IUP - Rigorous and Worth it, The best for improving your Chinese. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This is one of the most difficult language immersion programs out there and widely regarded as the best. (PIB and ACC close seconds). (This program requirers that only people who have reached upper intermediate to advanced level chinese may apply.) It also has the smallest student to teacher ration with a maximum of 3 students per class. This means you will get the most personal attention, to fix errors you make and improve your chinese. Obviously there is a language pledge and all classes taught in chinese. (any chinese language program that doesn't have a language pledge is not a serious language study abroad program so be aware of that when choosing programs. If you want to improve your chinese then choose a program with a language pledge, if you want to have fun and chill choose a different program.) This program is unique and the best program out there (I've attended 3) because it emphasizes oral communication and listening skills above all else. This is crucial to language learning with chinese because it takes students' passive vocabulary and makes it active, improving your speaking and overall level of chinese incredibly.

On-site administration of your program

Tsinghua University with further administration from UCal Berkeley. The administration was good. It's not a hand holding program because it's not geared towards undergrads so there's not you have to figure some stuff out for your self but they are always there to help if you need it.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

This program doesn't provide housing because again it's not geared towards undergrads but rather young professionals or graduate students. Therefore you have to find an apartment yourself that is off campus and near by tsinghua. It's not hard and actually a much happier way of living abroad because you have a kitchen where you can cook, you have a nice place to live rather than an over priced, shitty quality dorm room. It also allows you mobility so if you want to live in a different part of beijing, then you can do that. Lots of people live with roommates who are also attending the program and while it seems like stressful to not have your housing allocated it's actually a huge advantage of this program.

food is not provided by the program either. There are several dining halls on the tsinghua campus that you can go to with your student ID that have good and very inexpensive food. Also there are loads of restaurants and markets near by where you can buy food if you want to cook or go to dinner. Again another good aspect because if you don't always want to eat dining hall food you can go out and you have a lot more flexibility.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt very integrated into the local culture. There were lots of opportunities to interact with chinese people either who were students at Tsinghua University , Bei da or other near by universities.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not have to go to the hospital while I was attending this program but it is made very clear what health care policies can be purchased, where the best international hospital is etc. Yes I did get vaccines for this program. You can go to passport health centers or talk to your physician about what you need to be save in china.

China in general is a place where you always want to have your wits about you or you will be taken advantage of. This applies especially to crowded places like subways and walking on the street. But for the most part it's all petty thievery, like stealing of wallets and iPhones. I actually feel safer in china than the united states because there are no guns in china except for military personnel. So you're not going to be shot in a movie theater or walking down the street like in the US. The biggest danger I would say is navigating traffic. First and foremost cars do not yield to people in china they have the right away. That's very important when you're trying to cross the street or walk anywhere. The few safety accidents i'm aware of were because people didn't know that or because they weren't paying attention. Also in terms of food be careful where you buy food from and know that it's often not clean. If it's cheap there's a reason why.

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

very easy to live on a students budget in china. Housing is the most expensive part but if you're worried about that you can easily arrange a home stay with a family for free if you teach their kid english like 2 hours a week. this means talk someone in english for 2 hours a week and they will often feed and house you. Pretty good deal for students if you ask me. Food and basic living expenses in china are much cheaper than the us (as long as you're not buying imported things and going to foreign restaurants).

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

As stated above, there's a language pledge in this program. You must always speak in chinese and use no other language. Also I will repeat think about your objectives when studying chinese if you are very serious and want to improve your chinese, programs with language pledges are your only option. Other programs without a pledge everyone speaks english the entire time and their chinese really doesn't improve much. You might as well be in the US studying chinese, the only difference is the air is worse there and you can visit tourist sites around beijing). A program with a pledge lets you know it's serious and so are the students that are attending that program. These types of programs tend to have upwards of 5 hours of homework at day and are very very rigorous. But obviously they produce real results. If you are looking for a fun relaxing study abroad experience do not choose this type of program, go to one where classes are taught in english and you have more time to chill. (Obviously if you need to make calls home that's fine just don't pollute the language environment by speaking loudly in the class room buildings etc.)

Select all that apply

• Apartment

Select all that apply

• Americans

Select all that apply

• Americans
• International Students

• This program is about language fluency and independence.
• The teachers are phenomenal and the low student to teacher ratio is key
• emphasis on oral conversation and listening improves your chinese drastically. No other programs has quite that emphasis

• more travel opportunities i guess, there is usually one big travel opportunity per semester and other small trips within beijing