kyjin

I went to IUC 2010-2011, and I can't recommend the program enough. It's an incredibly intense language program, and great preparation for you to utilize your Japanese in graduate school or in jobs that require Japanese. The first two quarters are all based around intense language classes based on your incoming level (classes switch around a bit based on your level from quarter to quarter). Third quarter you get some electives around your interests (for example, I was in a History class), and for the final semester you have several options include a research project or prep for the JLPT. (Many students choose to take JLPT N1 after the program; honestly the best prep you can get.) If you're planning on attending graduate school, then I would go for the program. Many graduate programs will want you to go to IUC at some point during your graduate career. In my program in Premodern Japanese History, all but one of our students went either before or during their PhDs, with the exception of the student who came in with Japanese fluency. There will also be many other students at IUC who are in graduate school or planning to apply. My year there were ten or so of us who applied for grad school while we were at IUC, and I know that having the program on the CV helped with my MA admits. I never participated in JET, but I have many friends who did it and loved it. However, if you're planning on using it for language training, don't count on it. Since you'll be working as an English teaching assistant, you aren't encouraged to use Japanese language. It's a great experience, but IUC will prep you more for graduate work in the long run. If you have any other specific questions about the program, let me know!

It really depends on where you live. I have four friends who live near me in Los Feliz without cars. They can take the metro easily to campus (red line to expo line. or there's a bus down Vermont). But getting around other parts of the city can be a pain. Downtown is easy enough from where I am, but getting to some other places can take a ton of time. You can always pick an area that's convenient for the metro for your first year, and decide later if you really need the car. I think I've said this before in the thread, but you can find some off-campus parking for free. When I do drive in, I tend to park on Frat Row (about three blocks up from campus.) In the rare events I can't find a spot, there's a dollar lot next to Shrine auditorium that's available during the week (good if you're only on campus for a couple hours and only want to spend $1 per hour.) Otherwise I go to the PSX lot which is $8 a day, but I've only had to do that twice in the last year.

FLAS varies from university to university. USC just announced their winners for the summer and year FLAS last week.

I haven't taken the plunge in trying AirBnB yet; I'm personally a fan of staying in hostels. As long as you don't mind having a bunkbed in a shared room, it's pretty cheap. In my case, I only tend to be in the hostel to sleep anyway, so amenities aren't a big deal for me. I've been pretty lucky in hitting some fantastic hostels in Canada, Japan, and Germany for various conferences an events. I also heartily recommend getting a rewards card for whatever airline you fly on most frequently. I have a United Explorer Card, and the free bags and tons of bonus air miles really make it worth it for me. Usually I book flights for conferences and such on my own, so I can use my card and get the extra miles that way.

http://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/parking-rates/ $445 a semester for "on-campus" lots, though I know some of the parking structures stopped allowing student passes this semester. UPC is $301, and that's one right off campus, about a 10 minute walk. (I park there sometimes when I come in for the day and can't find street parking.) I do have friends who drive in several days a week, and only a handful go for passes. The rest drive around for street parking a few blocks off, or pay for a day pass if nothing else is available.

At that point yes- I had decided a few days prior that even if I got in to Michigan, I really wanted to go to another program. Had about half an hour of buyer's remorse when I turned them down, but in the end I was (and still am!) extremely happy with my choice. That said, if you're on a wait list that you are considering, do wait to accept another institution. It very well may be last minute that you find out if you get in.

The GSG subsidizes a transit pass for the Metro lines; $105 a semester this year. This really makes transit prices very reasonable. I have a car, but I usually use the train to come in. When I do drive, I park a few blocks off campus on Frat Row. If I can't find a spot I'll park right off campus for $8 a day, but I usually can find free parking.

Adding to catsandscarves, yes, expect a phone call as late as April 15th. In my cycle I got in from the waitlist and they called me about 9am that day. Good luck everyone!!!

I don't think the Women's Studies MA will harm you. You have the History background in your BA, and when you do decide to enter the History PhD, you may end up picking up a second MA in History along the way. (At least that's how my program works.) In my case, my BA was in History and East Asian Studies, and I did my MA in East Asian Studies. Not having the History MA didn't hurt me; I got into two History PhDs (out of 4) in my cycle, and am doing fine in my PhD right now.

I live in a studio and have a bit of a commute to campus (30 to 45 minutes via train; about 20-30 with car), but honestly I don't mind it. My first apartment was a really tiny studio in Tokyo, so I got used to a small space. During my MA, I shared a 2-bedroom with a roommate, but I really missed having my alone time, especially since I do most of my work at home. (Also my roomie was not the greatest at cleaning, so that didn't help matters.) The neighborhood around my campus isn't exactly the greatest, so I would have to commute a bit no matter what. But to live in a really desirable area, I had to stick to a studio since that's all I could afford. My current studio is actually pretty big, with a walk-in closet and more cabinets than I could ever use in the kitchen. I have a defined bedroom, dining, and living area, and the kitchen can't be seen from my bed thanks to a wall. The only negative is that I can't allow the place to get that messy because you can see everything, but that's actually a benefit; forces me to always keep the place in good order. Like others have said, it really comes down to personal preference. For me, a studio is plenty.

They do vary. My undergrad had a terrible health centre, so I avoided it and used my home doctors as much as I could. My current institution has a great health centre that they just rebuilt a couple years ago, so it's really state of the art. Usually you can go to primaries outside of the on-campus centre as well, just as long as they're in your insurance coverage network (which is what I do for my eye and dental care; we have a dental school that I can use on campus that's cheaper, but I don't trust it), but you may have higher copays, etc. Insurance can be pretty crazy, but your campus will probably have someone you can contact who's in charge of student healthcare and can advise you with further questions as they come up.

The insurance package will vary from school to school, but generally you'll have some copay when going to specialists and for prescriptions. For my program, I can use the on-campus health center for primary care and it's completely covered by my insurance, but I still have to pay a percentage of my prescriptions. Dental and eyecare are usually separate, and again will vary from program to program on what you get. Student insurance isn't usually the best, but it should cover you for basic things and emergencies. That said, I miss Canadian healthcare! D: I lived in Alberta for two years and provincial healthcare was the best.

For USC? If so, I'll see you there!

Echoing advice of the others, it doesn't hurt to ask your POI or the graduate advisor if they have any funds to help. If you have clear amounts in mind (airfaire tix price, etc.) these can also help negotiations. When I applied for PhDs, I was in Canada finishing my MA, and one of my accepted institutions invited me down for their visit weekend, but said in their email that while they could cover domestic affair, food, and hotel, they couldn't cover international airfare . I ended up contacting the graduate advisor with tix prices that I had found from my location (~$700, which was actually some of the cheapest flights I found.) They ended up covering my flight, no problem. I now attend said institution. The fact is some programs do not have much money for these visits, but just ask, and you never know what will happen! But I wouldn't say not providing money for a visit is indicative of future support; it all depends on how they allocate their money. Perhaps by not offering flights for their visiting prospective students, they are able to fund more research funds for their current students!

I don't know why the department hasn't communicated with waitlist/rejected students yet. They sent out the list of accepted students to the current students and faculty in January and contacted accepted students (just eight this year). You might want to contact the department directly and see if they have any news for you. Perhaps they are doing a silent waitlist? Sorry I can't offer more insight!

It is. Especially for Berkeley; I have several friends over in History and PoliSci over there, and they really have to scramble for funds. Pretty bad for LA too; I make much more than that at USC and it's still tight.

Only one I know of that requires is Princeton. (Which I went through a few years ago; very intense process.) I can't think of others that require it.

1. Most US institutions offer it, but check with your specific schools. 2. No; first year students can get these awards. Some schools will delay funding news until after the FLAS deadline, others will replace your funding with FLAS for the first year, etc. I know for my school, if you receive a FLAS and the total package is less than what you are offered, your department will do a "bump up" to make up the difference. (Ie you are offered 25k by department, FLAS offers 20k, department will pay the 5k difference. My department also does this for when we TA since most of our packages are higher than the TA salary.) 3. The idea with FLAS is that you are taking specific language. Again, specifics depend from program to program as to which languages are eligible and at what level, but you are required to do language training throughout the time period of the funding. If you don't take the language, no funding. 4. See above; in lieu of, but if it works any way like it does for my institution, if there is a difference in funding, your department should provide the difference.

According to the Kickstarter, it should be out this July. I think they only have another week or two of filming to go.

Congrats saezutte on USC! I'm in the History department in USC, working on premodern Japan, but I'm in EALC all the time (TAed over there last semester, take a bunch of classes there, and am friends with most of the current grad students.) If you have any questions about the program, or moving to LA from the east coast, please let me know! For everyone else- good luck as you wait on news! It's early yet; stay positive!

They're filming it at Caltech right now. I got to be an extra on set yesterday!

Pssst~ Don't think I saw anyone on here posting about applying to USC, but History department's admits are out/coming out. Just thought I'd mention it.

23 when I started my MA, 25 when I started my PhD.

My undergrad. It was an incredible four years, and I made friends I hope to have for the rest of my life. Plus I was involved in the entire culture of the institution. My MA was just a place where I went to school. I'm marginally proud of my PhD school, but I am not a part of the university culture (football, etc) in the same way I was in undergrad.

Ah yes, but for the Asianists, we get cheaper and shorter flights from the West Coast to our archives.