A pre-admission document has an issuer and a limited purpose
The central CGS guide accepts the specified pre-admission material issued through the intended institution, including the relevant notices or supervisor invitations. The recipient’s actual procedure decides what is accepted. A casual email saying a topic is interesting is not automatically the required document.
Beihang’s closed 2026 example directed applicants to its acceptance-letter format and the designated CSC upload field. SIGS’s funding information similarly uses pre-admission in its Type B process. These are examples of evidence supporting review, not scholarship award letters.
Read what remains conditional
A useful document names the applicant, programme, study period and issuing academic unit, and should be assessed against the recipient’s requested form. If it depends on final graduation, language evidence or later university assessment, those conditions remain outstanding. Do not remove them when explaining the document to a family.
The distinction can be stated simply: the university may be prepared to consider or receive the candidate, while the funding body still decides whether the costs will be supported. Neither an informal invitation nor nomination necessarily changes that order.
Put this guide into practice
Create a short record for your intended programme. Add the relevant notice or document beside each item; leave unpublished details marked “to confirm”.
- Required issuer and format of pre-admission evidence
- Admission, nomination and final funding recorded separately
- Covered costs and costs you still have to pay
Do not spend as though the final funding letter has arrived
Before a non-refundable travel or housing commitment, identify the final admission notice and the scholarship notification, including covered items and registration conditions. A pre-admission letter may be needed to obtain those decisions but cannot establish their amounts.
Illustrative file review: a letter names a master’s place but contains no stipend or housing wording. The correct conclusion is that the letter does not establish those benefits, not that the standard CSC rates can be inserted automatically. The next action is to finish the funding procedure and await its actual notification.
What pre-admission establishes
Current CSC guidance asks applicants to provide the required pre-admission material. SIGS’s Type B funding guidance uses pre-admission within its procedure. A supervisor’s informal email may not meet the recipient’s document requirement.
Issuer, programme and conditions must be clear
Check who must issue the document, the stated programme and intake, and whether the university has further academic conditions. A letter supporting an application should not be presented as proof that CSC will fund the degree.
FAQ
Can a supervisor’s informal email replace the required pre-admission letter?
Only if the recipient explicitly accepts that evidence. Check the required issuer and format. In any case, a supportive email or pre-admission document is not the final scholarship award.