Based upon statistical trends from the last 10 years, PiB receives several hundreds of applications every year from all around the world and we have an attendance of about 180 every summer. However, that number is not set in stone.  The earlier you apply, the higher your chances.

If you know in advance that you won’t be able to attend class for the full eight weeks, you should not apply. Given the amount of material studied each day, it will be impossible for you to make up the classes.

PiB is for anyone who is serious about learning Chinese.  Whether a thirty-something-year-old can fit into the social environment of PiB depends largely on individual personality, disposition, and goals.  Some older students have no problem, while others feel isolated.  Some don't mind the age gap, others do.  This is something that you will have to think about and evaluate for yourself.

As long as you have the equivalent of at least a year of college-level Chinese, you are eligible to apply for PiB. Whether or not you are admitted, and to which level, will depend on the admissions committee's evaluation of your application.  If you do go, we certainly recommend that you take Chinese in the term before PiB if at all possible.

Some applicants may speak Chinese at home or have knowledge of Chinese characters (from Cantonese, Japanese, etc.). In this case we ask you to apply for the class that best matches your LOWEST skill level, even if this means that some parts of the course will be easy for you. You should also note that, no matter what level you apply for, the PiB faculty will make the final decision on which level you take; this decision is based on your performance in placement tests that are given in Beijing at the beginning of the program.

Our criteria are good motivation, good aptitude, solid earlier training, and strong need for learning Chinese.  We look for strength in the basics of the language, including accurate pronunciation.

Generally, applications are made available in early to mid October. You may apply as soon as you wish. Applications are usually reviewed on a rolling basis, so the sooner an application is submitted, the earlier you will hear back regarding admissions. (If you are a first-year student applying for second-year Chinese, your application will be stronger if you can show at least a partial record of your first-year study.)

Most applicants will be notified of decisions within the month after the application deadline. For some applications, though, we cannot say firmly "yes" or "no" after the first evaluation is done. These applications are wait-listed pending further information on the student, on the number of spaces available, or on the competitive pressures of the course the student is applying to.

The best way to improve your chances is by completing your application at an early date. Since admissions are usually handled on a rolling basis, and since we receive many excellent applications, we usually have to deny admission to many highly qualified candidates. Submitting your application well ahead of the deadline will not only improve your chances but also make our job easier.

The only exception to this rule is that of students in their first year of Chinese study. Waiting until you have a solid enough foundation to turn in an audio tape with few errors in pronunciation and tones may mean that first year students would be better served by turning in applications at the conclusion of their first semester.

If you have final grades for the fall term at the time you apply, you must submit an official transcript. (Princeton students--but only Princeton students--may substitute a print-out from SCORE.) If you have not finished the fall term at the time you apply, give us an unofficial record of your mid-term grades, for example by print-out from your own school's website. If your school does not provide midterm grades, you may submit your application without this record, as long as you include a note that your transcript will follow. In either case, once you finish the fall term, please have an updated, official transcript sent to the PiB office. We cannot finish processing your application until we have received an official transcript.

While we prefer a recommendation from your most recent Chinese teacher, we understand that getting such a recommendation is sometimes impossible. Hence we do accept recommendations from other teachers, supervisors, or persons who can accurately judge character, study habits, and suitability for the program.

Either is fine.

Yes. If you are living in an area where transcript would take weeks to arrive or the local postal service is unreliable, we will allow parts of your application to be sent in separately. As far as is possible, though, try to submit all your information at once.

If you have created an account before, you are still required to submit another application, along with application fee, a new recording, a revised transcript (if you have taken additional Chinese classes since then), any personal information that has changed, and, if you are applying for financial aid, you or your parents' most recent tax return and your home school's most recent needs analysis. All applicants’ files are kept for one year, but an online account is created for life.

If accepted, you will be asked to pay a $800 nonrefundable deposit to secure your position in the program. If your deposit does not arrive by the time specified, you will forfeit your position in the program. If you are accepted and choose not to attend, please inform us as soon as possible so that we can offer your place to someone else.

All students are required to live on the BNU campus; this is one element of our "total immersion" program. PiB assigns each student to a single bed in a two-bed room. The other bed will be filled by another PiB student. If you and your spouse are both accepted into PiB, you will be given a room together. If you are married and your spouse is not a PiB student, it is your responsibility to make housing arrangements for him/her. Likewise, PiB is unable to accommodate children or pets of PiB students.

Please visit the Transcript section and you will find a link to our Registrar's Office with instructions on how to submit a Transcript Request PDF Form.