Tsinghua University

If you are applying to Tsinghua from the United States or anywhere outside China, the first thing to understand is that there is no Common App here and no Coalition App. You apply through Tsinghua's own Online Application System for International Applicants, and the centerpiece of your written file is a Personal Statement framed as a study plan: why you chose Tsinghua, what you intend to study, and where you want it to take you. You can write it in English or Chinese, and Tsinghua sets no published word limit, which is a freedom that trips people up more than it helps.

Alongside the statement you submit a self-introduction video (3 minutes maximum, under 20MB), two recommendation letters, transcripts, an international test result such as SAT, ACT, A-Level, or IB, and proof of Chinese or English language proficiency. Tsinghua then runs a comprehensive assessment, which for most applicants means document screening followed by an integrative test or interview. The core challenge is that the writing is not a place to tell a moving life story. It is a place to prove you have thought hard about studying a specific subject at this specific university, and that you will not waste the seat.

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