The answer to this question is not a simple yes or no. We need a case-by-case analysis to answer that is it trustworthy or not for application to Chinese universities through a third-party platform.
1). What are third-party platforms and the relationship/differences between platforms and agencies?
We often shop on Amazon, eBay, etc. where there are countless stores online. Similarly, on a platform about studying in China, there are usually hundreds of Chinese universities that can be viewed and selected by applicants. The buyer and the seller are called the first and second parties. The organization/institution providing the trading place or facilitating the transaction is called the third party, such as "Amazon", “eBay" mentioned above. There is a slight difference between the online platform of applying for China universities and the ordinary shopping platform. That is, schools and educational institutions on the platform usually do not process students' consultation and application in person on the platform, but directly authorize the third-party platform to hold enrollment promotion activities and carry out the application process on students’ behalf. In a certain sense, you can also think that behind the third-party platform is actually a large-scale third-party enrollment agency, which serves hundreds of universities and educational institutions as well as thousands of applicants. Establishing a Chinese university application platform is one of the agency work modes, but not all the agents can be called the platform. Only when the service object of the agency reaches a certain scale and has the supporting internet tools, it can be called a platform.
2). Is it trustworthy for application to universities through a third-party platform/agent?
If the third-party platform/agent work on studying in China is reliable, famous, experienced, honest, with a high success rate and reasonably priced, then it’s trustworthy. Contrariwise, if a third-party platform/agent isn’t well-known, honest, without certificates of enrollment authorization, and reasonable price, and if you never visit their company/staff face to face before, then you have to be careful. Whether in real life or on the internet, whether in this industry and other industries, there will inevitably be some misbehavior of individuals/companies and trustworthy individuals/companies at the same time. What we need to do is learn to discriminate rather than simply believe or reject.
3). Other advantages of applying for Chinese universities via a reliable third-party platform
Why apply for Chinese universities through a 3rd party platform or the reasons to apply for Chinese universities through a 3rd party platform? I have the following 4 reasons to apply for Chinese universities through a third party platform.
- First, find one school that suits you in a large number of universities is not easy. If someone can provide you a single website or something like a database so that you can get all information of most of the Chinese universities and their hot majors, entry requirements, fee structures, etc. at once then it’s really helpful, convenient, and time-saving compared with seeking for equivocal information everywhere. This is the biggest advantage to apply for Chinese universities via a reliable 3rd party platform.
- Secondly, just get enrollment information is not enough if you want to enter a famous college, you also need professional suggestions from the experienced agent/counselor about the success rate for you to apply to the target school, the best application time, the extra documents to higher your entry possibility, and the best application plan.
- Third, when you have any questions or doubts about the college studies or applications, the agent can help you to ask the school teacher for the first time and feedback to you immediately. If you have no connection with the school teacher, your application may never be noticed by the teacher, let alone your questions or others.
- Fourth, except for help with your application, good agents may also provide you other services like airport pick-up, registration guidance, house rental, and so on. It’s a very important thing for a young student to get to study in another country for the first time without knowing any local language. In this way, a local Chinese platform/agency will be more helpful, who is more likely to take care of you until your graduation.
4). How to distinguish reliable agents from scammers？
When we first deal with a platform/company we have never met, we should be careful to avoid being cheated. Now I have some advice for you on how to tell reliable agents from scammers.
- Enrollment Authorization: When the school cooperates with platforms/agents, they will give them a power of attorney on student enrollment. If your agent doesn’t have such authorization, you should be careful.
- Formal Business License: No matter what business people work on, a formal company always has a business license.
- Guaranteed Admission: Each school has different entrance requirements for its students. If your agent promises your admission from the start, don't even ask about your scores or previous academic qualifications. Well, that's weird, then. Generally speaking, the agents can only recommend applicants to the school, but can’t decide who to accept and who not to accept. Anyway, remember that the admission right is always in the hands of the school, not the agent. The agent only helps you to apply and improve the success rate but does not admit you on behalf of the school.
- Perfect Scholarships: Most of us heard about CSC scholarships, local government scholarships, school scholarships, and so on. Sometimes we may see ads that can guarantee students full scholarship seats in China, that’s what we should be careful with. Full scholarships are very demanding for students' academic performance and language skills. Such full scholarships do not lack excellent applicants from different countries at all and there is no need to bother with the agent to promote and attract applicants from the standpoint of the school and the government. As for how to apply for a CSC scholarship, you can refer to that article. If someone is selling you something like “perfect scholarship in China” at a high price, then be careful that they may just wanna steal your money.
Of course, if it's some ordinary scholarship from some ordinary school, then the agents’ promise might be credible. Or your agent is a reliable person you are familiar with, then you can trust them, too. The people we need to be careful with are strangers we meet on the internet.
5). Suggestions when you apply for Chinese universities through a third-party platform
I applied for a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Technology on a tuition-free scholarship successfully three years ago with a guide from CUCAS counselor. It’s really lucky for me to get such a scholarship with only spend 500usd which includes application fee, service fee, delivery fee, and so on. In my opinion, spending some money is worth it for me to save time and energy. I don’t know other platforms also charge such a reasonable or not? But some of my classmates said their agent even charge them 2000usd above which is not cheap at all. To secure your application, sometimes you can apply to several schools at the same time. What’s more, if you already know how to apply for a scholarship especially a CSC scholarship by yourself, then you can also try to apply Chinese universities without any admission agent.
There are no two leaves exactly the same or completely different. You can learn from the success of others, but you will have your own success. Best regards!
