Define your non-negotiables
A useful shortlist begins with your constraints, not a ranking table.
- Write down one degree level, two or three academic fields and every teaching language in which you can complete assessed work.
- Set an annual ceiling that includes tuition, application fees, housing, insurance, travel and daily life—not tuition alone.
- Mark the earliest date when your passport, diploma, transcripts, language result and recommendations can be ready.
Confirm that international applicants can use the route
A domestic course catalogue proves that a subject exists; it does not prove that an international applicant can apply.
- Start from the university’s official international admissions domain or international-student office, then follow its program-level links.
- Look for an explicit degree, intake, applicant category and application route. Treat exchange-only, nominated or group-only routes separately.
- Separate program identity from the annual admission cycle. A valid program can remain visible while its next deadline is not yet announced.
Compare like with like
Build one comparison row per official fact so a missing value stays visible instead of becoming a guess.
- Compare degree, faculty, teaching language, duration, campus and qualification—not title alone.
- Record tuition with its billing period and academic year. “30,000 CNY” can mean per semester, year or whole program.
- For research degrees, check supervisor or faculty fit and proposal requirements before treating a route as realistic.
Build a balanced application portfolio
The purpose of tiers is risk control, not predicting an admission decision.
- Use ambitious, well-matched and more conservative tiers based on published eligibility—not reputation alone.
- Keep enough geographic and cost diversity that one city, deadline or funding decision cannot collapse the whole plan.
- Track admission and scholarship routes separately; they may use different portals, documents and deadlines.
Run a final source check before submitting
Your saved comparison is a working record; the official application system is the final authority.
- Save the official URL, page title, academic year and date checked beside every deadline, fee and requirement.
- Re-open every source shortly before payment or submission, especially if the page was a PDF or an older cycle.
- If two official pages conflict, do not average them. Ask the international admissions office which notice governs your route.
Sources officielles
Commencez par ces sources officielles, puis vérifiez les règles actuelles pour votre pays et votre université.
- Application for Studying in China ↗Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of ChinaSource vérifiée: 8 août 2026
- Chinese Government Scholarship online application guide ↗China Scholarship Council / Campus ChinaSource vérifiée: 8 août 2026
- International undergraduate admissions ↗Tsinghua UniversitySource vérifiée: 8 août 2026
Questions fréquentes
Is a university ranking enough to choose a program?
No. Rankings can help with discovery, but international eligibility, curriculum, language, current cycle, total cost and official application route determine whether an option is usable.
Does a program page prove that applications are open now?
Not by itself. Confirm a current academic year, intake, opening date and deadline on the official admissions notice or system.
What should I do when tuition or a deadline is missing?
Keep the field unknown, open the official admissions route and contact the university if the decision cannot wait. Do not copy a value from another program or year.
How many applications should I submit?
There is no universal number. Choose a workload you can document carefully, afford and submit on time while preserving a genuine range of academic and financial outcomes.