Congratulations on your acceptance to The Beijing Center. Now that you have been accepted, you will spend the next few months preparing for your semester. Please make sure that you take care of the following responsibilities. In addition, your acceptance packet will provide instructions on additional procedures.

Your Responsibilites

1. Inform your Academic Advisors and
Study Abroad Advisors of your acceptance

Before leaving it is important that you have talked with your academic advisor and study abroad advisor at your home institution. You do not want any surprises when you return home. Make sure that you are taking courses that will transfer back and that fit your academic requirements. Credits are transferred from Loyola University Chicago.

Ask about registration for the semester or year following your time in China. Can they send the forms to you in Beijing or can you pre-register before you leave? Study Abroad Offices are set up to make sure that your stay away from your home institution goes well. Make use of the Study Abroad Office at your school. Get the address, phone number, fax, and e-mail of your academic advisor and study abroad advisor before leaving home so you can contact the appropriate person if a problem arises while you are in Beijing. Previous students have suggested bringing a course selection book to assist with class registration.

2. Enrollment Forms

Upon your acceptance to The Beijing Center, the Chicago office will send you an admission letter with instructions for completing required enrollment forms and procedures. Several of the forms are available here to download:

3. Apply for a passport

Each student is responsible for getting his or her own passport. If you currently have a passport, you may use it for China as long as it does not expire until at least six months after your expected departure from China. If you don’t have a valid passport, you are advised to apply for one or renew your current one as soon as possible--ideally as soon as you know you are applying to the program. A passport can take several weeks to obtain, especially during busy seasons. Additionally, after you’re admitted we’ll ask that you send us a copy of your passport. This is necessary so that we may begin processing the documents you need for your visa application.

One can apply for a passport at selected courthouses or post offices. Visit http://iafdb.travel.state.gov/ to find the location nearest you. You will need to bring a completed passport form (DS-11), proof of US citizenship (birth certificate), personal identification with a photo and signature (driver’s license or state issued identification card), two recent passport size photos, your social security number, and a check, money order, or credit card. Passports are valid for a period of ten years. If you are not a U.S. citizen, check with your country’s embassy for the necessary information and documents.

4. Apply for a student visa

You will need a visa before you may depart the U.S. and enter China. You will submit the application on your own. Administrators of The Beijing Center will assist you, but take no responsibility if you fail to complete the necessary steps.

Visa Types:
F VISA: Semester students and some ChinaContact participants should apply for an “F” visa, which allows you to stay in China up to six months. It may be extended.

The Chinese consulate will only be able to grant you a single entry “F” visa rather than a multiple entry visa. The reason is because the JW202 / Admisson Notice says that you only need to enter China once for purposes of our program. However, we realize that you may plan to travel outside of China and then re-enter China at some point during the program. “Re-entry visas” can be bought in China for this purpose. It is very common for TBC students to purchase these. Re-entry visas allow you to leave and then re-enter China (within the validity period of the visa). The cost of one depends on your nationality and the country you visit. If you plan on visiting other countries during the program, you might wish to bring some 2” face photos (standard passport photo size). You’ll need a photo as part of each re-entry visa application. You can learn more about how to get a re-entry visa once you are in China.

X VISA: Full Year students should apply for an “X” visa. You will be required to apply for a resident permit (approximately $50 U.S.) and get a health physical (approximately $44 U.S.) You will do both of these things once you arrive in China. The Beijing Center staff will assist in making the arrangements.

Before you Apply
Before you apply, you’ll need a valid passport plus two forms from The Beijing Center. After you’re admitted, The Beijing Center will give you a deadline by which you must get us your passport information. Provided that you meet our deadline, we will issue you the necessary documents for your visa application: the JW202 form and the admission notice. These forms are filled out by our host university in China (UIBE) and then submitted to the Chinese Ministry of Education for an official seal. You must wait until we send you these forms before going to apply for the visa. As soon as they arrive in Chicago, we’ll send you the forms along with detailed visa application instructions. This may not happen until some time over the summer for Fall students and in the late fall for Spring students.

How to Apply
Once you receive the two documents from us, you’ll then need to visit the Chinese embassy or consulate that is in the jurisdiction of your residence (there are six throughout the U.S.; you may check http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/t84229.htm to find out which one you should visit). You or someone you trust must go in person to the embassy/consulate for both the visa application and the visa pick up. Normal processing time at most consulates is about five business days, though at some consulates it can take weeks and at others you can get it in a day or two by paying a “rush service” fee. If it is not convenient for you to travel to the Chinese consulate, you could have a friend or relative visit the consulate on your behalf, or you may wish to use the services of an agent or company that provides visa application services.

There are many such services in existence that will charge you a service fee to bring your application materials to the consulate and pick them up for you. This is a very common practice since many people do not live near one of the consulates. To find such service providers, you could do an internet search for “Chinese visa services” or “Chinese visa agents, “ and perhaps include in your search the name of the city or state of the consulate in your jurisdiction. The Beijing Center is not able to recommend any specific companies, but an internet search should yield several from which to choose.

Think through the process for obtaining the visa while you are waiting for the JW202 and admission notice so that you can act as soon as they arrive: Which consulate will you apply at? Will you or someone else go to the consulate for the drop off and the pick up? How long does it take your consulate to process visas? Will you be able to receive your visa before you leave for Chicago?

If you are not going to be in your home country during the last few weeks before the Beijing program begins, please contact The Beijing Center Chicago Office to discuss alternate options for getting your visa.

Application Items
Below are the items you should bring to the consulate/embassy when you apply:

5. Read about China

As interest in China has grown, so have the books devoted to describing it. Here are some ideas for books you are encouraged to read in preparation for studying in China at The Beijing Center. Do a quick Internet search to learn about each book or pick one at random. Either way, the more you can read and learn about China before you arrive, the better prepared you will be for time abroad.

1. Hessler, Peter. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze.

2. Spence, Jonathan. To Change China: Western Advisers in China, 1620-1960.

3. Johnson, Ian. Wild Grass: Three Portraits of Change in Modern China.

4. Pomfret, John. Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of New China.

5. Gifford, Rob. China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power.

6. Hopkirk, Peter. Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: the Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia.

7. Wong, Jan. Jan Wong’s China: Reports from a Not-so-foreign Correspondent.

8. Chang, Jung. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China.

9. Clissold, Tim. Mr. China.

10. Mann, James. China Fantasy: How Our Leaders Explain Away Chinese Repression.

6. Prepare the Right Attitude

One of the most important things to pack is the right attitude. Remember that you are coming to China to learn. When the Chinese do not do something the way you do, it does not mean that they are doing it wrong - just different. Try to understand why people do things. Be slow to criticize.There are several books on how to adjust to the Chinese such as Cultural Shock!: China by Kevin Sinclair et al. (1991); Schweiter’s The Joy of Getting Along with the Chinese (1992), and Hu Wenzhong & Cornelius Grove’s Encountering the Chinese: A Guide for Americans (1991). These may help you to understand the differences between Chinese and American values.

Expect to go through stages during your stay in China. First will be excitement. At last there you are standing in front of the Forbidden City, walking along the Great Wall, or riding across the Tibetan grasslands.

Then when the excitement wears off and you are in serious study with a paper due the next day and you are tired of Peking duck and chopsticks, you will wonder: “What am I doing here? This place is dirty; it is difficult to get around; I will never be able to pronounce these words, etc.” Finally, when it all becomes familiar to you and you can call at least one Chinese person a friend and mean it, you will reach the third stage. This makes it difficult to leave China when your time is up.