u/thucydidestrap726

I (29M) am moving to Taipei next week for one year to begin Chinese classes at NTU CLD. Will be my second time in Taiwan, although my first time living there. I’m starting to feel very nervous, so if anyone has any advice please let me know! My language skills aren’t great right now, so I’m mostly just catastrophizing daily interactions, grocery shopping, making friends, etc. Ironic since this is what i’m going over there to do, practice the language.

Any advice or words of encouragement are welcome. Thank you!

Hi all,

I (29M) am chronically indecisive and I’m unsure of which program to do, and it is holding everything in limbo.

I am coming from the U.S. on a fellowship to study Mandarin in Taiwan. I was admitted to CLD and am waiting to hear back this week on ICLP. My draws to ICLP were the rigor of the program and honestly I find the student housing Taipei Paradise to be quite convenient. However, the cost is a bit much and I would need to deep into savings beyond my US$25K to fund even a 9 month program at ICLP.

CLD is far cheaper and I wouldn’t be worrying about money as much. However, I am anxious about not finding housing. Additionally, my friend is doing ICLP, and it would have been much less anxiety to arrive at the same time as her rather than arrive alone a month earlier for CLD. I am quite scared as much as I am excited.

I tested into high beginner for Mandarin before, so I don’t know if ICLP will accelerate my Mandarin proficiency, or if at that level it doesn’t really matter CLD vs ICLP.

Any insight would be appreciated!

If so, what were they like as far as intensity? Do you think it can be overwhelming?

I (29M) have around 60K in federal student loan debt. I am in a Master’s program at a DC school studying international security policy. I recently was awarded a fellowship to study Mandarin in Taiwan for up to a year. The DOD would give me $25K to do this. The stipulation for this is that when I return, I will need to search for, and secure, a position in the federal government in a position related to national security. I have two years to do this. If I do not manage to find qualifying work, I will need to pay back whatever portion of the $25K I spent. I will receive something called “non competitive hiring eligibility” for select positions when I get back, some resume help, etc. but they do not help with job placement. They do allow you to fulfill the requirement with a position with a national security related NGO/non-profit or a qualifying defense contractor if you prove you’ve been searching and get hired for gov work.

I am currently a front desk position at my university. I make $52K and they are paying for the remainder of my tuition. Taking the fellowship would require me to leave and take out around another $10K for my final six credits that I would finish while abroad.

I applied to this fellowship and I thought it could open doors for me. I am tired of working menial admin jobs pushing 30. With that being said, the debt burden is terrifying, and university work qualifies for PSLF. What I have right now is stability. I do not know what I should prioritize more.

I am all ears for any advice or insight yall might have.

Hi everyone,

I (28M) am hoping to get some advice or others perspectives on my situation.

I’m finishing up a master’s degree and currently have about $65K in federal, unsubsidized loans, all mostly around 7.89% interest. Of that 65K, $10K is just sitting in my bank account from an earlier loan disbursement that I never actually needed. I originally took out loans to fund school, but then I got a job at my university that now coverd tuition, so that money has just been sitting there.

Right now I work in an admin role at the school making $52K a year. It’s basically front desk/operations support work—stable, but pretty menial and not aligned with my long-term goals in national security/policy. The main benefit is that the remainder of my tuition is covered, so if I stay, I can finish my last 6 credits without taking on additional costs and keep a steady income. I can also pay that 10K i have sitting in my account back into my balance.

The complication is that I was awarded a Boren Fellowship to study Mandarin in Taiwan for about a year. It comes with around $25K, but requires that I complete 1 year of qualifying work in federal service or even a nonprofit with a national security angle within 2 years of returning. If I don’t meet that requirement, I may have to pay back the $25K. From what I understand, there can be some flexibility, like extensions to the 2-year window or possibly qualifying through national security-adjacent nonprofit roles, but it seems inconsistent, which is adding to my anxiety.

I don’t know what the right choice is, and I suppose I’m just looking for advice. I’ve never done long term study abroad before and I feel like it is a great opportunity. At the same time, I don’t want to indulge myself just to be in financial ruin when I’m back. I want to view this opportunity as an investment and a way to get out of working these menial admin jobs, but idk if I should risk it and opt for stability over a high risk high reward situation.

Was anyone able to do ICLP for the full year in Taipei? I believe there’s about a month break between two of the sessions, so I wasn’t sure if you needed to find alternative formal instruction during that time. Additionally, If you did a full year at ICLP with Boren funding, given its cost, did you need to dip into any other savings for the remainder of the year? ICLP on top of housing would put me in a deficit.

I’ve see multiple comments on here from people saying they’ve heard rumors of it. Does anyone know anyone who has?