hobakie

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AlU2xDiiVhQjK3quPy6qXJuhgXYghzzG8L4YNT0unX0/edit?pli=1#gid=929221519 I'm not sure but we can probably start? theres the link to the doc but honestly people are likely still getting things situated or dealing with the submitting high so itll probs be a while

I applied to Guangzhou and will hopefully be at SYSU. If you don't mind me asking what school were you at in Beijing? I was there all of last semester for the first time. It was cool but not really my kind of city??

Which city in China did you apply to? Or are you doing Taiwan ETA or research?

Submitted mine earlier today! The panicking didn't really set in before because I had classes right after I submitted but now that im not doing anything this weird panicky yet relieved feeling has taken over??

I did so very recently aside for letting your evaluator know your situation there are short answers on the self language evaluation forms where they specifically ask you about weaknesses and plans to fix them. I'm in the same boat essentially (although I am not a native speaker) since my reading and writing are significantly weaker than my speaking and listening but I plan to self study as well as apply for the critical language enhancement award for the summer term. As for the essays I just framed it in a way that made sure to touch on the fact that I knew Chinese well ,but still required and was open to further language training.

im doing a proposal for China with a somewhat controversial topic (honestly just about any topic will be controversial in China) but the advice I was told was to frame it in a way that emphasizes that these issues aren't singular to China. How is this relevant to both the US and the country you are proposing research for. You don't want to appear in your writing as an "American Savior" that's not our job nor place. Fulbright is meant to promote cross cultural understanding between the us and the rest of the world the research project is nothing more than a vehicle to accomplish thay. Also I was told not to focus so much on what the country has done wrong in the past and more on ways to improve the situation. I hope this makes sense for you?

I personally don't think it's that extensive? From what it sounds like you moved when you were six. So your education and schooling and likely even thought processes were shaped by American values. Yes you probably have strong cultural and linguistic ties to Korea ,but I am willing to bet there are many areas where you think with your "American" brain as opposed to your "Korean" one (if this makes sense) the Fulbright is about promoting cross cultural understanding between the US and fellow countries, the research/study is merely the medium they chose to accomplish this. Seeing that you have an understanding of both cultures but not a complete understanding of both cultures in my opinion makes you a great candidate for applying. I wouldn't sell yourself short just yet it's all about how you can make an appealing case for promoting the fulbright mission.

From all of the webinars I have been watching they do not want applicants with extensive travel experience within the country they are applying to other countries typically do not matter as much aside from giving you international experience. Also university study abroad programs do not count as extensive travel/experience. As for the grant, there is a requirement of 2 years of mandarin at the very least. It is up to you which country to select but I know a lot of people usually cater their research projects as a continuation of something they have done before especially if it was in that country. It may make a stronger case since you would already have established affiliation and contacts in Korea. However China can also be a good option if you can make a case for it. Your best info would come from the source itself! Here is the link to all of the recorded webinars http://us.fulbrightonline.org/resources/recorded-webinars

Does anyone who received a CLEA for mainland China know when the CET Harbin Summer term actually starts. It says July-October but what are the specific dates also how did this work out with your host institution starting a month after classes begin since Harbin ends in October and projects start right after?

Yeah its really hard to say. Both countries have the need and interest for this type of project and the resources. I originally planned to apply for China but was recently given some new resources and suggestions to think about hong kong as well. If china was around 90% as far as resources/affiliations for my project, hong kong would be a perfect 100 ,but the number of grantees honestly scares me???? im going to have to a bit more research and go from there.

Hi guys I am just a lurker and future applicant with a question When deciding to choose your respective countries to do research in, how greatly should I consider the amount of awards/grants given? I can apply my project to two countries (Hong Kong & Mainland China). Athough, I would have great connections/affiliations for exactly what I want to research, and a topic that has not been really explored before (my topic involves public health) by Hong Kong fulbrighters there were literally 2 grants given out of the 11 who applied last year. On the other hand in China while I would likely have equally as great connections , it would relate to what I want to do yet wouldn't be as exact as it would be in Hong Kong. plus I would at least have a fighting chance for one of the 60 something grants for mainland China. I dont want to assume my project idea would be so great and different that I would automatically get one of the 2 ,yet I feel like the connection to my topic is stronger there. How should I go about this?

1. There were a good amount of grad/PHD students to undergrads, most of the students in my city were in some type of graduate/phd program and only a handful of us were undergrads. It was never a problem though and with the exception of 1 or 2 people (this will happen anywhere tho) we all got along great, even going out to drink on weekends Everyone is very supportive of learning the language and just being in china doing an intensive program. It's EXTREMELY tiring but everyone is a great support system. 2. In my honest opinion all are important in painting a picture of why Chinese is and how it has become useful for you and your endeavors. Each one asks a pretty different question and I do not think that was for no reason, each essay is your chance to show a different aspect of yourself that will give the judges an overall feel for how well you will do in the program and whether or not it will be worth the 16,000 dollars they spend on you. 3. IT WAS HARD and I loved every min. of it. I had studied Chinese for the min. number of years required and to be honest couldn't speak a word aside from the basics. Being on the program definitely improved my speaking enough to where I can express myself with just about anything and even if I do not know exactly how to I can still use Chinese to get my point across so that the other person can help me figure out what I want to say. It also improved my listening abilities by literally so much.(A lot of this had to do with my host 阿姨 who was from Beijing and I literally could not understand her at first so I made myself focus anytime someone spoke ) I am still learning ,but once I came back to my university was allowed into some of the more advanced classes. I have noticed even for words/phrases I do not know because my listening has improved so much I am starting to figure them out through context clues something I wasn't really able to do before. Also I think my accent become much more fluent. An average day monday-friday was around 7 or 7:30 wake up eat breakfast at 8 then try to get to class by 8:50 mine was only a 10 min. walk so I literally would be finishing up homework or chatting with my 阿姨 about what ever was on the news since that is what we watched every morning. Classes ran from 9-3 with one on one classes for about an hour once a week. You also had to meet language partners twice a week(yall coordinated schedules) and you still had homework every night and dictation every morning with an essay due weekly and big exam on friday. Fridays I also had martial arts class (some had calligraphy) and all weekends except maybe 2 we went on cultural excursion to different areas. So as you can probably tell it is pretty exhausting ,but honestly the best way to improve your chinese, A lot of times I found myself in emergency situations such as getting lost on the bus or messing up my cell phone ,but those the times when I realized "I can actually speak this language" since I seemed to solve what ever emergency myself. The language pledge I stuck too pretty strictly until it became weird for us to use english at first I was like I cant wait to be able to speak it ,but it was like that less and less. Most people did the same and for those that decided they didnt want to stick to it I only answered back in Chinese and eventually they would start replying in Chinese too. My skills were poor so I didnt want to waste any time and regret not following the pledge later.

I attended last year for Chinese and while I am not applying again this year (I am likely applying again next year though) I would be happy to answer any questions!

What was your host family experience like. I have heard mixed reviews ,but those were for languages other than the one I am going for (Chinese). Also how was the language pledge. I am hoping it is super strict and not a do as you please type of situation.

Finalist for intermediate Chinese

For those that applied how did you find or were introduced to an advisor to affiliate yourself with? I am not applying this season (goo luck to those who are ) but sometime in the future I will. I want to apply for a public health related research/study grant in China ,but knowing the culture and people it is hard to just randomly email or call interesting professors/advisors and ask to be apart of their research without establishing some type of relationship first or being introduced by someone else. I plan on going to China this summer and next spring for language study and to do a different type of public health project so I figured I could try to establish some sort of relationship there. For anyone doing or applying for the research grants how did you find an advisor?