CSC Scholarship Applications/Results - 2015

[mazi]

PLEASE READ THIS AND SEARCH THE THREAD BEFORE POSTING!!!!

 

We've decided to make a new thread for the next round of CSC scholarship applicants. The plan is to make a fresh one each year. So this one's for the 2015 cohorts



The Basics

Website: http://en.csc.edu.cn/
Programs: http://www.csc.edu.c...amsearchen.aspx 
General Information and Eligibility: http://en.csc.edu.cn...f3da38f99.shtml (READ THIS)
Application Forms: http://en.csc.edu.cn...lt.aspx?cid=277
Online Application: http://laihua.csc.edu.cn
List of Universities: http://en.csc.edu.cn...hua/Search.aspx

This thread is ONLY about the Chinese Government Scholarship - none of the others listed on the website. Here, we will discuss the steps of getting the Chinese Language scholarship. The process for those getting degrees is similar... you should be able to figure it out the small differences if that's what you're trying to do.

To apply, contact and send your application to a Chinese embassy/consulate located in your home country. For example, Australians must apply at a Chinese embassy in Australia, and Americans must apply at a Chinese embassy in America. People currently in China can also apply, but they still have to mail their applications to a Chinese embassy in their home country!

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What We Know

Very close to absolutely nothing. None of us know how this process works - and no one that is part of the process can tell us how it works. This is because even they don't know how it works. So just follow the rules. Trust me. Try calling the CSC people.

Deadlines are mostly in April - the deadline is different for each country/region/state/province, university. I encourage people to post and share their respective deadlines for 2015.
The deadlines haven't been officially updated for 2015, yes something as basic as the deadline is unknown, but here is our best guess:

The key thing is apply early as that puts you way above the deadline

The EU has its own CSC Scholarship. There are 100 full one-year scholarships.

For everyone else, there are two types of scholarships: Full and Partial
The full scholarship covers tuition, books, shared dorm, insurance, a monthly stipend, and (maybe) airfare. Airfare is ONLY covered if your specific country has this included in their agreement with China - it is limited to developing nations.
For partial, you get to choose what you would like covered on the application.

For people that are only applying for Chinese Language (as opposed to a degree), you can choose between 1 or 2 years. For people who are pursuing a degree, you can request 1 or 2 years of Chinese Language study BEFORE taking your classes if you either can't speak Chinese or need it improved.

WE DO NOT KNOW THE CHANCES OF GETTING THIS SCHOLARSHIP FOR ANY COMBINATION OF THESE CHOICES. We don't know if we have a better chance of getting a partial or full scholarship, or if it's easier to get it if you request 1 or 2 years. Nor do we know how much your GPA matters, or if already having Chinese language skills hurts/helps you, or if having been to China before means you get extra points, or if having six toes will increase your chances. Whatever it is, we don't know. Quit asking. Please.

Programs generally start in September, but there are also a few that start in March.... and SUMMER CLASSES are NOT included in the scholarship.

If you already received the scholarship and wish to extend it you will need to apply again. First talk to your school or any contact to see what your options are.

This is where your application will be going:

Steps for Embassy application
1. You send your application to a third party representative of CSC (maybe your school).
2. The third party (OR you can apply directly) sends application to your native country's China Embassy.
3. Your native country's China Embassy sends your application to the Beijing CSC office.
4. The Beijing CSC office sends your application to your selected schools.
5. If and when a school accepts you, your acceptance is sent to the Beijing CSC office.
6. The Beijing CSC office sends your acceptance to your native country's China Embassy.
7. The China Embassy sends your acceptance and all needed documentation to you.

 

Steps for direct application to universities for Post graduate applicants

1) Send your application to your preferred school

2) If admitted, school notifies you.

3) School sends it to CSC

4) CSC approves

5) School notifies you.

6) You get yourself into China

At any step of this process your application may be rejected. Again we don't know why, how, or when the decision is made. In the end, the school gets a final say on whether you receive the scholarship or not.

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The Application

1. Proposed Study in China: Chinese Language Student
2. Duration of the Major Study: For people learning Chinese - you can study for either one or two years, starting in September.
3. Study or Research Plan: In the previous years, they required all applicants to write something like a personal statement that was no less than 400 words (THIS IS STILL TRUE FOR EU APPLICANTS and probably for "degree" applicants), but now, you can just write in a few sentences that you would like to learn Chinese. Feel free to write a full "study plan" if you'd like.
4. Organization/Person Recommending You: I say go for anything that sounds official: Use your university, your professor, the company you work for, this forum, whatever.
5. The Guarantor: Anyone you know in China - CSC will not call or contact them. You can make this part up if you want. For people who want a real person, extrapages has volunteered to be your guarantor. Maybe. If you participate in this thread. She is not a fan of giving her real name, address, and phone number to strangers. Seriously.
6. Letters of Recommendation: We have heard reports that letters of recommendations are NOT required for those studying Chinese and not pursuing a degree. This is also written on the website. Include them if you wish. Those who are pursuing a degree will need TWO letters of recommendation from professors/employers.
7. You need a notarized copy of your most recent transcript, and your high school diploma (for those who are still in university) or degree (if you already graduated from college). If it is not in English or Chinese, you need to get it translated into one of those two languages.
8. They want TWO copies of the application. We're not sure of that means the whole application (including any documents) or just the application form - so we recommend that you send two of everything.
 

The Foreigner Physical Examination Form

You can get it filled out by your family doctor, internist, or a doctor from a clinic. It usually takes no more than 20 minutes. You don't need a "seal," as stated - the signature of the doctor and a stamp with the doctor's name and address and contact information of the hospital/clinic is fine. As for the "photo section" - it requires either a signature or stamp on the photo and paper (half on/half off at the same time) so that it can act as a seal to prove that it is your photo and has not been tampered with.


DO NOT send the ORIGINAL Foreign Physical Examination Form with either the CSC application or your visa application. Send copies. You keep the ORIGINAL with you - treat it like your passport (even though you'll never use it again).

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Post-Scholarship/In China

Notification: If you get the scholarship (notification is sent to you sometime around May/June - some people were notified as late as August), CSC will send you a package filled with information on the selected school, an admission letter from that school, a letter reminding you that you must register at the school between certain dates, and the Visa Application Form for Study in China (JW201) already filled out by CSC. All you need to do is get the visa, book your flight, and come to China.

Stipend: All fees are taken care of. The only thing you need to manage is your stipend. Some universities will give you an ATM card that gets money deposited in it every month, while others will require you to pick up cash from a certain office. the stipend is generally handed out at the end of the month. The stipend starts at 1400 RMB a month - and a normal person will blow that in about a couple weeks or so eating out, exploring the city, buying daily necessities, partying - but it is POSSIBLE to live off just that if you just stay home and study, eat at the cafeteria, and have no life. My school did say starting next year that the stipend would be doubled, so for example I would get 3400/mo as a master's student (1700x2). I'll believe it when I see it.

Housing: The housing provided is the cheapest international students' accommodations the school offers. Usually, it's a tiny room with two desks, two closets, and two beds - without a private bathroom (you use a shared one with the rest of the floor). At some schools you can move to a nicer dorm, even to a single - as long as you pay the difference. However, in ALL cases, if you decide to move off-campus, you will lose the housing money altogether. They will not help you with your rent.

Insurance: The scholarship pays for crap insurance. If you have health issues or would like to have comprehensive insurance, pay for your own plan before you get to China. You don't want to be on this insurance if something serious happens to you. You're going to get third-world country treatment and nothing more.

 

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ENGLISH-TAUGHT COURSES

 

If you are applying for courses taught in English, be aware that these are often new and designed to attract high-fee paying foreign students. Check your scholarship will cover the fees. Also be aware that levels of English among teaching and administrative staff might not be as high as you want, and that new courses could be very disorganised - or sometimes just not exist. If possible try and find people who've already done the course. 

my acceptance letter says English taught program, in the end, was not true... I ended coursing subjects totally unrelated with my career... since I don't speak a word in Chinese, professor again didn't expect me, they don't know what to do with me. After going a couple a class, where everybody speak chinese, ppts are in chinese, and me like an idiot, sitting wasting my time, trying to understand what is the course about, professor approach to me and ask: Did you understand the lecture?............. REALLY? are you really asking this? 

That student had a very bad experience for a number of reasons. 
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JOIN THE DISCUSSION - SAY HELLO
Hello. Where are you applying from? Just studying Chinese or pursuing a degree? What did your local Chinese embassy say? Where and how did you get your papers notarized? Did you apply for your school of choice beforehand? Where did you get your Physical Exam done? Anything else you learned or would like to share?

Please refrain from discussion on which schools to apply to. There is a lot of information you may find around these forums. If you find the application process is too overbearing, we are here for you. Yet, keep in mind this is how things are done in China, so consider the commitment of living there.
I want to thank everyone that has been/is/will be a part of this project - including all the admins, members, lurkers - everyone, especially extrapages. Extrapages has helped out thousands over the years and helped spread awareness that the Chinese government will pay you to study in China. It's a huge collaborative effort, and I'm glad we're in this together. Good luck, boys and girls. See you in China!

Research Plan.pdf

[Xiaowei M]

@ mazi Thanks.

[mazi]

@Xiaowei M, you are welcome.

 

See you in China soon!!!

[shuoshuo]

Thank you Mazi! I would like to add this: in some countries, the physical examinations are quite expensive so do yours as late as possible (if your deadline date is around late April then get it done on April). This is because when you arrive in China you will have to apply for a verification certificate in order to obtain your student's resident permit.If the date on your physical examination form is 6 months old, you will be required to take all the tests again. That will cost about 500 rmb...and with a student allowance, it is quite a lot to pay for.

[DongLian]

I have a question about the medical form.  The one I have asks for a chest xray, ECC, and Lab tests.  How on Earth can it only take "about 20 mins" per above?  Do I have the wrong form?

I tried attaching what I have so y'all can see. 

 

 

 

Foreigner Medical Exam Form.pdf

[ZhangKaiRong]

DongLian

 

You're using the correct form. In theory, you should do all the tests before applying to the scholarship. However, due to fact that it expires in 6 months, it is much more advisable to just let it be filled out by your family MD (putting OK, Negative, etc. in the chest X-ray, ECC, blood test brackets). You can do this in 15-20 minutes. I don't know how it works in most countries, but even here in Eastern Europe my family MD did it free of charge. You can do all the tests at a later date, when your scholarship is approved, and you can also fill out a new phys. exam form, as you're not obliged to present the form attached to your original application when you arrive to China.

 

By the way, this whole phys. exam form is the least important doc in your whole application package... No one even cares about it, CSC only checks whether you have this document signed and stamped or not, and no one will look for your lab. tests, ECC, chest x-ray, etc until you arrive to China...

[DongLian]

ok.. when they say it's expired after 6 months.. how long after arrive should I plan for?  Like if I have to check in at my University of choice at the end of August, should I be ok if my physical expires in September?  I might get all my crap done, and make my followup and my MD can sign/date then so it's as late as possible.  I'm not even worried about expense, or even having to do it again upon arrival.. I just don't want to be denied.  Biggest fear ever.

 

While your MD might've done it, I don't think it's actually entirely ethical for a doctor to write "normal" w/o actually doing the tests.. So I can't expect mine to do it.  However my work schedule means that making the test appointments might be hard so it will take awhile to do everything anyway. :b

 

I might ask him about doing it as you say but he might raise objections?? IDK!  This whole process has me so stressed out lol.

[Xiaowei M]

Have you seen Introduction to Chinese Government Scholarship at following link http://www.csc.edu.cn/laihua/scholarshipdetailen.aspx?cid=97&id=2070

If I understood it properly, if my tuition fee for studies of law is rmb 30000 per year and the scholarship covers rmb 25000 of tuition fee, I should add rmb 5000, right?

[mazi]

@DongLian, it all depends on you.  However, ensure it still valid by the time you enter China. Its better to get all the basis covered.

 

@ Xiaowei M,I cannot really give you a true and correct info on that. I would advice you contact the university.  They should be in better position to tell you what to do or give you the right information. But, I think you are covered. hahahaha

 

 

Peace!!!

Mazi

[Xiaowei M]

@ mazi Thanks.  I need full scholarship, but it won`t be problem to pay rmb 5000 per year.

[英泰inte]

@ xie xie Mazi for making the topic :-3 I'm kind of new, but i'm applying for a master in "chinese language and culture" (中国语言文化) at Nanjing university. it's the only school with that major as a master, and in Chinese.

 

is anyone else writing their study plan in Chinese?

[TyO]

7. You need a notarized copy of your most recent transcript, and your high school diploma (for those who are still in university) or degree (if you already graduated from college). If it is not in English or Chinese, you need to get it translated into one of those two languages.

 

 

So if you already graduated from college you just need your degree not your transcripts as well correct?

 

EDIT: according to the site you need both your degree and your academic transcripts

[paa]

thanks mazi and ya'll for the info applying for some friends very soon wish me luck..lol 

[英泰inte]

@TyO, on the scholarship website it says they need highest diploma AND transcript. when it says "for those already graduated", it's saying you do not need to send the high school diploma anymore, you can instead send a degree.

 

so it seems they would still need our transcript. (i think! i'm 90% sure, but i am also just applying like you! i am not as genius as the others here.)

[Xiaowei M]

@TyO and inte If you are graduated, you need to send the highest degree and TRANSCRIPT. 

[mazi]

Transcript and degree certificate required.

[ZhangKaiRong]

DongLian

 

Well, it's up to you - but as I mentioned, the FPEF has nothing to do with the selection process, no one will care about your chest x-ray, test results, etc., it will be important just before you apply for the student visa and the residence permit.

The FPEF is valid for 6 months, however it is not clear which date does the medical center consider as the standard one. One friend in Nanjing had to retake the chest x-ray because his results were issued 6 months 2 days before the check-up. My classmate in Qinhuangdao had to redo the whole FPEF in China, because her blood sample was expired by half month. If you're unlucky, and the medical center needs money, they will find some 借口 to let you retake the whole medical check-up process. However, it is only an issue when you're already in China... 

[shuoshuo]

@ZhangKaiRong - In my country, the physical examination form is actually 'preliminary'. Without it, they will not even consider giving you the scholarship. So even if it is considered unimportant for CSC (as it is only really necessary when it's time to apply for the student permit), in some countries, esp. for the bilateral scholarship, it is the first thing they ask for. That way, if there is something medically wrong with you, they use that to eliminate you from the application process. There has been some isolated cases in the past, when they let students do the physical examination AFTER they had been accepted for the scholarship, these few cases didn't pass the examination and the dispatching authority had to seek other candidates. So to eliminate this hassle, they now require students to do the PE first.

 

Xiaowei M - No, don't worry about the tuition fees. If you are accepted into the programme, CSC will cover the fees. Their website displays a general cost, but it's not fixed.

 

英泰inte - My programme is in Chinese but my study plan was written in English. You're not breaking the rules if you write your study plan in English. Use the language you are most comfortable in. A great study plan written in English is better than a crappy study plan written in Chinese. Alternatively, you can write it in English, and then try to translate it in Chinese...and then submit both.

 

To Others - If you are not sure what to send, or if your current documents will be accepted, you should contact the university that will be accepting you. It is not CSC/CGS who will look at your certificates. Stay in close contact with the universities of your choice. While you are at home looking through your documents, other candidates (your competition) are in China, visiting the universities you are both fighting for and they are talking and making friends with the supervisors. In China, relationships are very important, so you need to be known to your school and your teachers. Contact them, greet them for the upcoming Chinese new year festivities, or whatever. Try hard to understand the 'system'. Those of us who have been awarded the scholarship are here trying our best to tell you what it's about, but some of you are not listening. Use your phone, and CALL THE CHINESE UNIVERSITIES. By the time you submit your CSC application, you have to make sure that the pre-admissions notice is attached.

[ZhangKaiRong]

@shuoshuo

 

It's interesting, since in most EU countries no one gives a damn about that paper (both bilateral and EU Window), as your application goes directly to the embassies - and those working there simply don't care. Yes, you should have it - stamped and signed, but in my experience, no one looks it thouroughly, this is why I suggested doing it on the budget way, without the expensive tests. Yep, there might be some differences in specific countries, but if you apply for EU Window or other scholarship schemes with a lot of spots, then you don't have to stress out the FPEF. Having it filled, stamped and signed is okay.

[somethingfunny]

This notarised certificate thing is new to me.  Where/How can I get it done in China?