Jump to content

sarahBsarah

Members
  • Posts

    16
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by sarahBsarah

  1. Heading to Stanford!

  2. I would also say ask him, of course he'll understand. On the other hand, I think you have a good thing going at U of W. There are great things about Yale's program, but it's not the best in terms of preparing one to apply directly to a PhD. That's why in the end I chose Stanford over Yale (plus who can beat the weather in California! Haha). First, you don't get an advisor. I had a friend who went to Yale, and she said it was kind of hard not having an advisor. Second, there's no thesis requirement, so there is less support for doing really in-depth original research. Third, it's just a one year program. There are a couple of disadvantages there. Like was mentioned above, you've only been in classes a couple of months when you have to ask professors for LoRs, so they just don't know you that well. Also, another big advantage of a 2-year program is that you can apply for grants to do research over the summer-- SO important in applying to phd programs! I have a friend who did the program at Yale, and is now at Stanford doing a second masters to prepare for her PhD application. So that could be another option for you. In the end, consider your options carefully, and do what you think will be best for you. Good luck!
  3. I'm still considering, but if I don't hear back from Columbia in time then it's Stanford for me. Also East Asian Studies. I'm interested in late Qing/early Republican Chinese history as well as Japanese history of the same time period. What are your interests? Are you thinking of going on for phd? I actually don't know all that much about Stanford EAS (and yet still considering going there lol), do you know what the program is known for, where strengths lie, etc?
  4. Sorry for that Jolin. :-( Even though I'm in, I didn't get any funding, so it's pretty the same as getting rejected. Do any of the other Yale admits know anything about funding?
  5. Does anyone know anything about Columbia MARSEA (Weatherhead Institute)? I see that EALAC results are out, but haven't seen any MARSEA (regional studies, east asia). Last year there weren't any posted until mid/late April. That seems far too long to wait.
  6. Yale acceptance-- but don't know about funding.

  7. Hi! I've also been admitted to Berkeley, and my going there is also contingent on FLAS funding, so we're in the same boat! Apparently the committee was due to meet on March 5 to finalize the FLAS rankings. So the results should be out soon!
  8. Last night I dreamed I got rejected by Harvard and then was chased by raptors.

    1. ellen20148

      ellen20148

      Congratulations. You've had a weirder admissions dream than me. That's pretty hard to do.

  9. Oh, and this: Them: So you're applying to grad school? Me: Yes, I'm applying to X, Y, and Z [top name schools which accept only the best of the best and require years of immaculate preparation]. Them: Oh, well my [neighbor, friend, boyfriend's sister] applied to [local no-name nothing school], and they got in and are just loving grad school. So I'm sure you'll do fine! Me: facepalm Them: Oh, here, let me give you their email address, I'm sure they have tons of great advice for you.
  10. "Ailinna, you're already [X] years old, that's not very young, you know. By the time you finish grad school, you'll be [Y] years old, and no one will want to marry you. You'll end up alone and childless. You should get married first and think about grad school later." Also, I get the "Oh, I'm sure you'll get in EVERYWHERE, you're BRILLIANT" line a lot. But only from people who dropped out of community college and have no idea what they are talking about.
  11. Ok. I am officially TIRED of WAITING to hear the results! It's hard to wait for other people to decided upon your future! Guess I just need to distract myself with school and the start of the new semester....
  12. Confused about Columbia EALAC, Columbia Weatherhead, and Columbia LSMA...

  13. Check out the Critical Language Scholarship summer program. Fully funded and located in Korean. Also, look at University of Washington. hope that helps!
  14. I've really wondered about that too! Funny to find out someone else is also thinking about this stuff.
  15. I was so excited and surprised to hear about my first acceptance that I posted it in all caps with the name of the school. I was just so excited, and have worked so hard for several years, that I really just wanted to shout from the rooftops. But I'm not going to to that for every school (ok, but if Yale accepts me, FB friends can expect some more all caps and exclamation points). I really don't see anything wrong with that. It's a huge, huge part of my life, and the reason I'm on facebook is to share my life and my struggles and victories with others.
  16. Thanks for the congrats, ifindalex! They sent me an email yesterday! I was seriously shocked, I didn't think I'd be hearing from anybody for at least another 3 weeks. I hope that them sending me an email so early is a sign of good things to come (i.e. funding!). Berkeley isn't my number 1 choice, but I'm relieved that I at least got in somewhere. I didn't really apply to any "safe" schools (I'd rather go get a job than go to school I'm not interested in), so lately I had started worrying about what I would do if I didn't get in anywhere. Thankfully, don't have to worry about that now!
  17. I also received an email about this. Applied: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Berkeley, Stanford Accepted: Berkeley Rejected:
  18. Just got accepted to Berkeley Asian Studies MA!

  19. I'm applying to masters programs which do not require a writing sample, but you can provide one if you want. I've been out of college for 4 years, and am applying for a different field than I did in undergrad, so I don't have a lot of good choices for writing samples. I'm thinking of including a 6-page paper that is really just ok, not outstanding (linguistically it is written quite well, and I did lots of reading for it, but the line of arguing wasn't sustained all that well), and not directly related to the field I am applying to. Should I include this paper as a writing sample? Or just not include one at all? Thanks!
  20. I'm excited to see a post for this year's cycle! I'm applying for EAS masters programs, and one PhD program for good measure. My languages are Mandarin, Japanese, Classical Chinese, and some Cantonese (along with the usual set of European languages). My interests include history, contemporary and historical international relations, and linguistic history, as well as history of Chinese medicine. NOT interested in pursuing PhD in Chinese literature, though I'd love to take a few classes. I feel confident about being accepted to at least some of the masters programs. The real trick will be getting funding! Yoroshiku! 认识你们我很高兴! Applying: Yale, Harvard, Princeton (PhD), Columbia, Berkeley, Stanford, possibly Duke. EAS masters, Chinese history/international relations
  21. kdavid, You have a great goal, and you've taken some good steps towards achieving it. Before I say anything, I'd like to say this: The #1 most important part of your Chinese history phd application is to have a proven record of extensive research in the field of Chinese history, utilizing target-language primary sources. I have walked a similar road as you, and I think there are a few things that I can help you with. The first few points could be called a rather harsh "reality check." First: A masters in history at a Chinese university (even at Beida, the Harvard of China) is of little value, especially if the person earning the masters is a foreigner. This is not my personal opinion. This is straight out of the mouth of a well-known Princeton professor. What it will do for you is show that you have above-average Chinese language ability. What it will NOT do is make up for your lack of an undergrad Chinese history major. I would have to go into a lot of detail to prove this point, but in a nutshell: Chinese graduate school is very poor quality (although this is beginning to change in the areas of science and technology). I am serious when I say that top-10 Chinese history profs will view a masters from a Chinese university as a cop-out. Second: Your English teaching experience, extensive though it may be, is also of little value. All 5-6 years of it is worth no more than a 1-sentence mention in your SoP. This is because teaching English is completely unrelated to the field of Chinese history. If you were applying to TESOL masters programs, you'd be set. But no history professor is going to be impressed by English teaching (and let's admit it, foreigners teaching English in China, even at a "professional" level, are a dime a dozen). Third: At this point you may stop reading. But do continue on: I've had to learn all these things the hard way, and I'd rather you not have to. Here's the last "reality check" I have for you, before I start listing your 优点。I know exactly what it feels like to be a foreigner in China, especially a foreigner who speaks good Chinese. It feels really good. We get respect, compliments, friendships, job offers out the wazoo. After months or years of this, we start to believe that we really are spectacular -- unique -- even brilliant. (I'm sure you've been called a language 天赋 many times. Haven't we all.) And then when we come home to the US, people fawn all over us all over again. Wow, you've lived in China! Wow, you speak Chinese! You must be brilliant! So, to the average Chinese, and the average American, we are obviously Ivy League material. But the Ivy league profs and admissions committees, they can see through all the fluff and gloss. I'm not saying that you're NOT brilliant. I don't know you, I have no idea. But your plan for applying to an Ivy League PhD i can say with some assurance will not get you in. Here's the good news. First: Your preparations are quite likely to get you into an Ivy League masters program. Once there, you can 弥补 your research 不足, and apply to PhD programs again, this time with a great deal of confidence. Second:I have spent years in China. I understand your drive (as perhaps normal Americans do not) to attend a 名校. And I completely support you in that. In the threads above, no one mentioned the fact that humanities PhDs are in oversupply. Even grads from top-tier schools have difficulty finding jobs. Advice given to me by a Yale prof: If you can't attend a top-10 program (I don't mean Ivy League-- I mean top 10 in CHinese history), don't attend at all. Third: Cheers to your language prep! To round out your language skills, I'd definitely work on Japanese and Classical Chinese. I hope that was helpful. Good luck! (And if you do get into an Ivy phd program, I'll be thrilled to death). -- b
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use