Grateful Letter from a Silk Road Scholarship Recipient
"You told me to start six months early. You were right.
When I first wrote to SICAS I didn't even know the Silk Road Scholarship exist. I just told your advisor that I want to study in China for my master's degree but my family cannot pay the fees. She didn't send me a long price list like other agencies. She ask me about my bachelor's grades, my IELTS, and what I want to study. Then she told me the truth: my grades are okay but not top, so my study plan and my timing must be better than other students who also want to study in China.
She check my documents so many times I was almost angry, haha. One time she said my physical exam will expire before I arrive and I must do it again. I was thinking she is too careful. But at the university interview they ask me about the same date, and because I follow her advice everything was correct.
When the award letter come I call my mother first and then I message her at midnight China time. She answer me straight away. Straight away!!
Now I am in my first semester in China, sitting in my dormitory between two classes, and I write this letter because every word she told me was true.
You didn't just help me apply — you help me win. My younger brother want to study in China too, and I already tell him: don't wait for the application to open. Write to SICAS now."
— Mariam, Egypt (name changed at the student's request)
(Full Silk Road Scholarship recipient, 2026 intake — now in the first semester of her master's degree in China)
Mariam started preparing months before her application window opened. You can read why that timing matters in our guide to early preparation for the Silk Road Scholarship, or join the Belt and Road / CSC Scholarship Talent Pool to be matched with Silk Road partner universities — the Silk Road Scholarship is open to master's and doctoral applicants from Belt and Road countries.
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Apply Now: https://www.sicas.cn/StudentLogin.aspx
