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Absolutely this. Thanks for making the distinction, MangoSmoothie. If you feel like you have the time (and the will) to spend 3-5 years teaching English, JET offers so much more. It's a way to make Japan a permanent and essential part of your identity, in addition to a rank on the JLPT. Maybe that's the reason why MangoSmoothie and I feel so strongly about the program. It's like I'm defending a part of myself from being weighed against IUC, hahaha! Because "every situation is different" on JET, I will say that I had one of the most inaka placements that exists on the program. I lived in a mountain village of about 2,000 people that had four buses daily to make the two hour trip to the nearest "major" (HA!) city. English just plain wasn't an option for me. And I couldn't have asked for anything better. If you decide to do JET, IUC will still be there during your grad studies and you will probably get funding from your department to go. I'm sure that I could spend this summer, or an academic year later on, at IUC brushing up on my writing (the one skill that immersion might not teach you if you are not vigilant in your use of the language). I know a few people that have finished an MA and spent some time off on JET (as both CIRs and ALTs), but I also get the impression that they are leaving academia and JET is their transition job. Generally, grad school-->JET is rarer (but certainly not impossible). Lastly, you will get to see what life without school is like. I don't know your exact situation, so you could very well be coming back to undergrad after working or being in the military, but it was very important for me to experience a steady job for a few years before figuring out that yes, I really did want to go back to school. Having said all of that, IUC is without question the best language school that you could attend in order to prep for graduate school. It will give you its own set of unique experiences and contacts. It's a hard decision to make, jetting, but luckily you don't have any bad choices. Good luck!

As someone who did JET but not IUC, I'd like to give the opposite opinion: JET is one of the absolute best ways to not only learn the language, but become linguistically and culturally fluent. I spent multiple years speaking and living my life almost exclusively in Japanese. I spoke English in my classes and to two of my English teachers, but that was it when it came to work. The beauty of the program is that it makes you responsible to yourself: Do you want to live a life in English in Japan? You can do that and be supported. Do you want to live your life in Japanese? You can do that, too. Or you can mix and match to fit with your own wants. On top of all of that, you get paid well. I paid off 100% of my students loans and still had money to travel to 40 prefectures in my time in Japan. I spent most nights in the bars, or at indie shows, or going to onsen--not doing homework--and doing all of it with my friends that didn't speak (and didn't expect me to speak) any English. That experience was invaluable. One of the major problems with IUC is that it is still a classroom. You won't have the same ability to spend your days living "real life." Your academic vocabulary might be strong, but you won't have the deep, meaningful cultural background that comes from sharing the same everyday grind that everyone else lives. JET gave me the ability to hold long conversations with people of all ages and a variety of cultural backgrounds. I don't mean I have perfect vocabulary or grammar. I mean I can joke, make references, shift perspectives to keep a native-level flow of conversation. I can make fun of the right people at the right time with the right tone of voice. I know how to start, lead, and end a conversation with a teenager, or the woman working at the city office, or the vice principal of a high school, or a 90-year old woman that only speaks Tohoku-ben. Most importantly, I can apply all of this experience to what I read in my seminars. My classmates that did IUC (some did both a summer and a year) just don't have that same kind of breadth and depth. They "learned" all of these things, whereas I had to live them. I guess the main difference I see is this--and I absolutely don't intend this to be a dig at you, Kyjin, I just want to use this quote to illustrate my own perspective/experience: All of the programs that accepted me this round told me straight up that a big reason that they selected me was because I wouldn't have to go to IUC. JET (and the private teaching job I got because of JET) let me live in Japan until the exact moment that I knew I was ready for graduate studies. Spending a few years to build that fundamental cultural and linguistic base had two major benefits for me: I never feel overwhelmed by the language, assigned readings, or research and I got to choose to apply for grad school at the time that worked best for me, rather than having that decision made for me because of a specific program length. Obviously, I'm biased, but I found JET to be the absolute best prep for graduate school outside of getting an actual graduate degree in Japanese from a top Japanese university--I met some grad students that did that and the difference is like night + day. Anyway, that's my take, feel free to take it with all of the grains of salt that you need.

I realize now that SFS = School of Foreign Service. It's outside my area of expertise, but I imagine that any funding at all (even tuition waivers) are outside the norm. Unlike the rest of us that face a humanities job market, Georgetown SFS would probably be a wise investment even at 40K. I think I'm confused because I thought you had accepted UPenn's offer. If you haven't, no worries. If you have told them that you will attend, however, that's a much trickier situation. It would burn a big bridge (in a small field), and not perhaps for the best reasons. Word travels fast and never gets better as it goes. Going back on a PhD offer from UPenn to attend Harvard's PhD might be justifiable (even if those connections at UPenn would be strained moving forward), but choosing the MA only to reapply in a season or two could be a major risk.

Sukasa, congrats on your acceptance to Georgetown. It's a really strong program and you are lucky to receive a tuition waiver. When you say you will receive stipends, does that mean you would have enough money to live? Even with a tuition waiver, I imagine living in the area of DC would be rather expensive. Expensive enough that, without stipend support, you might go $40K in debt over the course of the program just trying to live. This is totally off-topic, but can we start calling tuition waivers what they are? Monopoly money. It says so much about academia that tuition waivers are considered "income." Congrats, Ashlee. When you say it's too late to consider an MA, haven't you already accepted a PhD offer?

My plan is to use my time on buses and planes, in airports, between meetings etc. to shut off the WIFI, kick my procrastination (thanks, GC!) to the curb, and write, write, write. It's helped me to set goals that I force myself to meet before I get back home--and tell my advisor my plans to give me a bit more incentive to follow through! This week: fully draft chapter 3 of my thesis before I get off the bus in front of my apartment.

Nice work, Ashlee! I'm glad that you landed somewhere you will be happy! I get the impression that most PhD acceptances for US schools are out now. Campus visit season seems to be upon us, so I'm working double time on my thesis to make up for time lost over the next few weeks.

Sorry to hear about the rejection, splintercat, especially from your own advisor! It looks like your other options are much closer to what you are interested in and at equally prestigious programs. Still more evidence that fit is the name of the game!

It's good to know you still have a shot at Harvard, fancypants. Making the waitlist at a school of Harvard's caliber is still something to celebrate, I'd say!

Awesome news splintercat! I just sent you a PM about your Yale visit. Thanks for the update fancypants. Too bad about not getting admitted, but it sounds like you will have a valuable connection there in the end.

I just got an informal acceptance from my POI at UCLA. I thought for sure I was out because others received official letters, but it looks like acceptances are rolling out over a couple days--including the weekend! Thought it would be nice to update people who are still waiting. Good luck all!

Big congrats to fancypants and all of the other UCLA admits! Such an awesome program, I bet you are ecstatic! Would you mind if I ask what your research interests are?

It sounds like you had a good grasp of what they wanted out of the interview, which means you probably did great. In the case of Michigan, I imagine the law degree is a big plus. CJS graduates students with dual MA/JDs. I met one grad who incorporates law extensively in her literary research and it sounds absolutely fascinating. Best of luck with your results!

How did the interview go? Did it feel like an interview or more like a pitch/visit? Did you get the impression that they were interviewing all the potential candidates for this year? I heard from my POI at Berkeley that I would be accepted and I'm waiting on an official email from the department and grad school on the results of a fellowship nomination. I feel like more people will be hearing from them in a few days as they get funding lined up for all the students in different fields.

I didn't apply to some of the big name schools, so I could be missing some info, but the only program that comes to mind that requires interviews is Princeton. I was there last week and I can say that it was a proper interview. Definitely not a "visit." My impression is that other programs interview some candidates--Yale for example this year--while the majority do not do interviews at all. The results page for each program should give you a good idea of what is standard.

That's awesome. Congrats! It's a great program. Not sure if you are doing modern to contemporary Japanese, but Jonathan Zwicker and Chris Hill are both really fantastic.