33 reviews
4.10 / 5 based on 33 reviews
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Student life
Describe host city:
Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
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Activities: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment
Travel, Nightlife: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Chinese city life is very centralized so if the campus is located within the city or closer to the main sections of the city, the easier it is for transportation. Shanghai has everything anyone can ask for. Shopping streets, sightseeing, museums, and shows. Nightlife tends to end around 3 or 4 in the morning, but there are many pockets of bars/clubs around the city. You just have to pick your destination. Because the city is changing so fast, bars and clubs (as with shops and restaurants too) sometimes apprears and disappears without notice. But the ones that are quite big is most likely going to stay in one place.
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Housing
Type of housing: On campus
Arranged by: Home university
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
Quieter and more privacy than the one campus dormitories.
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Personal comments
Host university separates the international students from the local students. International dorm quality is much better than for the local students.
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Overall
I wish I had known...
How my pre-departing study plans completely sank as soon as I arrived. Watch out for "air-conditioning sickness" during the summer.
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In my opinion:
Everybody loved it, you will too!
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Chinese students are very accepting of other international students but reserved. They are natually very curious about new cultures, etc. For the most part, their english is ok.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
Be prepared for A LOT of people (and bikes), they are everywhere. (nearly) Everyone wants to go to Shanghai or anyother large cities. Country is changing fast and you can see it everywhere. Treat everything as an experience and you will not be disapointed.
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Academic
Course recommendations
ECNU's summer chinese program is suppose to be a mirror of the chinese program in Beijing. So, it seems that the coordinators are still trying to figure out a few things. Classes are taught at a steady pace with different levels, but it is up to the student to determin how much effort he/she is willing to put forth into the language study.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
For serious students of chinese language, Beijing is the place to be. It is the political, cultural, and language center of China. Shanghai has too many distractions for it to be a city to study in. Also, it is China's most international city and the Shanghainese dialect widely spoken. Everyone can speak mandarin, but as part of the south, almost everyone has a southern mandarin accent. Standard mandarin is based off the Beijing dialect.
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
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Languages
Language of instruction: Chinese
Was learning Chinese a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Chinese
How much did you improve your Chinese?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
For me, chinese was not a problem since I grew up with it as my second language. Although I wasn't too focused on my studies, my language abilities did significantly improve towards the end of my duration, mainly from the constant usage.
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Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
none
Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options
Personal spending habits
Shanghai is China's most expensive city and while the exchange rate made spending very comfortable, some things are actually quite expensive and eventually all the prices adds up. The key is to have fun, but watch your wallet.
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Nightlife:
was more expensive than at home.
Overall, Housing, Travel:
was the same price as at home.
Food, Telephone:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Taxis are very convient and easy, but the expenses adds up very quickly. Department store prices are set to almost match the prices at home. Alcohol prices are very high as well.
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