It’s considered a great choice if a Moroccan student plans to study in China in the near future, or prepares to study a semester there. However, and as it’s the case in every other country, this student has to protect himself against eventual inconveniences of studying abroad, like in China.
Becoming one of the largest countries in industry, economy and advanced education, China took place a primary destination to study in for students.
As much as China appears to be an exemplary country for education, one has to think of the challenges that international students face in China. Therefore, today’s article will present a number of practical solutions to avoid these downsides.
How can the student protect himself from the downsides of studying in China?
Before concentrating on ways of protection, let’s first see what the student might need protection from while studying in China.
1. China’s Great Wall of protection:
The biggest downside to studying in China is surely internet!
Internet in China is barricaded, meaning access to websites and apps is not possible unless they’re permitted by the Chinese government.
Indeed, companies like Google, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are one of the non-authorized websites to enter.
It’s possible for the student to ask for a VPN to facilitate access to websites when needed. However, surfing on the net won’t be a it was back home since VPNs are known to lag sometimes or even completely stop working.
If the student uses powerful motors of research such as Google to do work, his usage of VPN is the considered a protection of his work quality.
We will soon make an article about apps that are extremely helpful for students during their studies in China.
2. Passing the mandatory entry test:
Even if some of the best European universities give students the possibility to register without a test, although being accepted in one of the best Chinese universities requires passing an entry exam called « Gaokao ».
Once the test results published, the final grade determines the majors the student can choose from.
Consequently, the student must have ample knowledge of the Chinese educational system so he can begin the exam preparation early on.
3. The language barrier :
If the student chooses to study in a country where they speak a foreign language, it can become quite the challenge!
Apart from adapting to what we mentioned earlier about studying in China, it will be difficult for the student to overcome these downsides without knowing at least some basic Chinese language.
Learning the official language of the country the student wants to study in can help him immensely to blend in with the culture, and facilitate his life there.
This is why we will soon share with you an article about how to learn the Chinese language easily.
4. One teacher for many years:
In China, there’s only one professor for all classes that teaches the students during the entirety of their study period, which is something that differs from other countries’ educational systems as we generally find multiple professors teaching different courses.
This is a new challenge especially for students that can get easily bored. The solution would be to adapt, change seats in at least every class, but most importantly concentrate on the study material rather than the professor.
5. No time for creativity:
Creativity in China isn’t as important as the usage of logic and calculations. Students are given a lot of homework which prevents them from developing their creativity.
This may not seem very important, but for students who are used to develop their creative sides it can quickly become an inconvenience to study in China and must be taken into consideration in order to protect their mental comfort.
This is one of the reasons why Chinese students are generally smarter in courses that use logic like mathematics and science, and are often capable of concentrating for long periods of time and still do a good job.
To put it simply, there’s no time or place for creativity. It’s the student who has to create his own creative space, at least in his own bedroom.
Certain downsides to studying in China that are mentioned in this article may not be seen as such by everyone. Indeed, Chinese universities remain highly ranked amongst the best universities in the world. The student has to understand that each and every country has certain inconveniences that the student himself can consider negative or positive.
