CSC Scholarship - 2010

This topic is now closed. Please refer to the 2011 CSC Scholarship discussion.

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 you 2010 kids.

Before we start: please check out the ARCHIVED posts from the past - it's a lot of information to sift through but it will answer the majority of your questions.

---

The Basics

Website: http://en.csc.edu.cn/

Information and Eligibility: http://en.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/11678d1ad1114276a296ca1f3da38f99.shtml (READ THIS)

Application Forms: http://en.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/Default.aspx?cid=277

Online Application (not really): http://laihua.csc.edu.cn (search this thread for comments)

List of Universities: http://en.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/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!

---

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. I dare you.

Deadlines are in April - the deadline is different for each country/region/state/province. I encourage people to post and share their respective deadlines for 2010.

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

The PIF (Pacific Islands Forum) countries also has its own CSC Scholarship. There are 10 full scholarships. Airfare is included. I have no idea which countries are part of this forum.

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.

You MUST start in September at the start of the new academic year (Generally. Some universities have their own December deadlines for Spring semesters. But you're on your own for that.) ... and SUMMER CLASSES are NOT included in the scholarship.

---

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 - check out the archived thread for more information.

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, I'll be your guarantor. Maybe. If you participate in this thread. I'm not a fan of giving my 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 University

Applying to the university of choice before applying is OPTIONAL. We don't know if you get a better chance of either getting the scholarship or getting your first choice if you do get the scholarship. Also, there is no guarantee that you will get your first, second, or third choice that you list. There have been some people last year that didn't get any of their three and were sent to a random university.

If you do apply beforehand, the university will send you an acceptance letter (which you would include with your scholarship application) and a student visa form that you will use to apply for your Chinese visa.

You are not allowed to change universities. I have yet to hear of anyone who was able to if they were unhappy with their school.

---

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).

---

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 is 1700 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.

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.

---

Other/Miscellaneous

I found a strange CSC Liaison Officer Contact Page. It gives you contact information of people in Beijing. Yeah. Good luck with that.

There are AGE LIMITS for those applying for the scholarship. Please read the CSC page on eligibility for more information.

---

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?

I want to thank everyone that has been/is/will be a part of this project - including all the admins, members, lurkers - everyone. It's a huge collaborative effort, and I'm glad we're in this together. Good luck, boys and girls. See you in China!

Well done extrapages, and welcome back Don't forget to hold all those people to their guarantor pledges

I'm excited to apply this year, can't wait to participate in the thread. I followed last year's with intense interest and it was chock full of good info.

heh! i didnt keep track of who i was guarantor for!!!

Check your old PMs

i emptied out my messages every week. im anal like that.

Hello every one,

"Agency Number" - this is a required field in the new online form, but I can't a list of agency numbers anywhere. The instructions say to pay special attention to it since it's the most important thing on the form... but... where do I find it?

It has a spinning icon next to the box to suggest that a list will be brought up when I fill in more information but it doesn't come up... Is anyone able to point me in the right direction?

I expect my dispatching agency will be the Sydney Chinese consulate, or somewhere else capable of receiving Australian applications.

Many thanks!

Richard.

Extrapages:

regarding a post you made last year, can I request that you enable PM on my account so that I can PM you to ask about contact details for the person in Sydney in charge of CSC applications, and finding a guarantor?

Thank you,

Richard

(Sydney, Australia)

NEW Online Application (not really): http://laihua.csc.edu.cn

Just a quick note for those who are filling out this application (I'm sure extrapages is aware, hence the "not really")... The online page doesn't actually submit the application to the CSC directly, but instead provides you with a pdf of the application form which is completed with the information provided. This still needs to be printed and submitted, though.

I believe an electronic copy is also made available to the embassy/consulate which was used as the sponsoring agency, but this is likely (as far as any applicant is concerned) just a bit of redundancy built in.

m000gle and ricardo,

Exactly. It does what m000gle explained and nothing more.

SOOOO I think everyone should just do the old school thing and print out the PDF. It doesn't ask for an Agency Number on there.

I'm adding more to the first post RIGHT NOW! But I'm just going to just clean up the original archived thread and try to get a cleaner version on here. There isn't any new information to add.

ricardo,

I only have information about the CSC contact in Melbourne. Want it anyway? You might want to still contact the Chinese Embassy in Sydney and see if anyone knows about it.

@extrapages:

Regarding the Melbourne contact: Yes please, if I may. Thanks I remember on last year's thread at least one person said they were turned away from the Sydney Consulate because they said only a university can send it in on behalf of an applicant. If I manage to get a contact in Sydney I will let you know so you can add him/her to your list of contacts if you want.

If Elwood is still here (or anyone else who knows):

The Education Office of the Sydney Consulate General is listed at an address in Anzac Pde. Kensington... but the Consulate is of course in Camperdown. Is that Kensington address where you sent your applications or did you take them in to the main Consulate in Dunblane St. Camperdown?

A bit of info which may or may not be helpful to anyone else from Sydney University - I contacted the international coordinator of the Chinese Department here asking if I could submit my CSC application through them, and they sent me the contact details of the PRC Consulate Education Office (above mentioned Kensington address http://sydney.chineseconsulate.org/eng/zlgjj/t93924.htm) in reply... so I'll take that as a 'no'

Double thumbs up for extrapages' unstinting efforts in the CSC cause.

roddy,

Hear, hear!

Many thanks to extrapages and the other admins

ricardo,

SENT!

---

hi roddy! im FINALLY getting around to this. =]

hi imron! will you guys FEED me? plus, id like to hang out again.

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum and I have basically read most of the posts regarding CSC 2009. Thank you extrapages for doing such a good job!

I have to say that there are some improvements done to the Chinese Scholarship Council's website. They have included the contacts of the CSC liaison officer and I have to applaud them for this because I recently sent an e-mail enquiring about the Chinese Training Language scholarship and the reply was amazingly fast!

According to this officer, we don't need recommendation letters for the Chinese Training Language scholarship..

Just thought it was something I should share..

Okay, applying for a CSC Scholarship can and will eventually drive someone crazy if left unassisted. I do hope this round of exchanges with other applicants or people who have more knowledge than the rest of us will help in keeping me (and many others) sane.

I've read about the how-to's of the application process and it seems to be a lot easier for people from the West. Here in Manila, the original person-in-charge (PIC) already left and went back to China and I learned that there won't be any replacement. So the responsibility has been passed on to the local Department of Education office and its equally untrained people. I gave them a call about this scholarship and no one seems to know what happened to it or who exactly is the P.I.C.

I gave the Culture and Education branch of the Chinese Embassy and talked to a certain Ms. Jiang and was told that things are really uncoordinated regarding the CSC Scholarships.

I took the liberty of doing a bit of research and found out that the application period started last November and that the deadline for submitting documents is fast approaching. Is it the same with Aussie applicants?

Also, since I studied in Shanghai some time back, I contacted my old school and was able to confirm about the start of application season for SY 2010. However, the lady was also unable to clarify anything aside from telling me that I can do the online application on the CSC website (it's really messed up). What did the rest of you guys do? Did you opt to do the old forms instead? The Agency Number on the 2nd page IS the code of the university (机构代码) you've chosen. This I verified with the lady I talked to from the admissions office.

What I'm not sure of is whether or not I should still indicate Spring semester on my application form since I'm yet to request for admission documents from the three schools I've chosen. If I'm not mistaken, we're supposed to apply to our preferred university and wait for the documents first before applying for the CSC Scholarship.

Should I apply for the Autumn semester instead? I'm seriously lost.

BAAH!

*Bangs head repetitively*

I recently sent an e-mail enquiring about the Chinese Training Language scholarship and the reply was amazingly fast!

Could you please provide me the e-mail address of the contact person? I have tried sending e-mails but to no avail.

According to this officer, we don't need recommendation letters for the Chinese Training Language scholarship..

That's a relief

nastyleo,

that's good to know! are you SURE though? maybe we should get more people to confirm through different channels before we go around saying that recommendations arent required. what else did they say?

---

lazyliu,

im confused... about a number of things.

- the deadline is in april... so i dont know what deadline youre talking about

- what is SY 2010?

- if the agency number is the number of the university, where can we find this number? is there a list somewhere that has all the universities and their respective agency numbers? I highly doubt that agency number is the number of the university - because theres room for only one agency number, and in the application, they ask you to list THREE universities. and in the online application, the agency number in chinese is 受理机构编号.

- and as i wrote above, there is no option for spring semester. you have to start in september. if youve actually looked at the application, theres no section where you can even make a choice.

- and if you've read through the CSC site, you'll see that you DO NOT have to apply to the school first. if you read the ARCHIVED posts, you'll see that i strongly urge people NOT to apply to their school of choice unless theyre going to study regardless of their scholarship outcome.

- i've spent time writing the first post and providing links for the CSC site for a reason. please, please, please, peruse them.

I took the liberty of doing a bit of research and found out that the application period started last November and that the deadline for submitting documents is fast approaching. Is it the same with Aussie applicants?

The application period did start in November. I know this because I have been in contact with my local consulate and prospective universities since then as well as completing my medical exam and application. However, the dates can be misleading depending on who you ask and depending on where you are applying from. I know that in my case the deadline to apply is December 15 (i.e. tomorrow... I'm working on my study plan right now) but I'm almost certain that it is because my university has language student spaces alloted for it and we need to apply before the later deadlines. The CSC only posted their updated information within the past week, so the public deadline will almost certainly be well into the new year.

Your best bet is to contact your local consulate/embassy directly to find out the process in your jurisdiction.

According to this officer, we don't need recommendation letters for the Chinese Training Language scholarship..

I'd be willing to bet that the officer is mistaken, and even if he/she is not then I would submit the letters of recommendation anyway. The letters are still listed in the checklist on the application form and can never hurt (assuming they're good). The again, I've been told by my local Consul of Education (in person) that notarized copies are not needed for my application as he has see the originals of all of my documents. So, there could be some deviation from the guidelines depending on the consulate in question.