“You Don’t Need an Agent”: Botswana Gent Shares How To Get a Fully Funded Scholarship in China
- A Botswana student studying abroad shared a step-by-step video on how to find and apply for fully funded scholarships in China
- The scholarships are available for undergraduate and postgraduate students across hundreds of universities in China
- People had many questions, from whether flights are covered to whether being overweight affects eligibility
Source: TikTok
A Botswana international student dropped a video on 16 May 2026 that showed how to find a fully funded scholarship in China. The gent, who describes himself as an educational excellence advocate, used the CUCAS website, cucas.cn, with no agent or middleman involved. He shared the post, saying:
"Scholarship is available for all levels, undergraduate and postgraduate."
He walked viewers through how to search for scholarships by category, degree level, city, language of study and programme. Using medicine as an example, he showed that only three universities currently offer fully funded scholarships for that field, but switching to open search brought up hundreds of options across civil engineering, software engineering, computer science, law, architecture and more.
He pointed out that some universities charge an application fee of between $500 (around R8,300) and $1,000 (R16,650 according to Wise Currency Converter), but others charge nothing. He said that anyone who can't afford the fee can filter for those fee-free options using the website or an AI tool.
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What the scholarship covers?
Fully funded scholarships through CUCAS come in three tiers. The first-class scholarship covers tuition, a living allowance of around 2,500 CNY per month, accommodation and insurance.
The second class covers tuition, an accommodation subsidy of 1,100 CNY per month and insurance. The third class covers accommodation and insurance, but not tuition.
According to CUCAS, the Chinese Government Scholarship and various university-specific awards are available to international students across all levels.
Who can apply and what do you need?
To qualify, applicants must be non-Chinese citizens in good physical health. For undergraduate applications, students must be under 25 with a high school diploma.
For a master's degree, applicants must be under 35 with a bachelor's degree, and for a PhD, under 40 with a master's degree. A strong academic record is expected, generally a GPA above 2.8 out of 4, which roughly translates to 60-69% (Level 5) in the South African National Senior Certificate (NSC) or a lower-second class pass at the university level.
Required documents include:
- A valid passport
- Certified academic transcripts
- A physical examination form
- A study plan of at least 500 words for postgraduate applicants
- Two recommendation letters from professors
- A police clearance certificate issued within the last six months
- Some programmes require proof of English through IELTS or TOEFL, or Chinese through an HSK certificate.
Watch the TikTok clip below:
People question the China scholarship tutorial
Netizens shared their questions on TikToker @becoming_dr_lesole's post, with many showing interest in the opportunity:
@siyaq.0622 worried:
"The only problem I have is how am I going to pay for the physical examination and passport 😭😭😭"
@just_shoki_09 questioned:
"If you're already at a university, can you still go or transfer? And are postgraduate honours available?"
@reratile23 asked:
"Do they cover your flight tickets?"
@edwin.seforo added:
"Talk more about the USA early applications for full scholarships. Do I need to take the SAT exam, and what can make me get rejected?"
Source: TikTok
More on free scholarships and study opportunities
- Briefly News recently reported on a South African woman sharing details of a paid internship programme for unemployed graduates.
- A TikTok user shared a plug for free short courses offered by the National School of Government.
- A gent shared details of 5,000 free Google Career Certificate scholarships available to South Africans.
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Source: Briefly News
