Direct Enrollment in China's Education System: A Look At Tsinghua University Past Review

By (Chinese Studies & Economics, Wellesley College) for

Tsinghua University: Beijing - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Despite the administrative issues that were encountered during my stay, I was able to understand the Chinese education system by being part of it. This allowed me to better understand what it's like to be a student in China which is quite different than being a student at an International school. I also got to spend time getting to know Beijing even more which helped me to become even more acquainted with Chinese culture (despite having previous exposure). It also went along well with my Chinese Studies major and was able to provide me with education from one of the best universities in China. I truly admire the students that go to Tsinghua since many of them are quite hardworking. The learning environment there is pretty different from the US school system but being able to compare the two allowed me to both understand and appreciate each for its pros and cons.

Review Photos

Tsinghua University: Beijing - Direct Enrollment & Exchange Photo

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

It would have been more helpful if our contact person was more organized and was better able to better help us communicate with Tsinghua administrators. Registration was a very difficult process which ended up being extremely time consuming since we were not given enough support when trying to contact people to answer our questions. The workload was not too bad in terms of actual assignments although depending on the number of courses you were taking (I took on a bigger course load than many of the other students in my program) things would get busy around midterms and finals. The teaching system is quite different because professors stand at the front and just lecture. A discussion environment isn't really encouraged or established and in some cases, classes were quite large (which is different from Wellesley). There were also a lot less regular assignments that needed to be turned in general which meant that your grade really depended on a few key assignments, projects, or exams.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

While our contact person was around semi-regularly she was not always as helpful when it came to connecting with the right people. To reiterate, registration was an extremely difficult process (for me and two other students) which could have been much more streamlined if we were given more time beforehand, materials that let us know

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Sheets and a hot water boiler were provided. One thing that I didn't necessarily realize I would need to buy was toilet paper (since we had our own bathrooms) but that's not really something that you need to bring with you. Most students got around by bicycling everywhere and most of the kids in our program also used bikes. I used my bike to get everywhere because walking to class would take 15 plus minutes without one. It was also so much easier to get around by bike since you could even bike

* Food:

I personally don't have any dietary restrictions so I was fine in that respect. The cost of food on campus was very manageable for students but food could be pricier if you ate out at certain restaurants. There were quite a decent number of canteens available around campus although we often frequented a few more regularly simply out of convenience. Food on campus was typically paid for on a card (pay as you go) which was very convenient but you could only recharge it at certain locations and at certain times of the day so it was important to keep tabs on the amount (which was always visible when swiped). The canteens had a pretty good variety of Chinese food and I wasn't bored of the options available. While it was sometimes slightly oily (depending on what you ordered), I was pretty satisfied with the food there overall.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

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

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? If you budget accordingly you should be fine. I ended up spending the most money on food. Necessities are very manageable but just be aware of shopping for other things since you'll need to be able to bring it all back with you in the end.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? A 300 level (third year equivalent) language Chinese course
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

All the students in our dorm were foreign students and there was no language pledge so most people spoke in English although we spoke in Chinese with each other occasionally. We did speak Chinese with our tutors when we met with them weekly but that one of the few guaranteed instances that we spoke Chinese. We did see local students in our classes on a regular basis but again, interaction with them depended on the initiative that you were willing to take. My listening skills improved due to constant exposure in classes but it was possible to go through a day speaking very little Chinese depending on who you chose to spend time with. To improve Chinese I would try to meet with local students occasionally but the amount of Chinese spoken was pretty variable, especially after you checked back into your dorm for the night.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

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  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

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  • Local Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I think this program is good for those who have a pretty good foundation in Chinese (we were supposed to have a minimum of three years of college level Chinese) because then you have the opportunity to expand your knowledge instead of building from the ground up. There is a language center for students who are just starting to learn Chinese but I wouldn't say that these classes are unique to Tsinghua. It's best to take advantage of the intermediate and more advanced courses but a deeper understanding of Chinese is required.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Special Topics in the Chinese Economy

Course Department: School of Humanities
Instructor: Professor Wang
Instruction Language: Mandarin Chinese
Comments: This course was one of most challenging courses that I took this semester mainly because of the usage of Chinese Economic terms. Even though the course is titled Special Topics in the Chinese Economy, it was mostly an overview of China's Economic History up until now with information on the current issues that China is facing today. As an Economics major, it was one of my goals to take a course about China's economy while abroad because I felt that I would get China's view on the situation. Even though it was difficult to follow everything that was being taught I felt like I was able to gain a better understanding of China's economic past and to understand what's going on internally. The professor was quite knowledgeable of the subject although the lectures were very long (one 3 hour class with 2 short breaks each week) but his regional accent (Chinese people may have different accents based on which part of China you're from) made it slightly hard to follow at certain times. I definitely had to do plenty of preparation for this class not only with assignments and projects but especially for the final written exam that we took in class.
Credit Transfer Issues: I was able to transfer my credits over and to have it count as 1 credit for my Economics major.