Anyone going to BFSU?

[gregoire]

Im a French guy, used to live in Tokyo lately, and will be moving to China soon.

On these forums there are many people going to BCLU, but noone to BFSU (Beijing waiguoyu daxue or beiwai) ?

Greg

[Harvey]

Hi, I'm an American guy, living in Osaka, moving to China soon.

I plan to go to Chengchun (長春） though.

Wassup?

[novemberfog]

I think it is because BCLU is very popluar with foreign students. Isn't it the school with the largest foreign study body in the PRC?

[chowie]

Hi I am a spanish girl and I am going to BFSU this summer. For one one month. Everybody I know from my university are going to BLCU, that's why I prefer going to BFSU.

Anyone has already studied there?

[Qiuyue]

How was your month - did you enjoy BFSU? Would you recommend it?

[gregoire]

Hello QiuYue,

BFSU's Chinese program is similar to other programs in Chinese famous universities.Perhaps the crowd has a bit less "budget" than in BLCU and I would say that globally, the program is very Chinese, which has both good and bad sides.

As for the good things:

- nice professors, usually very capable and open to help you anytime

- a good atmosphere and contact between students

- no too many students per class

- some interesting extracurricular activities, such as trips

- a great environment with a real opportunity to discover Beijing traditionnal life

- foreigners are a minority and Chinese students are the majority

- few foreigners in the area

- lower prices for both housing outside the campus and everyday life

- many bus lines to go everywhere

- soon a sports center right on the campus (buying built right now)

Bad sides are:

- very Chinese in the ways of teaching that are sometimes frustrating for people who like to think by themselves and be critical (but it is the same in any programs)

- administration tries to keep you on the campus all the time, meaning that the schedule is not convenient if you live outside: one class in the morning, the the next one 5 hours later...

- the dorm is quite expensive for what it is, more expensive than renting outside, but then again, its the same in every university

- there is no subway, you actually need to take a bus for 30 minutes or more to reach Xizhimen subway... so you will much more isolated from night life than in BLCU, unless you can afford taxis. I think this also very good as an opportunity to live like a Chinese and avoid dull foreign crowds though.

- a little expensive (1200 euros for one semester)

Personally I really enjoyed being there for one semester, and I was quite happy to have Japanese friends to keep on speaking my favorite language. The fact that there are many Japanese and Koreans is also good because it keeps the pace high: most of them are hard working students and progress fast.

But as I was also working and trying to have a life outside university, I got more and more upset with unconvenient schedules and didn't find the time to do all the homeword, so I quit during the second semester.

To sum up, I think it is a great program and place to be if you intend to dedicate your time to university and studying.

[billiardsmike]

I spent a year at BLCU and recently switched to BFSU, usually referred to locally as BeiWai.

It's only been three weeks, so I will keep comparisons to the obvious and try not to make any serious value judgements. Also keep in mind that I live near BLCU for the moment and some irritations are based on the fact that I am not a traditional, on-campus student.

My first several glances at the administration at work made BLCU look world-class efficient, and that takes some doing. I never received my admissions packet and had to go to the campus twice to get a hand-written admission notice for visa submission.

Registration was unpleasant, as always. Placement testing involved character recognition one day and a return for a five minute oral exam on Saturday morning, first come first serve. Another return trip was required to see placements and class schedules, posted on an outside board with little access, creating a mob scene.

Although I was promised several times that I could chose between morning and afternoon classes, it was not the case. Gregoire's post really irritates me because it shows that the administration didn't follow this policy even last semester, prior to their promises to me. Only one day a week do I have all morning classes. Two days I have a 8-10 class, followed by four hours of free time and a 2-4 class. One day I have 10-12 and 2-4. Four hours on campus is a lot of time to fill when returning home is inconvenient. The same class will also meet at different times on different days, so it's a little difficult to get into a pattern. It also pretty much kills your entire day.

The majority of students in the Mandarin program are Korean or Japanese and as a group, foreigners are far outnumbered by Chinese students. For me this has meant the number of requests to help people with their English has quadrupled, not necessarily a good thing. It does mean that I can't lean on my native language as much though, and that is good!

Although classes are generally smaller, I seem to have ended up in one of 20 students, about the same as BLCU. The atmosphere seems to be much friendlier, but I'm not sure to what I should attribute that. The teachers are fine, but I can't say that there is any noticeable difference, other than the fact that I have three teachers as opposed to two.

I'm not sure if it's the result of being at a different level or just a different methodology, but BeiWai does not have listening classes at the intermediate level. Then again, they do have KouYu, which BLCU drops after the first semester. BeiWai also uses textbooks from BeiDa. I find these to be better at introducing and explaining vocabulary, but inferior at addressing fine points of usage.

My overall opinion remains to be fully developed, but it appears that Beiwai may be a little bit better place for study and immersion, without as many distractions. However, like Gregoire, I may become frustrated with the scheduling as I start to explore business opportunities. The tuition cost is practically identical, although I can't speak as to the housing costs.

I hope to post more when I have more meaningful insight.

[Sgt_Strider]

Gregoire,

Not all dorms have curfews. Where I lived at Beiwai had no curfew. Fortunately my classes were held near guojiao lou so I only had to do a 2 minute walk to class (literally).

Billiard,

I know exactly what you mean. If the Chinese students know you speak English, they'll come and ask you for help. When I was at Beiwai, a lot of people approached me and asked why I was able to speak fluent English (in case you don't know, I'm actually Chinese, but born in the West). It was easy for me to make friends at Beiwai and it's not because of my looks, but most likely because of my English. It's not necessarily a bad thing as I always had someone to help me with my Chinese homework. It can get annoying when you're studying and someone just come out of no where and ask for help.

I wished I could have studied in my room, but it would have been awkward to have other people in my small little room. Also, there are no chairs in my room! There is a bench and as a result, I had to study downstairs where the tables and chairs are. Coincidentally that's where a lot of foreigners study and where Chinese students go to find foreigners.

[eddie9684]

is it very hard to apply for this university? i mean can u late apply not like blcu which makes it annoying.

[jackiebfsu]

eddie9684,

Sorry I can't answer U the question. I'm going there for the next 2.5 years. What I want to tell U is BFSU is a great university. It was my dream since I began to learn English. It's also the dream of sooooo many language learners in China. To me, this dream finally came true. I passed the exams and am going to study until I get my master's degree.

For us Chinese students who learn foreign languages, be it English or Japanese, Spanish, Italian,Russian,Arabic etc, it's the best choice.BFSU offers the largest number of language learning programs and other interdisciplinary studies in China.

[eddie9684]

and how about chinese language? im currently in BLCU but im gettin a bit tired of those money cows tbh, and i want less foreigners enviroment so i can study better..

thanks for ur answer

[bamboo82]

hi, i got one more question, the chinese clases are always 4 hours per day or are there any other options?