hi everyone,
wanted to say first of all that these forums and oriented are great resources. having just moved back (born in taiwan, been away for 20+ years), it’s comforting to find that others have beaten the path and are willing to share experiences and ideas. thanks.
question:
I am planning on applying for classes at Shida MTC but they seem to require all sorts of documentation: transcript, diploma, HIV test, health test, etc etc. Not a problem but it will take some time for me to locate my diploma and get copies of my transcripts (in the US).
Are these docs really needed? Do they actually reject applicants?
Seems sorta hokey.
Thanks.
I don’t have any specific “inside info” about the MTC, but based on my general experience in Taiwan, they DO want all the papers, even if they will merely grace the inside of a manila folder for the rest of history.
I spent part of today at the GIO trying to get copies of my work authorization letters from 1998 and 1999. The people there asked me very sensibly, “Don’t you have the contracts from those jobs?” I said, “Yeah, but the government wants the contracts AND your letters.” Even they, government employees in another office, thought it was overkill, but the general conclusion was “meiyou banfa” [well, that’s it then, no way around it.]
I suppose because MTC seems to have the broadest visa-granting powers, it requires more paperwork. You can get into another school with a passport and a pulse, and it’d be a lot cheaper…up to you. (There have been other threads on MTC vs. other schools…)
No matter where you go, I’m sure you will enjoy your time here, though.
Terry
Thanks for your insights.
I’ve been hearing from the natives here that MTC is the best, though I’m aware that posters on this board have said otherwise. I figure I’ll give it a try.
I think it is reasonable to say that among natives MTC has the best name in the teaching of Chinese as a second language. Also most of the teaching staff at MTC and a lot of the staff teaching Chinese elsewhere actually graduated from the university that hosts MTC - NTNU.
I would say that compared to the friendly (Private University) WenHua the stuffy (Public University) MTC is a beaucratic nightmare. However once you get past the annoying desk staff and to the actual teachers the experience is quite a good one.
But it is a serious University and they don’t have room for special treatment of individual students. Everyone follows the same course of textbooks, is subject to the same rules and is treated much the same.
Some interesting stats about the MTC student body.
Current enrollment at MTC is 1017 students.
Here is the breakdown of students by country of origin.
Japan: 357
Korea: 130
Indonesia: 102
America: 95
Vietnam: 50
Thailand: 26
Germany: 21
Canada: 21
I only got the details on countries with at least 20 students.