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Hi Everyone!

I've been lurking in this thread for a moment but I finally decided to post here.

I'm from France (where I got my BA) but I've been living in South Korea for 4 years and a half now (where I got my MA), and I applied for a Ph.D. in EALC (Korean Studies focus) for Fall 2018. 
My expectations were really low since my GRE score is really... meh, but I received my first acceptance letter from UCLA last week and I'm so excited to say that I'm finally going back to University after a two-year break! My interests are mainly focused on Korean Popular Culture and trying to analyze the K-pop phenomena in anthropological ways. 

If anyone is going to UCLA next year or have useful information about living in LA, please tell me! I've never been to the US in my life and I'm kind of scared hahaha. I try to rationalize by thinking about how I managed to settle in Korea when I barely knew Korean but I'm still a little nervous about the whole process of moving.. 

Edited by Math48
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@Kongyiji 豈敢豈敢! I was afraid the poems would betray my lack of Chinese proficiency lol. Chinese is not even my 2nd or 3rd language actually, as I started French and Spanish first in high school and German and Japanese in freshman year, with Chinese -- and Korean -- coming much later, and I think my poems have some minor technical problems...But please overlook those small technical problems!! I'll try my best to conform to the rules...

My Japanese haiku has no technical problems, though -- in fact, its 5-7-5 syllable structure is rigid, and the English translation of the haiku also conforms to the 5-7-5 syllable structure as well. By the way, one of my favorite Japanese poets is Matsuo Basho 松尾 芭蕉.

Reading 王力先生的《诗词格律》、《诗词格律概要》、《诗词格律十讲》 http://www.wcai.net/poetry/gelu/gelu00.htm right now so I should have a good idea of how to improve on the small technical issues very soon. :D

Edited by Naito
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I think this is a very unpopular opinion of mine, and many, many people won't like it, but IMHO I think if one doesn't get into an elite PhD program, please just re-apply again next year. It's going to be a major time commitment. You want to get into the top program, which has better resources, placement record, etc. Do NOT settle. If academia doesn't work out, for example, you can leverage your elite PhD to do something else, for instance this founder of a consulting firm has a PhD from Harvard (and a BA from Middlebury, which has a very strong reputation for languages), which I imagine would help with pitching clients etc.: http://www.sinicaeducation.com/about/ Anyway do have plan B as even the top PhD grads studying with the top advisors don't get TT.

Just my two cents, 僅供參考,我之愚見,諸公姑妄聼之!

 

Edited by Naito
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@Math48, @uniquesnowflake, @lordtiandao, congrats on UCLA! I did my BA and MA there for ALC (Japanese) and would be happy to give you any insight into living in LA and the ALC department itself! lordtiandao is a fellow alumn, so you've got a few resources! It's an excellent school with a wonderful ALC and history program.

I concluded my cycle a while ago when I accepted an offer from University of Hawaii at Manoa. I've got two professors in the department who specialize in my era (Taisho) and I kept in pretty consistent contact with my POI throughout the process, so I'm really stoked to have an engaged advisor and be as close to Japan as possible (while still in the U.S.). I'm an American but I've spent most of the past 5 years studying here in Japan, and I expect to be going back and forth a lot. Best of luck to everyone still making decisions!

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Ooooh!! I see someone else posted a U Alberta acceptance...?! Haven't heard anyone else here mention they applied, but I'm curious as it's a strong possibility for me! I'd love to talk about the program so feel free to join us or PM me if you're lurking:)

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@Naito Thanks and best luck for you too!

 

:lol:@costevens同喜同喜!The email I received was from the chair and I am still waiting for funding information. Probably will choose from RSEA/Berkeley/Chicago maph. Hopefully we will meet in Boston!

Edited by SUMMER715
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4 hours ago, Naito said:

I called a current RSEA student in his 1st year, and he told me he didn't get an email from the Chair (but he got a general email) so keep checking your portal and waiting! :D

Do you know if he received funding?

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23 minutes ago, archimon said:

Do you know if he received funding?

Yes, half funding and borrowed student loans the other half.

But this friend didn't go to Harvard for undergrad. The one (who is now a law professor) that I also know got a FULL merit scholarship but he went to Harvard for his AB also in the EALC department. 

Good luck getting funding @archimon!

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Hey all. Also very elated to have gotten into RSEA with Xiaofei Tian as my advisor. Have any of the RSEA admissions heard about funding? I was accepted through Email from the chair and was told GSAS will send its own email, but maybe I’m missing something on the portal. 

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@Naito @lordtiandao @AnUglyBoringNerd @costevens @kotatsumuri @pudewen

Thank you very much for sharing your opinions and so much helpful information!! That really helps me make a decision. I guess the time it takes to finish a PhD would be daunting for almost everyone in every program:(

Sorry for my delayed reply, as I forgot my password and had some difficulty recovering my account...

Also really enjoyed the poetry symposium in the post!

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Congrats on all the RSEA offers and pray for your funding!

Also came up with a Chinese poem to share, kindled by what is now going on in China.

廿年書海苦奔忙,時勢洪流未可量。
漫道士人須諤諤,何如狗子且汪汪。
蜉蝣空寄千秋議,翰墨聊修一葦航。
徹夜聽風眠不得,應憐春早滿庭芳。

However I am not quite familiar with the technique issues of English poems (wondering which pattern to follow) so I am still trying to figure out the proper way to translate it...

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1 hour ago, thesiswillbegreat said:

漫道士人須諤諤,何如狗子且汪汪。
蜉蝣空寄千秋議,翰墨聊修一葦航。

Is such an irony being an aspiring historian in this chaotic era

I am gonna switch back to my political scientist mode a bit...

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