kotatsumuri

Whoa, that's wild @lordtiandao! It's interesting to hear about your interview experiences...I'm sure it'll be helpful to anyone else who has interviews down the road. Thanks for sharing! It can be hard to know what the adcoms are thinking about sometimes...
Very cool, @costevens! Buddhism is so interesting (and Shinto, too!). I look forward to learning more in grad school. I expect I'll be learning some Chinese eventually too...and I'd love to study Korean, just because.
And I agree about the thread! I was worried it had died there for a bit, but I think we were all just busy getting our December apps in--and then recovering from it all, haha! I stalked the old EALC threads for several years before it was time to apply myself, and it's so great to have others to talk with! I can see us all crossing paths at future conferences

Hi @allichan!! Good luck with you GRE and the JET app! It's a long process...if you have any questions or want to talk about it feel free to ask (PM me if you like)! I did JET for 2 years
As for your Japanese levels...do you have any programs in mind that you're interested in? I would suggest looking at their requirements as that may vary. I've seen some programs that require a certain number of semesters/years of language study. JET would be a good opportunity to improve your language! But you've got some study already, at least, so I think that's a plus.

I would say check the admissions pages--both the graduate admissions page and the specific program page--for each of the schools you're looking at. I'm in the same boat and I've found it varies; some schools are making me complete a separate application while it seems that others will consider (or forward?) my app to the MA program if they don't think I'm ready for the PhD.
And when in doubt you can always reach out to admissions! Best to find out sooner rather than later Good luck!

I would say check the admissions pages--both the graduate admissions page and the specific program page--for each of the schools you're looking at. I'm in the same boat and I've found it varies; some schools are making me complete a separate application while it seems that others will consider (or forward?) my app to the MA program if they don't think I'm ready for the PhD.
And when in doubt you can always reach out to admissions! Best to find out sooner rather than later Good luck!

Hi @kotatsumuri! Yes of course you can still join! Are you thinking of going straight into a PhD? Which schools are you looking into? Are you considering any MA programs?
 

This is so bizarre, I've been lurking in old EALC threads & researching schools for the last few hours!! I've been hoping for a few months that someone would make a new thread for this year...GradCafe has been by far the most helpful site I've come across in my grad school research, so major props to everyone here!
I'm thinking about applying for Fall 2018, so I hope I'm still allowed to join in and ask questions! I graduted in 2012 with a BA in History/Asian Studies and a minor in Japanese Studies. Spent 2 years with JET after graduatation and another ~1.5 at a Japanese university. Came back in April and I'm still adjusting and trying to figure things out. I'm certain that I want to learn more, but I'm not gonna lie--the PhD process is intimidating. I'm interested in pre-modern Japanese history (esp. medieval) and interactions between Buddhism & Shinto!
I'm excited to hear about everyone's experiences & best of luck! Nice to meet you