One last application

This was it. While we still could maybe find some international high school that accepted late applicants (for anyone in Beijing, Beijing Royal does accept mid-year transfers), we really had the feeling that this was our last best hope for a visa. Myles focused all of his energy toward Shiyou Daxue.

Myles had three days to assemble the application materials the admissions office sent. The requirements were not what we expected. We thought he might have to explain why he wanted to study Chinese, and specifically why he wanted to study at Shiyou. There was no personal essay or statement at all. The application only required the results of a physical on the form provided, a "no crime" report from our local police station, any transcripts he had, copies of his passport, and his photograph. 

Myles showed up for the physical we had booked for his high school registration, and had to explain to the doctor why in less than 48 hours we suddenly had a different list of needs and a different form. Because we thought this physical was only necessary for the application, we used one of our family doctors at an International clinic. This was fine for the school application, but not for the actual visa. Later, after he was admitted to the program, I had to escort Myles to the International Travel Healthcare Center in Haidian District to have all these examinations performed again for his Visa. 

One of my coworkers helped us obtain the criminal report. I cannot imagine trying to accomplish this on our own. Even to her it wasn't clear which police department could provide the appropriate document. We went to first to one police station that tracks our our residency status, and they sent us to another police station, a different kind of police station. My colleague wasn't even sure it was the right one either. She had the company driver stay close in case we had to go to a third police station. However, this was the right place, and we were finished there in less than thirty minutes.

On August 27 the application portal re-opened as promised and Myles logged on. He did not have any trouble uploading the necessary forms and scans and photos. I did find it very interesting that among the application instructions was that, to ensure no interruptions in emailed communications between the school and the applicant, the potential student should not use a google or yahoo email account. We knew these were blocked already in China, but the school was concerned that their own servers would not deliver to these domains either. Myles quickly registered for another email.

The application fee was ¥400, significantly less than the fees for the high schools we had been looking into months ago. I was able to use my WeChat to pay it while Myles was still completing the online application.

And then we waited. 

For a week we waited. Myles emailed a "thank you" letter to the admissions director, along with a few "if you need any more information" sentences. The response was, like so much of the application process at Shiyou, not quite what we expected. Myles' application was complete, the admissions director assured us, and they were just waiting on government review. The school could only admit him with government approval. Earlier, in a phone call with my company's HR department, the admissions director said that as long as the student came from a country that had good relations with China, there wouldn't be a problem. I hoped that there would be no diplomatic incidents in that week and a half that Myles' application was pending.

Fortunately for Myles, the Chinese government still allows American students, and, specifically, permitted this American student. On September 8, Myles received the admissions letter to the Chinese language program. He was a non-degree seeking student, but he was assured of a student visa. 

He still had to register for classes. Which were supposed to start.......wait, when were classes supposed to start, anyway?