I'm due to go back to Shanghai in a week's time so I can resume my blogging! I've also just purchased a new camera, a Canon EOS M in white! I'm very excited for it to arrive and to hopefully get some practice in before I leave England.
Application process
For anyone thinking of studying in Shanghai I can give a quick rundown of the application process as I recently had to do this all over again!
Firstly I chose to go back to Jiao Tong as I was familiar with this university and the area and it is one of the top universities in Shanghai. They have 2 websites, one for the Chinese students (or exchange students) and another for the international students where they have details for the summer course, long term Chinese courses as well as some Masters and Degree courses.
You are required to fill out the form although I found out now this can be done online if you follow the links on their website to various documents. I had a slight issue with uploading images to the website but if you email someone from the Jiao Tong website they are speedy to respond and ask you to email it to them with your login details and they completed the application for me.
The application fee has to be done and the remittance information to be emailed over ASAP.
The JW202 form gets posted to your home which can take 2-3 weeks so make sure you apply in good time. Depending on your country and the visa process it will vary. In UK you can apply online. After filling out the information online and printing the form, signing it and attaching a passport photo you need to make an appointment online to go to the centre. The centre has moved now to Bank but it is a really nice building now and I actually went early to my appointment and they didn't mind (although it depends how early as I saw somebody was turned away!). It was very simple to do, I hear if you have this JW202 form you will most likely get your visa. I forgot to sign a declaration form but it must be common and the man slipped one to me to quickly sign and hand back.
It takes about 3 days to pick up your passport but you can't pay with a credit card! Only cash or debit card.
The course fee will be paid at registration and you will need to bring all the paperwork including your address of where you will live (dorms fill up fast! So apply early or find your own place). If you aren't staying in a hotel or dorm you will have 24 hours upon arrival to go to your local police station to register where you will live.
When I rented before I was sent a copy of the housing contract but I was later told at the station I needed a letter from the person I was renting from to say I was living there. Also you can only register with your area's police station so you should look that up before you arrive.
My current visa is only an F visa so I need to change to a student visa. The university provides the medical checks or you can do this yourself on arrival. The medical report has to be handed into the university and you will receive some paperwork to take to the visa office to get your student visa.
So now I'm at the countdown with a week to go before I board that flight once more and dreading to endure the awful heat and humidity that I was lucky enough to avoid last year!
