Students Studying Abroad Under The Epidemic: Wandering Between Stay And Stay

As of 24 February 10th, the number of confirmed coronavirus pneumonia (hereinafter referred to as "new crown pneumonia") was 37626 nationwide, with 21675 suspected cases.

With the ferment of the epidemic, domestic transportation, enterprises and other aspects have been affected more or less. A group of less concerned students -- students studying in the autumn of 2020 is facing the uncertainty of admission because of the epidemic.

Language test cancelled

At the end of January, IELTS, TOEFL and GRE officials announced the cancellation of the relevant examinations in mainland China. Since then, under the "Butterfly Effect" of the continuous fermentation of the epidemic, many graduates have fallen into confusion.

"Language class basically do not need to think, time is too late, it can only die to support the IELTS examination results." In February 11th, Chen Yue (a pseudonym) reluctantly replied to the twenty-first Century economic report reporter, "if there is no test, there will be no book to read."

In January 25th, the IELTS official announced the cancellation of the IELTS test in Hubei in February and provided full refund services for all candidates who applied for the February IELTS examination. In January 27th, the IELTS official announced that the IELTS examination for all the venues in January 31st and February in mainland China would be cancelled, and the examination fees would be returned to the candidates' accounts in full.

On the same day, the ETS of the TOEFL and GRE (US graduate school entrance examination) announced the cancellation of all TOEFL and GRE tests in mainland China from February. Since then, the three major exams for studying abroad have been closed to candidates in February.

In February, the number of examinations was cancelled and there is no fixed number of examinations to be held in March. This undoubtedly brings risks to the students studying abroad this year.

"Generally speaking, students are advised to match the language classes of the admission schools at least 3 to 4 months before the start of the course." An international student agency in Nanchang, Jiangxi told the twenty-first Century business reporter.

The term "language class" refers to the language training course required before the formal class begins when the candidates have not yet reached the requirements of the English proficiency level. After passing the language class examination, they are able to attend classes at the school. For students who want to apply for language classes in April, they can only hope for examinations in early March and early April, or go abroad for the February language test.

Overseas examination scheme

When the three major examinations in China have just been cancelled, Chen Yue has had a glimmer of luck. "Domestic cancellation has little impact on me." At that time, Chen Yue told reporters, "I reported in IELTS in Vietnam, the time is February 13th."

It is understood that at present, going abroad to take the language examination is becoming the choice of more and more prospective students. Among them, the IELTS examination in Southeast Asia is especially popular with mainland examinees.

"There is a saying in the study circle: the IELTS test in mainland China is very serious in speaking and writing, and the IELTS in Southeast Asia in these two disciplines are more likely to give high marks. There are also many online candidates who have been greatly improved in the IELTS score in Southeast Asia. Chen Yue explained to the twenty-first Century economic news reporter.

In late December, after discussing with one of her classmates, Chen Yue decided to apply for the IELTS test in February 13th in Vietnam, and strive to qualifying IELTS in this examination. At the beginning of January, the two confirmed the most effective combination of flights, arranging the scheduled flights and the schedule in Vietnam. In January 20th, after many twists and turns, the two men finally completed the examination.

However, it is unforeseen that the new crown pneumonia epidemic has spread rapidly. "We are worried about the safety of going to Vietnam, but at the same time, we do not want to lose this examination opportunity. After all, the deadline for applying for schools is coming." Chen Yue told reporters on twenty-first Century economic report.

But what happened afterwards is beyond their control. In February 1st, the Vietnamese side announced that it would suspend the Sino Vietnamese round-trip flights from now on and suspend the entry of Vietnamese citizens with ordinary passports and Chinese citizens in the third country from February 5th on the purpose of labor, business, study and visiting relatives.

At the same time, the examinees themselves also have many worries, and began to play a "retreat" because of the epidemic. In January 26th, a number of candidates wrote a letter asking for the application of a new coronavirus outbreak and their candidates' worries.

At the end of January, candidates received a written reply to the examination. The organizers agreed to the special examination and agreed to refund the examination fee within 4 to 6 weeks after the application was completed.

Although the examination fee has been retrieved, the epidemic situation still has a deep impact on the examinees. "The biggest regret is that I can't test IELTS in time, and apply for the most wanted school." For the senior student who has been preparing for a long journey abroad, Chen Yue still finds it difficult to achieve peace. The preparatory plan that had spent a lot of thought and spent months or even longer was disturbed.

Intermediary refund

For Chen Yue and her classmates, the influence is the initiative to apply for the school. But for the candidates who are looking for Taobao agencies to sign up, they have encountered some troubles.

According to the introduction, due to the need for foreign currency bank card to register for overseas IELTS, the interface between IELTS and mainland IELTS is different. Overseas IELTS does not provide overseas delivery of transcript service, so some candidates can choose to apply for registration in Taobao and take their transcripts.

Sophie and Wang Yu are also candidates who want to quit the exam. The two people who did not know this time chose the same IELTS registration agency on Taobao: the global roast duck examination center.

Sophie told the twenty-first Century business news reporter that she decided to apply for the overseas study materials when he applied for the IELTS examination in Vietnam Hanoi. He chose the A+1 services of the above businesses, including training and tuition fees (including examination fees), collecting and sending transcripts, 1 days of hotel accommodation, visa fees, telephone cards and pick-up machines, etc. the total charge was 4288 yuan.

Wang Yu's choice of one-stop services includes two examinations, and the rest of the services are similar to those mentioned above, which charges 9388 yuan.

The two candidates told the twenty-first Century business news reporter that after the outbreak of the outbreak, the registration agencies were unwilling to deal with the refund. In addition to the examination fee, even the hotels which are not consumed, the pick up machines, the transcripts and so on are not willing to refund. The reason for the business is that merchants can only deal with other services refund after the examination is successful. However, Wang Yu has already agreed with the examination team about the examination.

In the face of the overlord clause of the business, two candidates had to seek a refund from the Taobao junior. In the end, the merchants agreed to refund, and refund the cost of visa service, registration fee, telephone card and courier services to two people, but finally collected a 200 yuan "premium" for the early withdrawal of the examination fee.

At present, only a few schools have relaxed the time of submission of language scores for Chinese applicants in view of the cancellation of language tests caused by the epidemic.

The University of Newcastle said that the students who applied for the IELTS examination in January 31st and February 7th provided proofs for the two examinations to be ordered or cancelled. The University of Newcastle will postpone the deadline for final interpretation of IELTS (February 14th) for interpretation and translation majors. The specific extension time will be determined based on the next examination time for candidates.

Queen Marie College of University of London also said that school language classes will continue to be open to students who have received conditional admission notices for undergraduate, preparatory and master courses and have not yet reached the admission criteria, until the deadline for application.

However, how to deal with the problem of students' language achievement submission still needs further discussion by overseas schools.