u/Evening-Possession24

I'm going to Taiwan to study Mandarin but I'm in a bit of a conundrum.

Because of traveling elsewhere prior to Taiwan, I might not have enough time to go through the visa process in the United States.

I was considering doing it in Hong Kong... but it seems like TECO isn't very active there. The website seems off. Has any other foreigner had any success applying for a resident visa (and going through the Health Certificate nonsense––tests, signatures, notarization, and authentication) in Hong Kong or somewhere else near Taiwan.

I know it's probably recommended to take the CSCA Math exam in the language of instruction.

But is it required? Will scores be undermined if not in Chinese? So far, I've only seen one school explicitly say to do it in the language of instruction but I don't want any nasty surprises.

I'm interested in a humanities major, by the way.

I'm doing a summer program in China over the summer. It's single entry. I already have the X2 student visa for that.

I just got accepted to study Chinese in Taiwan for a year after that. I think they may want me to apply for that visa in the US (because of the scholarship I am receiving). So unless I want to fly all the way back to the US after China, I have to do it now.

Is there any problems with having both?

I'm considering doing a second Chinese-taught undergrad degree in Japanese (in China).

Considerations:

(1) My experience studying Chinese has been so meaningful to me that I'm interested in learning Japanese now. If I can get funding through a Chinese government scholarship, I'll (A) obviously gain funding and (B) gain structure.

(2) I would get an opportunity to deepen my Chinese fluency on the ground.

(3) I don't care if it's basically a useless degree. I'm more interested in the learning experience and cultural exploration/immersion.

(4) Upon completion, I'd probably look into certification to teach Chinese in the US (fast-track in a couple of months). So I think the stronger Chinese fluency I'd gain through a Chinese undergrad degree is a plus.

(5) I'm really not that interested in any other undergrad degree. I feel like a Japanese Major would be good: language courses with classmates would even the playing field and less stress overall.

(6) I don't plan to live on-campus. If it's required, then I could probably deal. I also don't plan to become BFFs with my younger classmates but definitely wouldn't mind learning with them.

(7) Personally, I believe learning experiences can only benefit from a diverse student body. I've had older classmates during my first Bachelor's degree and I never felt that there was any issue (it was a top US school too).

(8) I don't mind the challenge of a language barrier. I don't even mind falling behind a bit. As long as I learn something, I'll consider it worth it.

(9) The alternative would be doing a Master's program in Teaching Chinese and then going back to the US (no Japanese :(). Either way, I want to spend some years in China before I start working for real.

I would be 24 when I start and 28 when I finish.

I'm still very much in the speculation stage. If I decide to go through with this, I would have to get serious about prepping for the CSCA Math and Chinese exams.

I'm assuming that international students who do Chinese-taught programs must be considerably older than their peers. Is this true?

Do 19-22 yo Chinese undergraduate share classes with 24-28+ yo foreigners? Do 22-24 yo Chinese grads share classes with X age foreigners?

How do you think this affects each party? What helps and what doesn't?

I scored 250+ on the HSK 5 (in 2026).

I also just scored a 12 month scholarship to study at NTNU MTC.

I'm unsure on whether or not I should accept the HES award. I've read some comments about MTC not being for students at my level. So this makes me feel like I should not do it.

I've been in classrooms where I've felt like the pace is glacier. I don't want to be stuck in a classroom for hours getting less out of my time than I could get studying on my own.

But I also feel like I have a lot to learn still. I've never studied traditional characters which I'm interested in doing. I'm also interested in working on my handwriting skills which I've heard is big at MTC. The time to study Mandarin is also a big plus.

Advice?