It's been about 6 months since I've come back from Shanghai, and I had an IB student ask me questions about studying abroad at Fudan University. I thought it might be helpful for other future students wanting to go to Fudan if I shared the information I had shared with him.
First, check the blogs I've posted in the beginning of the spring semester for some tips for settling down in Shanghai. This blog will be more about the registration process I went through before and right after I arrived at Fudan.
Here's the address for the Fudan website for exchange students. It has info about housing, registration, classes and more, so I think you'll find it very helpful!
http://www.fao.fudan.edu.cn/exchangein/
The registration was stressful because I didn't have enough information from Fudan before registration. I remember being very confused before I went and even after I arrived at Fudan. So, here's a timeline of my registration/preparation process just so you don't panic before you go.
10/25 - submitted the Fudan online application and emailed the application number to Harry Huang, the director(?) of exchange program at Fudan.
12/5 - Fudan international student office emailed me saying they've received my application materials that the USC study abroad office has sent via mail.
1/2 - Fudan acceptence materials received by the USC study abroad office and sent to my address by them.
1/27-1/29 - Registration opened up for on-campus housing. (Received email about it on 1/27 after the regisitration already began)
2/19 - Arrived at Fudan, went through dormitory registration as soon as I got there on the first floor of foreign student dorm. (you need to have Chinese RMB in cash with you, about 400-500 RMB should be enough for dorm registration and taxi from airport)
2/19,20,24,or25 - Had to go to Room 107, Building 10 to make a Fudan student card. (bring your admissions notice package and passport with you)
2/24 - First Day of School. Online class registration started on this day also (why??????). Class drop/add period is open for 2 weeks, so you can try courses during then. I couldn't register for some of the classes I needed to take (Marketing, Chinese, etc.) so I had to email Harry Huang. He sent out another supplementary form for us to fill out if we wanted to be registered in the courses we couldn't register online.
3/4 - A half-day Mandatory Exchange Student Orientation/Workshop
Here are some other Q&A and tips:
1. Do check your junk mailbox, because some of the important emails from Dr. Huang went to my junk mailbox.
2. Any tips for meeting other students?
- Basically if you live in the dorm, you can only live in the foreign student dorm, and you'll meet other exchange students easily at the lobby, in your classes taught in English. You could ask Dr. Huang about getting a Chinese buddy (some of my exchange student friends got them, but I never was assigned one). It's definitely harder to interact with Chinese students, but there are some classes you may take with Chinese students (taught in English) and you could join an organization on campus (there was a student org promotion event near Guanghwa building sometime in the beginning of the semester).
3. How much is electricity? Internet?
- Electricity cost depends on whether you're living in a single or a double. I lived in a double and I think I paid about 100-150 RMB a month/person (I might be wrong, sorry!). You could potentially save the cost by turning off the water heating machine when you're not using the shower, but you'll need to wait about 20-30 mins for the water to heat up after you turn it back on. You get an "electricity card" that you need to put money on, and when it runs out, you need to go to the lobby of the foreign student dorm to recharge it. You also will need to pay and register online for the internet each month (you can pay for the internet at the shop down in the lobby). You don't need to pay for water.
4. Does the price for housing include meals?
- The price for housing doesn't include meals. You'll need to pay for the housing soon after your arrival. It's done in the lobby of the foreign student dorm and you can pay with either cash or credit/debit card (watch out for the tax from the bank if you pay with your card). You can put money on your Fudan student ID downstairs in the cafeteria (need cash). You have to use your student ID when paying for food at school cafeterias and you can also use it at the convenience store on campus.
5. Printing and copying is very cheap on Campus. You can make a copy of someone's textbook (the whole book for cheaper price than the original book sometimes). You can find these copying shops on the way to Guanghwa from foreign student dorm, or out on the street near the dorm.
6. Be careful when eating street foods. They are cheap and delicious but you can get sick from them. (I heard they use really bad cooking oil.)
7. Using cash is much more common in China than using a credit card. Unless you're going to open up a Chinese bank account (I don't know how), withdraw cash from an ATM as you need. There is a Family Mart across from the school's North Gate (right by the foreign student dorm) that has an ATM that you can use to withdraw cash from your American bank. I used my Bank of America card for the first several weeks, then switched to using Citi Bank card because the tax was much lower for Citi Bank (you can find Citi Bank ATM in YouYiCheng mall in Wujiaochang).
8. I used about 3000 RMB per month as my living expenses, but it's possible to live with 1500-2500 RMB a month.
I hope this blog is helpful for you as you prepare to study in Shanghai! If you have any other questions about studying abroad at Fudan University, you can email me and I'll try my best to answer them. My email address is: yspark105@gmail.com
