams would be easier because in china I thought they would want my money to study there so they would pass me.

[roddy]

Funny, that's what Chinese students say about Australian schools. This has got to be a wind-up.

[imron]

That assumption is probably true if you were going there to study Chinese, but it's probably not going to hold for Medicine or Nuclear Physics.

[novemberfog]

Dukat,

Uhm, it appears to me at least that you have, well, not really thought this out much. I don't mean this to be insulting at all, okay? I just think between the guy and his post about the PLA, and now this, it is a good time to talk about this "China craze". It seems the world thinks that anyone can just go abroad and get any job if you want to. But it doesn't work that way. Perhaps if there were no social insurance programs, it would be easier, but that is not how things work in our modern world. You need visas, you need real skills, you need to add value to the country you go to. No country wants to take on a burden to society.

So, for ESL teaching, most foreigners add a value (some don't, the ones who make trouble, play all the time, etc.). The people of a non-English speaking country want to learn English. So it makes sense to hire a native to teach it to them. It does not make sense to hire a foreigner to police the streets, to serve in the army, to care for the sick in the hospital, and to do the jobs that their people can already do.

The same thing applies when applying to schools. Foreigners normally have a quota limit, and they take the foreigners that they believe will add value to their school. If you don't agree with this, then go talk to the foreign exchange students in your local city. In my engineering school, there were many, many bright students from India and the PRC. Very bright students, and they added a lot of value to the reseach program at my school.

By all means, if you are really interested in China, you should find a way to go. But remember that it is not easy, there are lots of hurdles, and it is going to be a very serious move. It is not something to decide on a whim. So let me get started with what I want to say.

First of all, you wish to study nuclear physics or medicine in a foreign language. Hate to tell you, but Pimsleur won't even get you close. Trust me, the speciality words will take years of study to learn (I am a non-native working in Japanese everyday in the electrical engineering industry), and before you are ready for them, you need to be able to read and write high-school level, mature Chinese first. Just because you are a foreigner, the teachers will not go easy on your papers. Ask any Chinese studying at your local university. As well, Pimsleur is just an audio course. A good ones, yes, but again it is just audio.

Secondly, if you want to be a surgeon, you would be better off going to the UK or Australia to study medicine. If you really are set on living in China, I am sure you could work as a volunteer for a year or two for low pay, learn Chinese, and then when you have learned medical Chinese, easily get a license.

Nuclear physics...I don't know what to tell you about that one. I would think a country like France, with so much of their power running on nuclear systems, would be a better place to study.

I feel China would be better because they are going to be the next world ruling power and I would like to have chinese culture under my belt.

I would like to warn against this type of reasoning. Right now there is this great China craze, and everyone under the sun wants an MBA from China or what not. I think it is great that people are discovering China. I think China has a beautiful culuture and I hope they will prosper as a society. I myself hope to study Chinese in China one day, it is a dream of mine. But just like the dotcom boom, things could get out of control. You don't know if they will be the next ruling power. Many people thought that about the USSR during the cold war. Many thought the USSR would crush the USA, and I think that might was a realistic idea. But...no one really knew. Many people were afraid that the Nazi party would as well. The Japanese thought they would be the ruling power of Asia during WW2. A lot changes, and it changes fast. So, if I were you I would make my career something that is adaptable to anywhere in the world. And then, I would find a real reason for going to China. Do you like Chinese language more than French language or any other? Do you like Chinese music? Do you adore Chinese movies? Besides the posibility of them being the next super power, do you have a true interest in China? You must ask this to yourself. When you go to China, you may not find what you think you are looking for.

Again, I am not trying to draw you out or criticize you at all. I think it is very brave that you want to go study abroad. I hope you will be able to do it, if you really want. But, please do your homework. Read the homepage of the PRC Embassy in Australia, read it THOROUGHLY. Study the pages about information about China. Don't ask here about the relative price of life...it varies region to region. Research it yourself. There is so much out there for everyone, but you have to look hard to find it. When you have compiled all of your research, you will know what to do.

Anyhow, I hope my words meant something to someone. I speak from experience. Experiences differ of course, but I have seen one too many foreigner (with a dream like me) go home after a month because they really didn't know what they were getting themselves into. And that makes me upset because I feel like dreams are what we live for, and I hate to see people give up on them.

I'm done now.

[Dukat]

Thankyou novemberfog. I have saved up some money and I know If I studied in Australia or another first world country, that money will not get me as far as in China. Comparable to cost of living in 1st world countries, China is cheap and it will be alot more interesting living there than back here at home in Australia. If I learn't to become a doctor in china, after my studies, I could go back to a first world country and get a $100k year job. Also in with the current energy crisis, I believe everyone will be building new nuclear plants so thats also why I might also study nuclear physics instead.

[trevelyan]

Don't let the naysayers put you off Dukat. A friend of mine is studying molecular biochemistry at Tsinghua. He didn't speak a word of Chinese two years ago, but is doing fine in the program today. He's also already lined up a sweet job offer from Dupont China for when he graduates... assuming he wants it.

You'll need at least six months to learn conversational mandarin. You can do this in Australia if you're committed enough. Buy a textbook and some tapes and practice, practice, practice. Watch a lot of Hong Kong movies and ape the sounds, even if you don't understand them yet. When you know about 2000 characters and can understand 90% of what you hear on Chinese radio you'll be ready to take the admissions test.

[geraldc]

I think for medicine, they'd have very high entry standards, so if you couldn't pass the exams to get into study medicine in English, it would be even harder to do it in Chinese.

In the west I know quite a few people who take a first degree in a medicine related subject, and then reapply to study medicine when they've graduated.

I remember seeing a documentary on a black african guy who studied medicine in China, and then went onto practise there, but I think he would have been on one of those scholarships that China would dole out when trying to gain influence in Africa a few years ago.

Watching HK movies won't help you in mainland universities, there the language for teaching will invariably be mandarin.

Once you qualify in China, you'll then have to recertify in whatever country you chose to practise in.