Language Applicants for 2014!

Scroll to see replies

Pooled and rejected for MML (French and German) at Cambridge. :frown:

Disappointing, but trying to be positive about it and move on. It does make me wonder though if it really was the place for me. Now I'm just hoping I receive offers from Durham and St Andrews.

Reply 461

bonesbones

I'm hoping to get a place in Edinburgh studying Japanese and Linguistics!

p.s. I've actually already studied a year of an English and French degree at Warwick University but I ended up dropping out at the end of the year (this May) on medical grounds; I'd be happy to answer any related questions

Reply 462

tuttiflutey

Hello

new to this thread...

I've got offers for French and German from Oxford, Nottingham and Bangor. Still waiting to hear from Durham and Edinburgh (at least now the main UCAS deadline has passed they can no longer say that they're waiting to receive all the applications...)

Reply 463

StarryInk07

Original post by tuttiflutey

Hello

Hello again! :smile:

I'm still waiting to hear from Durham too! Was not impressed with their Festive Greetings email because as soon as I see the word "admissions" in an email address I get majorly freaked out! :tongue:

Do you have any idea which uni you're putting down as your insurance?

Reply 464

beau-malheur

Hey guys

Any of u oxford offer holders got an offer from Worcester? That's the college I've got my offer from, for French and beginners Russian!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 465

beau-malheur

Original post by StarryInk07

were you called to two different colleges for extra interviews? Sounds pretty intense.

Hi!
Just thought I would join the convoooooo cossss i had 8 interviews and seeing this made me smile xD
It was worth it in the end and it was a great experience but there was one point I just wanted to cry because I ended up with 5 interviews on a day when I wasn't supposed to have any! Ahhhh the stress of that day...

Also I was wondering, are u going to be doing Arabic from scratch? If so I was wondering what kind of stuff they asked u to do in the Arabic interviews, maybe it was similar to the Russian ones :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 466

StarryInk07

Original post by beau-malheur

Posted from TSR Mobile

Hiya! 8 interviews??? That sounds absolutely terrifying! :O How many different colleges did they send you to? Worcester is absolutely gorgeous though! Was it your first choice college? Haha, definitely worth it! :wink:

Well done! (And to think that I was freaking out about getting one extra interview! :colondollar:

I only had four in total.)
Yep, completely from scratch. Oh wow, Russian! What made you choose Russian in particular? :biggrin:

It's going to be so exciting studying a language ab-initio! XD The questions varied a lot... At one point, I was given a hypothetical situation and asked what I would do... A few questions on translation and the concept of literature in general. Quite a bit on religion and politics. What about you? :smile:

I imagine the interviews would be quite similar in that they want to see how you apply your knowledge to new ideas...? I don't know, I'm just guessing here! ^^" Did you by any chance have to sit a pre-interview language aptitude test?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 467

Elirin95

Hi! new to this thread! :smile:

I've got offers from Bath (russian and Politics) and Birmingham (Russian Studies and International Relations) and I'm still waiting for Exeter, Sheffield and Bristol to reply. All of them are from ab-initio.

I've read that many of you have chosen russian.. how interesting! I thought I was an exception!
(I'm not an UK student, so I have no idea about students' preferences in the UK ahahaha)

Reply 468

Jackie9404

Original post by StarryInk07

I had the same experience when I got called for an interview at Pembroke. Didn't have any time to look around! Lincoln is really pretty, and apparently the food is amazing. :biggrin:

So were you called to two different colleges for extra interviews? Sounds pretty intense.
It sounds so cliché but I wanted to take up a new and completely different language... The Arab world is fascinating and the language is so beautiful and complex. And Spanish and Arabic really complement each other because of the cultural, historical and lexical links stemming from Moorish Spain. It just seemed like the perfect course for me. :love:

What about you? Do you study both French and German at A-level? :smile:

I'd love to take up German but I just don't have the time at the moment.
The college is pretty big. Haha, well, at least you managed to find your way out in the end! :wink:

Haha- thank you, my friends have all looked it up... It does look very nice actually, a lot nicer than St Catherine's (my original college). No I didn't actually. St Catz share German tutors with St John's, so the German interviews were just held there.
You definitely sound up to the challenge of learning it :rolleyes:

- I'm always terrified of learning another language- even though it's exciting, I find it so daunting being faced with a language which I have no knowledge of! I would love to start learning Spanish though.
Yeah, I study French and German at the minute :biggrin:

I love both but I must admit that German is my favourite. It's not the most beautiful sounding, but the challenge of the grammar, and the complex nouns (they have a word to mean 'a man with a punchable face') makes it so fascinating to me. If you get a chance- you should definitely take it up :smile:

Yeah, we did eventually :wink:

Reply 469

amelie1995

Original post by Grozdova.

Pooled and rejected for MML (French and German) at Cambridge. :frown:

Disappointing, but trying to be positive about it and move on. It does make me wonder though if it really was the place for me. Now I'm just hoping I receive offers from Durham and St Andrews.

Same here (ab initio German though).. it was a horrible process, no one really understands if they haven't been through it! Good luck with the other two, I'm off to Durham! :smile:

Reply 470

Grozdova.

Original post by amelie1995

Same here (ab initio German though).. it was a horrible process, no one really understands if they haven't been through it! Good luck with the other two, I'm off to Durham! :smile:

Ditto! It was a great experience overall, but there are some parts of it that I definitely wouldn't want to relive. I think I drove everyone insane whilst in the pool! Ooh, hope you enjoy Durham. :biggrin:

It's a really nice place.

Reply 471

amelie1995

Original post by Grozdova.

It's a really nice place.

I'm trying to think that the benefits of applying outweigh the tiny fact of rejection, i.e all that extra reading served me well, and scary interviews - so happy I did it despite the consequences! The pool thread saved me I have to say!

Reply 472

Grozdova.

Original post by amelie1995

Yeah, same! It's all too easy to wallow in self-pity and think that it was all a waste of time, but I'm so glad I applied now. Even just being pooled is a good thing in a sense because at least it means you are Cambridge standard. The pool thread was my lifeline too! So glad I don't have to check my emails every 5 seconds now.

Reply 473

beau-malheur

Original post by StarryInk07

Hiya!

I applied to Brasenose, had one interview there for French (which was my first one and I didn't enjoy it at alllllll). Then I had a Russian interview at the Taylor Institution which was a centralised interview, not for any particular college just for the uni. In that they asked me a lot about how I would cope with the intensity of the course etc and they gave me some linguisticsy stuff to do as well. After thatttt I had another Russian one based at University college but interviewing for brasenose if that makes sense. That one was a lot more about literature etc.
Thennnn surprise surprise lying in bed at 9:20 cos I wasn't supposed to have interviews and I get a phone call "hi u have another interview in 20 mins at Worcester for French", got ready the quickest I've ever done in my life and rushed there but I really enjoyed that interview :smile:

)
After that, I had one at wadham (Russian), two at Lady Margaret Hall, and another at University but for French.

As for why Russian, it sounds really dumb but it started because of the alphabet xD i thought it was so cool so I went away and taught it to myself but then I just wanted to know more and more of the language. I then found out that Russia's history and literature is soooo rich so I thought what better way to study it than at uni! Although unlike youuuu if they had asked me about religion I wouldn't have known what to say so I'm glad I didn't get those kind of questions. Why did u pick Arabic? :smile:

Are you nervous about the intensity of the course at all despite the excitement? I'm kind of between nervous and excited and just generally ahhhhh!

But yeah, I had to do the French test and the general language aptitude test. You?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 474

StarryInk07

Original post by Jackie9404

Yeah, we did eventually :wink:

I liked Catz when I went for my Spanish interview (same reason, they share the tutors with St John's) and everyone was really friendly, but I can see why you think Lincoln is nicer. :wink:

So I guess getting the offer from Lincoln instead of your original choice is actually a bonus! :biggrin:

Haha, I'm actually quite worried about how language-intensive it will be. I mean, I'm so looking forward to it (A-level grades permitting... *fingers crossed*) but I know that it will be tough. Ah, you definitely should! Spanish is great! :colondollar:

I know the Oxford Language Centre offer beginners' courses. If I can manage it, I'd quite like to keep up my French whilst at uni. I've forgotten most of it which is pretty upsetting.
I think German sounds quite refreshing... I'm not sure if that's the word. ^^" But it sounds quite direct, if that makes sense, which I like. And the German teacher at school told me that the grammar and syntax reflects this...? I actually did some work experience in Germany despite not knowing any German (not sure if phrasebook German counts! :tongue:

I felt really bad about it!). That's incredible. Are there lots of nouns like that? Ahhh, I'm really tempted. :smile:

Reply 475

enimpri

Offer from Durham yesterday :biggrin:

French, German and ab initio Italian

Reply 476

scott18044

Relieved to have heard back from Bath, was thinking it might be a rejection from there- just waiting on St Andrews now! :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 477

beau-malheur

Original post by StarryInk07

Hmmmmm I think Worcester and brasenose were pretty equal to me, I almost applied to Worcester actually. I loved being at brasenose for interviews but I can honestly see myself at Worcester just as easily. Which college did u apply to again? (Sorry!)

I have read quite a bit of Russian literature in translation yeah, but I can't wait to get good enough to read it in the original language ^_^
I'm guessing it's the same for you and Arabic?
Omgsh someone else who got interested by the alphabet xD hehe
I don't know much about Spanish/Arabic history unfortunately, but it sounds like you are really interested in it :smile:

is moorish Spain ur "favourite" part if u like? I have an obsession with Catherine the Great of Russia haha!

But yeah, Arabic is really good to have for business as well right? Is that something you are looking into as a career path, or haven't you thought about it yet orrrrrr?

I would say that religion has a strong presence in the sense that you can see churches everywhere, with golden roofs etc :smile:

well in Moscow, st Petersburg and areas around them it's like that anyway, I'm not sure about the rest of Russia.
I'm kind of scared about the workload too, but I don't want to worry about it til it happens, got to meet my offer first! But I know an abinitio language is gunna be a huge workload wherever tbh, so oxford is gunna be crazyyyy...

Aaaaand I know what you mean, it feels like I don't have an offer but at the same time like it's been ages since I found out that I do...
Yes! I had to decode a language about rorod biftpik something or other that is all I remember xD but I found it really fun in the end haha did you enjoy it too?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 478

lk231

I have an interview at Queen Mary on Wednesday and was just wondering what would be suitable to wear? A dress? Thanks!

Reply 479

StarryInk07

Original post by beau-malheur

That's great! Glad you ended up somewhere you really like! :biggrin:

Ah, it's okay! I applied to St John's.
Any recs? Haha, yes, I feel the same about Arabic literature! Especially since people are generally very critical of the English translations. I don't know whether Moorish Spain is my favourite part... But it's definitely something I find fascinating... And it's one of the reasons why I ultimately decided to choose to study Arabic. Oh, you'll have to tell me more about her! Was she one of Russia's great female leaders?
I've heard that too... But I'm not all that interested in business. :colondollar:

I think I'd be pretty terrible actually. If I'm honest, I haven't really thought about careers etc... I suppose it'd be amazing to be able to carry out literary research. Like many others, I'm an aspiring journalist but I know it's so so competitive and my chances aren't great. :redface:

We'll see. What about you? Do you know what you'd like to do with your degree? :smile:

Oh wow, I'd love to visit Russia. Have you been many times? XD
Aaaahhh, I know. Just panicking about getting the grades. Yeah, what have we signed up for??? :wink:

I think the OLAT is the exact same paper then! Had that as well. I know what you mean... Found it weirdly quite fun - though stressful too of course!