Do You Need an Agent to Study in China? Applying Directly and Avoiding Scams

Videos about studying in China are full of agents offering guaranteed admission and full scholarships. Some agents help, some charge a lot, and some are scams. The good news: you can apply to a Chinese university yourself, paying only the university's own fees.

How applying directly works

China's rules for international students (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security) put each university in charge of its own admissions:

• The university publishes an admission guide and admits students under the conditions and procedures in it (Art. 11). Admission guides and rules for international students must be published where students can find them (Art. 23).
• The university decides. It checks your qualifications and proof of funds, tests or assesses you, and decides who is admitted. It may not admit anyone who does not meet its conditions (Art. 12).
• The university sends the visa documents. To apply for a student visa you need the university's admission letter and a form filed with the education authorities (Art. 35): the JW201 or JW202.

A typical direct application:

1. Choose a program and read its requirements in the university's current admission guide. Each university profile on our site links to its international admissions page.
2. Apply online on the university's own system, for example Zhejiang University's at intlstudent.zju.edu.cn or Nankai University's at nankai.at0086.cn. Upload your documents and pay the application fee: at the 39 universities whose fee we have checked, it is 200 to 800 CNY.
3. Take the tests or interview the university asks for. Bachelor's applicants for the Chinese Government Scholarship, and at many universities self-funded ones too, need a CSCA score.
4. Receive the result from the university, then your admission letter and JW201 or JW202 form.
5. Apply for your X1 or X2 visa with them: see our student visa guide.

Scholarships work the same way. The Chinese Government Scholarship is applied for online at campuschina.org, through a Chinese embassy or your government (Type A) or directly with a Chinese university (Type B). University and provincial scholarships are usually chosen inside the university's own application. See our scholarship comparison.

What an agent can and cannot do

An agent can help you choose universities, prepare documents, fill in forms and follow up. That can be worth it if you are short of time or unsure of your English or Chinese.

No agent can:

• Guarantee admission or a scholarship. The university and the scholarship committees decide.
• Make you eligible. Age, education and language rules are set by the university or the scholarship. See age limits and English requirements.
• Speak for a university that has not authorized it. Several universities say publicly that they have authorized no agent at all:
  • Hohai University's International School (May 2026) has not authorized any institution, company or individual to carry out admissions activities in any form, and publishes admissions information only on its official website.
  • Wenzhou-Kean University has not authorized any institution or individual to handle admissions on its behalf, after agents used its name to send fake pre-admission letters and collect fees.
  • Shenzhen University handles and mails all admission materials itself and has never commissioned an agency to recruit students. It found institutions forging its admission letters and JW202 forms.

Other universities do work with agents. If someone says they represent a university, ask the university's admissions office to confirm it.

Warning signs of a scam

• "Pay a deposit to keep your scholarship." The China Scholarship Council has warned that organizations sent international students fake Chinese Government Scholarship admission notices and asked for deposits to keep their places. It told applicants to confirm results with their home country's scholarship office or the Chinese university.
• A "seat fee" or "service fee" in the university's name. Wenzhou University's international college says it has never charged one: its fees are tuition, accommodation and the application fee. It also found forged admission documents carrying its seal.
• An admission letter that skips the official steps. At Wenzhou University, admitted students first receive a pre-admission payment notice on the university's official website. An admission letter without that notice is fake, and real letters carry an admission seal and a system-generated barcode.
• Payment to a personal account, or in any way other than the university's own notice says.
• "Guaranteed admission", "no requirements" or "full scholarship for everyone".
• A "scholarship" that is only a discount. Ask in writing what it covers: tuition, housing, insurance, a monthly stipend? Then compare it with the real scholarship types.
• Pressure to pay or decide today.

Fees and deposits that are normal

• The application fee, paid on the university's application system.
• Tuition after pre-admission, at some universities. Zhejiang University's pre-admitted bachelor's students pay the first year's tuition by a set date to confirm their place; it is not refunded if they do not enrol. Nankai University's admitted bachelor's students pay the 400 yuan application fee and the full tuition by a set date.
• Housing and insurance, as the university's own fee page says. Insurance is compulsory for every international student.

Before you pay anything, compare it with the university's own fee page. Our tuition fees page lists the fees we have checked, each with a link to the official page. For a full budget, see how much money you need.

How to check an admission letter

1. Find the international admissions office on the university's official website and contact it yourself. Do not use contact details from the letter or from whoever sent it.
2. Check every detail: your name and passport number, the program, level and language of teaching, and the start date.
3. Check that the JW201 or JW202 form came from the university with the letter. You need both for the visa.
4. For MBBS, check that the university is on the Ministry of Education's list for your intake: see our MBBS guide.

Free help from us

You don't have to go through anyone. You can apply to the university directly or through the official scholarship channels, using the steps above. If you would like help choosing universities and preparing your application, ask for free application help. Advice and application help are free for students, and we send your details to a university only after you agree.