I just got a year long scholarship to study in China and chose to study at Yunnan University because I definitely want to be in Yunnan. I'm having second thoughts now, though, and am wondering if the Yunnan Nationalities University wouldn't be a better choice for me.

I am really interested in learning about China's ethnic minorities and also like the idea of being in a smaller school because I associate this with a better community. I also read that Yunnan Nationalities University has a homestay program, which I would really really prefer over dorms (which, correct me if I'm wrong, appears to be the only available housing option at Yunnan University).

If anyone has info as to quality of teaching, housing options (it is paid for by my scholarship so I am not totally opposed to but would rather not rent an apartment), or any other information (fun? community? location?) at either school, I definitely want to hear. It would be possible for me to switch after arriving there.

Thanks!

Chelsea

Yunnan University and Yunnan Nationalities University, and most other universities have moved their main campus to the southern edge of town. I'm not sure, but I would guess you would study in the old main campus, which will mainly be graduate students.

Yunnan University can't force you to stay in the dorms, and many people say they are quite unsatisfactory. My advice is when you first come rent a hotel for a week or two, or some "short-term" apartment.

A home stay program sounds great, but smoking is very common in China. So even if your host family doesn't smoke it's more than likely their relatives do. Even with inflation being quite high rent is still fairly inexpensive.

I have studied at both of these universities. I can't speak to the home stay program, but can tell you that the dorms at YU do suck. These two schools are very close to one another, though, and apartments or a room in an apartment around the area are not that expensive.

The facilities at YU are far superior to those at YNU in terms of food options, the cafeteria is great, and modern classrooms, you won't freeze in the winter. Also, just because it says nationalities university don't expect it to be brimming with minority nationalities.

Finally, there are many more foreign students that study at YU, so if it is community and familiarness you want that would be better for you.

Thanks for the input! I'll definitely take that into account.

Dorm in Yunnan University not just sucks but over sucks WC public,shower room public .international students office one of the worst in the whole country .Teachers unqualified "some are perfect though".

Student Dorms in Chinese universities usually suck. That is why so many people choose to live out.

Student offices usually suck too. There is no service culture here, a student is just a number/cash cow.

You should try working for a uni here, staff get treated the same. The culture is not what we are used to. I think the attitude is that it is a privilege to be able to study, and even though we pay we are not seen as 'the customer'.

The graduate programs are better although the recent round of salary "equalization" was potentially damaging (they lowered the salaries of premium programs so they could increase the salaries for less "popular" programs).

Chinese universities are impacted - the competition to get into national and or recognized high learning institutions is incredible - so we have the age old issue of supply and demand - and the arrogance, indifference, and quality control issues that go with that mentality.

Quality is DEFINITELY on China's culture roadmap - but it will take lifetime's (generations) to steer the nation towards that destination again. As examples of quality - just look at what the military has accomplished recently - they've blasted a couple of guys into space (Shenzhou) AND brought him back...alive. Quite an achievement. They've also recently retrofitted and will commission an operational aircraft carrier. Until recently, China also had one of the world's fastest supercomputers. None of these things would be possible without QUALITY.

There's another thread about entrepreneuring in China - QUALITY is an opportunity.

Yunnan University of Nationalities is so-so...most of the foreign students studying there are either from Thailand or Laos, in the case of the Thai students, most of them are there on a 2 year program learning Chinese to become Chinese teachers back home. There are probably no more than 5 western students in the whole university, so keep that in mind unless of course you'd prefer to make friends from these regional countries and of course with Chinese students instead.

The dorms at YUN also suck badly, although the foreigner's dorms are marginally better than the Chinese student's dorms. Still, the construction of new apartments behind the dorms often goes on at night as well, so if you do want to study there, choose the new campus, though the disadvantages would be distance from the city, as the new campus is located in Chenggong, on the outskirts of greater Kunming and entertainment, food and even transport options are quite limited, though the university does operate regular buses to the city campus for free.

The case is the same in Yunnan University almost the students from Asian countries specially Vietnam,Laos and Thailand .

Actually, at the foreigner's dorms at YUN although they feature paint peeling off the walls and damaged cabinets etc. at least you get a private bathroom with a hot water shower. The Chinese student's dorms just adjacent to the foreign student's dorms feature 8 students to a room and a shared bathroom for i don't know how many students with a stench you can smell 10m away. Privacy is an alien concept and it's only a bit better for foreign students who have 2-4 people per room (usually 4).

At Yunnan University there is a greater diversity of nationalities. There are more Koreans and more westerners than at YUN.