kyjin

I assume people will start posting once results come in. Still probably a month before we start hearing official offers.

It's a smart idea to google yourself every now and then and see how your internet "image" is. I've been doing this long before applying for graduate school, mainly because I have an uncommon name, and the first few pages of googled items under my name are mostly connected to me. It's a good idea to keep your facebook under high privacy settings, and if your twitter is under your real name, locking it to private is also good. Things that you really want to keep private but public, such as a blog, should not include any link to your name or facebook, etc. I really don't mind if the adcomms google me- there's a link to my facebook and twitter which are under private locks, but aside from that I have links to my undergraduate departments, conferences I've been in, and an article from my undergraduate college describing what graduates were doing this year.

It depends on the school and the department. I was recently offered early admission to the University of Alberta for their East Asian Studies MA, and I'm guaranteed full funding.

Skype is extremely helpful. I'm currently abroad in Japan, but I was able to have a skype video interview with a potential advisor. Another schools's professor is in Tokyo this week, so I will be meeting up with him today! When it comes to decision time, see if you can arrange skype or email chats with current graduate students. We may not be able to visit potential campuses, but you can still talk to people! Good luck!

Degree: PhD/MA in Japanese History Schools Applied To: MA:UAlberta, UIllinois; PhD: Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, WashU Fellowships Applied For: None Undergraduate School (or school type) Major: Dual Major in History and East Asian Studies Experience in Asia or in Field: Majored in EAST in college, studied Japanese for 4 and 1/2 years, currently living in Japan attending the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies

Yeah, apparently. I'm a US citizen, and was told that full funding was available.

I'm applying to UAlberta, and while they also do not require the GRE, the professor I spoke to recommended it, if only because it allows them to apply for more scholarships/fellowships for me if I'm accepted. The GRE is required for my other programs, so it's not a big deal for me. If you're really concerned, email the department and ask, though it sounds like it's not worth your time.

Score reports contain all of your GRE scores over the past 5 years, so yes, they will get your original scores. (Works the same with SAT.) If you decide to apply to one of the four schools you sent your original scores to, you'll have to pay to report the new scores to them.

I'm applying to seven; five PhD and two MA programs.

Congrats! Do you mind if I ask how you studied for the retake? (I'm retaking in a couple weeks.)

I just had an issue adding recommenders today, and the school says to email apply yourself directly. Seems like the best option.

The only one I know of is University of Alberta (which is my top-choice for MA.) I talked to one of the professors there, and he said that all their MA students received full funding this year. Hope this helps!

I took the GRE for the first time today, and while I was pleased with my quantitative score, verbal ended up being a mess. So, I'm planning on studying solely verbal and taking the exam again at the end of October so I can get scores in time for the application season. The thing is I'm moving to Japan on Monday for the next ten months, and will have to take the test abroad. Has anyone else taken the test while abroad? Did you find the experience different than taking it in the US? (The test is still in English, right? ;_ Thanks!

I'll be 23 if I start Fall 2011. (Just a year off between undergrad and grad studies.)

Not all of the countries have pre-departures in DC, so you might fall under that category. I didn't get one either because Japan doesn't have a pre-departure.

I didn't see one, but that's probably because Japan doesn't have a pre-departure orientation. The waiting continues!

To the recent alternates/declined students- I hope this cheers you up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sPkVFjVXcQ Hang in there everyone!

More than a week probably. The principles have three weeks to decide, and even after that there could be more money floating around. Plus IIE won't contact us unless we get it.

Welcome to the alternate party. *hands a beer* We've got about a 1 in 3 shot at this point. It comes down to a)how many people decide to accept grants and b)if the countries get more money. Just try to relax and not worry about it; you never know when we may hear back.

From last year's list it looked like a lot of people were moved off alternate status in late April/early May. Don't lose hope! At this point I'm trying not to think about the "what if I get off the alternate list", rather getting excited about my backup plan. If Fulbright does happen, it will be a pleasant surprise.

I think it's just the form number since all alternates have the same letter. I also had AL-1, and from what I saw from last year's thread, so did all the other alternates. Lots of people on alternate status heard back mid to late April, so there's still hope!

That's really exciting! Congrats!

Wow, what a 360 turn of emotions for me. After finding out about my alternate status for Japan at noon today and spending the afternoon mopey in depressed, at five I got an email from my back-up program at Inter-University Center for Japanese Studies in Japan. So no matter what, I'll be in Japan this fall! For any other alternates: I read through last year's thread, and over twenty people posted about getting through after being put on alternate status, especially in mid-April. So there is still hope for us! Good luck everyone!

Just got my letter from the NY office- alternate for Japan. I was hoping to be out-right rejected rather than having to wait longer. Does anyone know how to find out how you rank in the alternate pool?

I actually just took a look back at last year's thread and saw that someone who got Japan last year also got it by email. On the one hand, now I can stop checking my snail mail obsessively. On the other, now I'm refreshing my email every five minutes. (It doesn't help that I found out the country's already announced their teacher exchanges, so they must be almost ready for the student awards too...)