<p>aman: You hadnt messed up yet, all is well that ends well
According to my culture i’m supposed to be hindu, but I researched religion over the summer break and claims from both sides i.e. religious people and atheists, and came to the conclusion that i’m a semi-atheist ! even convinced my parents that I was right in that although they are still a bit religious, but are cool with me not being completely religious! and just 1 food for thought: If you can kill a chicken and duck and god knows what all not, then why not a cow or pig !? besides in India not eating pork and beef is reasonable, as we consume the most amounts of dairy products in the world, all of which come from the cow! and pigs are way too dirty in India to be consumed! however, in China for example, they consume very little dairy products, as they dont drink milk on a daily basis like us, they dont drink tea with milk but green tea which only has water, and not even butter or cheese , and so they can afford to kill the cow, and the pigs are bred specially to be consumed so they are extremely clean!
Anyhow these conversations are not relevant in ur decision, so we’ll leave it at that…</p>
<p>Now that you have heard everything that all of us have said, take the best decision, i.e., a decision that is correct not only acc to us but most importantly acc to YOU !</p>
<p>AlecDluz: That is true from what I have heard too, but my friend who is doing Global Biz at HKUST also said that the locals love to be friends with you and for you to hang out with them, so that wont be an issue at all !! She also said that there are quite a few internationals who are willing to be friends but its better to be friends with the locals, as that way you get a better feel of their culture and you learn to live outside your comfort zone, which in essence is the whole idea about Universities :)</p>
<p>After how many days HKUST replies to the applicant?
I submitted my online app on 20th Jan and documents reached HK on 1st Feb but I am yet to hear anything from them.(and They don’t reply to e-mails…)</p>
<p>BTW I applied for Beng Chemical Engineering…</p>
<p>@Sarthak19118 – Glad to hear that! It seems that my program at HKU is not that international, and I have read a lot of comments like “the locals keep to themselves” and “the locals stick together like rice”. So that got me a bit worried (worried for the first time since I decided to go to HKU, which is 8 months ago:P), because it would not be very nice if it was hard to make friends, and if you would not really be included in projects and so on. </p>
<p>So I hope that perception is wrong, as the purpouse of going to HK, and not some European/US uni, is to befriend locals (as well as internationals), and immerse in the Hong Kong/Asian culture! </p>
<p>Sarthak19118, are you from India? (I’m half Norwegian, half South-Korean btw, lived in Norway my whole life…)</p>
<p>@samtjit-Hi,where are you from??I have an offer for Chem Eng In HKUST…
It will at least take a minimum of two months if not longer…so you just have to wait…
Yes they are pretty bad at replying to emails before offers are given…</p>
<p>@Sarthak-share some light on the student Halls from your knowledge,I checked out the website , it seemed a bit small and Dungeon like (if that makes sense…:))…hahah</p>
<p>AlecDluz: Dude do not worry at all, this aint gonna be like high school, in Uni life it is “IMPOSSIBLE” to not have any friends, unless you are:
A Nerd and study 24x7
A video-game freek and dont step out of your video games’ life!
Sociopath (psychopath is still acceptable )</p>
<p>Yeah I’m from India, 100% Indian lived there for 16 years and then moved to Shanghai (China) and will finish my IB this May and then off to HKUST in September, and then postgrad from US! soo hopefully by the time I finish my postgrad I would have had quite a lot of exposure to various kinds of cultures!
My best friend is from South-Korea, and another friend of mine is Norwegian too, but I have never actually met any one from North-Korea before! I think I have met people from literally “every” single part of the world, as my dad is a captain on the ship and I have sailed with him a lot, but never a north-korean! If you do land up in HKU then maybe you can be my “first” Half North-Korean friend!! awesome! there you go, you already have an international friend :)</p>
<p>samtjit: Its normal for the process to take nywhere between a month to 2 months, but I reckon after a week or so email them again just checking in on your status… This is still better than me waiting for my decision from few US Universities I had applied to in September last year!! lol</p>
<p>Anand and ALL: I havnt actually seen the student halls yet, but someone told me they are not as luxurious as you aould expect after seein the campus, having said that they would still be decent (comparing to the dorms in Delhi U and others)… I think someone said Hall VII is overrated just because it is new and the most expensive, but its still just the same version of the other Halls and the others have more of a history and culture attached to them, they are like different fraternities/sororities on campus, but minus the rowdy parts of the greek life (which might be a good or bad thing depending on wht u like)…
I’m waiting for the info the Uni emails us for housing to actually make a decision) Oh and Hall VII as it is new and has lesser number of rooms would also ask you to write essays and sit through an interview to be accepted for housing in there, selective like tht!! But dont worry unlike the admission process the Uni cant actually deny you housing so you will get somewhere to live! No matter how the housing is, I know there would be another >3000 people in similar houses like me on campus, so i think it should be fun! for once no distinctions on the basis of your room and the size of it too!! haha</p>
<p>@Anand78
Hi…well I am from Pakistan.Well I am ready to wait.I don’t want their decision b4r US decisinz as I heard they give only 14 days to reply…So did u get any scholarship?</p>
<p>@Samtjt-cool,I am an Indian living in the UK…I didnt get offered any scholarship…
I was pretty disappointed with the same but on the other hand i had an incomplete application,so kinda ok with it now…Glad to see another intl who has applied to the Chem Eng Dept…
Good luck with your Application…:)</p>
<p>@Sarthak-Yh i guess we ll have to wait…Thanks for the Info Mate…always a pleasure reading your rather insightful posts…:)</p>
<p>Anand: haha… good to know my notes do make some sense to people, and not only in my head! lol
I’ll keep you updated on the housing and additional info stuff, if I shall receive any in the near future :)</p>
<p>Samtjt: How is the education system in Pakistan? and do you have to sit for enterance examinations for Universities like India or do you submit applications like US and Hk ?</p>
<p>@Sarthak19118 - Half SOUTH-Korean, not North:P Hope that doesnt disappoint you, I guess its really hard to come by anyone from North Korea at all, anywhere </p>
<p>Anyways, Im always happy to have international friends! A while ago, we had this cultural project in school together with other foreign schools, and where 10 participants from each school went on an international meeting in Ireland lasting for 1 week, it was really the best time I ever had! I mean, hardly anything is more fun and interesting than spending time with a group of people from different countries, its like racing from journey to journey! (And the fact that the host school in Ireland was an all-girls school made it even better, he he) </p>
<p>From my travel experiences, no culture is warmer and more open than the asian culture! (So I doubted that HK could be the direct opposite, but I just wanted to ask because of some comments made on different forums and blogs ). </p>
<p>And yeah, I hope youre right about uni-life being different than high school life, it is rather monotonous and boring going to high-school Also quite cold and snowy if you live in Norway… </p>
<p>Must be exciting to live in Shanghai, know a girl who went there on exchange, she said it was great!</p>
<p>@Anand78
Hopefully I get admission and scholarship coz without it HKUST dream will remain a dream…</p>
<p>@Sarthak19118
Well the educational system is similar to that of India with Secondary school and intermediate board examinations.Yes we have to sit in entrance tests.,nearly all universities have entrance examination.Nothing like UK and US application…Lot of schools offer British patterned Education i.e O and A levels and I am doing A levels…</p>
<p>AlecDluz: haha… That doesnt dissapoint me so much, nowing what I hae heard about North Korea…
Exactly! Thats the experience and time I get everyday at an International school…!
well its quite cold in Shanghai too, but warm to compensate for that and then it doesnt snow… However in that case you are going to LOVE hong kong!! Its the best kind of weather you could get!!
Shanghai is the city with the best Chinese culture to experience, also with the best night life in the world at the same time!! awesome food, nice people and good facilities!</p>
<p>Samtjt: In that case, I know where you’r coming from… we had the same system in India too…</p>
<p>Did anyone of you receive the scholarship application form?I have to mail them after completing in all the details.</p>
<p>I am bit confused.There is a section namely PERSONAL PARTICULARS and it contains details like Name,Application No,contacts…but it also contains SCHOOL,DEPARTMENT,PROGRAM</p>
<p>So what do I have to fill in at SCHOOL,DEPARTMENT,PROGRAM…??The school I am currently attending for sure…!!But Department and program??</p>
<p>@All What is your approximate budget for HK? I have estimated that an annual budget of 100 00 HK$ should cover accommodation (student halls), food, entertainment, books and other living expenses, as well as some travelling. Do you think this is a reasonable estimate?</p>
<p>I asked this to an HKUST student and he said that above his housing fees, he only spends 3000 HKD a month. And remember that the Swire scholarships are meant to cover tuition and full accommodation and living expenses and they are 120,000 hkd. 80,000 of that is tuition. The university itself implies that 40,000 is enough for one year which is close to what the student I had talked to said.</p>
<p>@rebecca1234 I really hope youre right! (would be a bit more in HKU though, HKU tuition is slightly higher…) </p>
<p>Quoting from HKU page about inter. students: For students living in residential halls, a minimum of HK$80,000 per year will be required to cover food, lodging and general living expenses for the academic year 2010-2011. The composition fee for non-local students for 2010-2011 will be HK$100,000.</p>
<p>So they estimate 180 000 hkd to be minimum. </p>
<p>Anyways, I initially thought that entrance scholarships were granted solely to perfect students. I mean nonpareil students or something (which I am not, and I dont even know anyone in that league)! However, it seems that most people get some sort of scholarship, and it makes me kind of regret that I didnt apply for one </p>
