Korean Studies 2012

I read that the average Sheffield student has around 430 ucas points,
the amount needed for this course is ABB so like 320 ucas points?
how can I bump up my score D:
Im only taking 3 A2s and not with an AS on the side, so I've lost potential points already right? grrr

Don't think about ucas points. No good university cares about them anymore. Just think in terms of grades... if you have the exact grades, then you're on the course. That's all that matters.

Sheffield won't look at your application and think 'Well, they have the equivalent ucas points' because they won't do that. You just need to make sure you have ABB or above.

I'm guessing as Korean is pretty under-subscribed, people who apply are guaranteed a place provided they get the ABB?

Actually, the department used to get loads of applicants that wern't up to scratch, that's why they rocketed the grades from BBC straight to ABB so they would get less applicants and be able to only get the best of the best on the course...

O rly? hmm.
I'm guessing class sizes for Korean are getting bigger each year due to the spread of Korean culture?

I'm capable of the grades, but dont know what else (e.g. extra curricular stuff) I would need to put to buff up my application if ya know what I mean, or is it pretty much exclusively the grades they care about?

Ugh wae am I asking so many questions?!?!?! I have to wait till like October to apply anyway T_T

You just gotta give examples of where you have gone out of your way to show your interest in the course. Like for example, any lectures you've been to, any workshops you've done to promote the language/culture, been to open days related to the course, what inspired you to study the course etc.. You just gotta show you're gonna be committed to the course in your personal statement. As long as you're predicted ABB, have a good personal statement and good reference, you'll get the offer

(Hopefully this helps!)

ahh i see ^o^ thank you!!!
Its gonna be hard tho to find stuff to go to related to the course
most of the lectures and open days my school offers are for subjects like the sciences and psychology /sigh
Im really getting my hopes up to take the course so dont wanna end up being disappointed

I was bit like that last year as well but don't worry! If you do things like Extended Project next year on something related to Korean/East Asian and go to Sheffield's open day (book for the East Asian talk) then you should be fine! Even mentioning things like independently reading up on the Korean war or something will be very good. For now just concentrate on your AS exams so it'll be a lot easier for you to get the predicted grades you need as well as the actual grades!

ty for the advice! ^O^
makes me feel much more relaxed about things :]]
I was also thinking of applying to SOAS aswell, apparently it is better internationally renown than sheffield?
Ive heard alot of good things about Sheffield, and not so much good things about SOAS.
I wonder which uni would see students coming out with a better grasp of the language hmm

In terms of better grasp of language, it really is dependent on the student. I can't really judge on the teaching of either universities but from Sheffield's open day talk, they had a student, who by the end of his Japanese degree, wrote a philosophy book entirely in Japanese. When I went to this Japan Day thingy at SOAS, there was a guy, forgotten his name, who got a degree in Japanese (from SOAS) and he's now a foreign officer. So in terms of learning the language, I'm sure the outcome will be really good whichever university you choose to go. I think Sheffield also has strong links internationally from what I'm aware of (for instance, in your year abroad, you go to Yonsei Uni which is the 2nd highest ranked University in Korea)


In my opinion, I've been both unis and personally I prefer Sheffield. Its a lot more spacious, cheaper and it generally feels like a city made for students loll (not to mention how friendlier people are there!) I've been SOAS about 4 times and its okay - I mean its in London so the night life will be amazing but the scene there is mostly mature students.. its also quite a small Uni. Of course people experience different things at SOAS and sometimes you do meet a cool bunch of people that you can relate to... plus you're in London so you can interact with other students from other universities in London as well. Hmm, I'm not sure, the best way is to go to both Universities and see what you prefer. Of course, there's no harm in applying to both!

With Sheffield you go to Yonsei... which has the best Korean language programme in the world. When I speak to Koreans and I tell them I go to Yonsei I get gasps of 'whoa!!'

It's important to note that, whilst at other Korean universities, you have to complete their whole language progamme before you can attend university lectures. However at Yonsei, once you have completed level 4 (out of 6 levels) you're considered fluent enough in Korean to study a university degree alongside native Koreans. That should give you an idea of just how intense it is here.

University in Korea is hard, and a lot of the time I don't get enough sleep so I can work but if you want it hard enough, it's worth it. As was stated above, how good you become with a language comes down to the student. I'm not going to finish this degree saying 'I'm still not fluent in Korean' I'm doing all I can to make sure I do the best I can so I can get a good job, hopefully, in Korea.

We used Seoul National uni textbooks 1 and 2 in first year. They were only really used for reading classes though, we mainly used Korean materials tailored specially by our department which did the job.

With Sheffield you go to Yonsei... which has the best Korean language programme in the world. When I speak to Koreans and I tell them I go to Yonsei I get gasps of 'whoa!!'

It's important to note that, whilst at other Korean universities, you have to complete their whole language progamme before you can attend university lectures. However at Yonsei, once you have completed level 4 (out of 6 levels) you're considered fluent enough in Korean to study a university degree alongside native Koreans. That should give you an idea of just how intense it is here.

University in Korea is hard, and a lot of the time I don't get enough sleep so I can work but if you want it hard enough, it's worth it. As was stated above, how good you become with a language comes down to the student. I'm not going to finish this degree saying 'I'm still not fluent in Korean' I'm doing all I can to make sure I do the best I can so I can get a good job, hopefully, in Korea.

you are my inspiration

Cheers for the reply, do you mean this one?

http://www.amazon.com/Korean-Textbook-Revised-Enlarged-English/dp/8953905532

Oh btw has spending time in Korea only reinforced your love for the country or now that you're there has the love died or is it not hwk you imagined it to be, may I ask what ethnicity(skin colour) you are?