TBC Will Help You Grow Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The Beijing Center has amazing professors that are intelligent, experienced, and best of all, actively contributing to China's academic environment today. One of my professors writes a column on China for the Wall Street Journal every Friday, and another one of my professors was one of the first American students to ever study abroad in China! The courses are fascinating and engaging, and you will emerge from the program with a greater understanding of China, from all sides. In addition to the class room, TBC takes students on two academic excursions, where you will learn more than you could ever learn from a book. By travelling to minority villages and places other than Beijing, you really get to see, feel, and live the real China. In addition to that, there are day trips almost every weekend to go see sights and do cultural activities in Beijing. TBC truly takes every opportunity to learn and gives the students a chance to take advantage of these opportunities.

On-site administration of your program

Very helpful and timely.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The opportunity to live with a Chinese roommate allowed me to practice my Chinese even more often and learn more about the culture.

Chinese food is delicious. It takes a while to get used to, but once you figure out your taste, you'll love it! There are so many little restaurants around campus, and you get to taste all sorts of local specialties on the excursions.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Because of the Chinese roommate and tutor networks, there are a lot of opportunities to make friends with local Chinese people. A lot of people also joined campus clubs like dance, soccer, martial arts, and English teaching groups to get to know local students. A lot of it depends on your own effort to go out and meet people and get involved, and it is tempting to just stick with your fellow TBC classmates.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

China is a challenging place, especially health wise. A lot of people had to take hospital trips just because it's a harsher environment, but the TBC staff was very caring and efficient at getting us the care we needed. The Western hospital in Beijing is great and clean, but on the excursions there might not be a hospital nearby, and the one you do eventually go to might not be the best quality.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

The exchange rate helps a lot. I maybe spent $50 a week at the very most. You can bargain almost anywhere you go, so if you sharpen those skills you can save even more!

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

If you take advantage of the Intensive language class, you have around 3 hours of Chinese class a day. TBC assigns each student a personal tutor to be used as much as you want, so it's up to you how much you want to go. I met with my tutor 3 times a week for an hour and a half each time. There is also an option to live with a Chinese roommate to further your practice. I had taken two years of Chines and I'd say I was at a shaky beginning Intermediate, but by the end of the semester I can have conversations on a whole variety of topics and my listening has improved greatly!

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• Dorm

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• Local Students

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• Americans
• International Students

• Excursions
• Academics/Professors
• Chinese Student Network

• I can't even think of anything, that's how awesome it was.

The Academic or Linguist