Oxford Oriental Studies Students and Applicants

I sent an email to the college I am interested in applying to last week and have not heard back from them at all. Is there any reason for this? What should I do?

Reply 21

shnibbles

Haven't you majorly missed the deadline?

Reply 22

MizzPoly

7

Original post by shnibbles

Haven't you majorly missed the deadline?

It is for next year and not this year obviously.

Reply 23

BJack

19

Original post by MizzPoly

I sent an email to the college I am interested in applying to last week and have not heard back from them at all. Is there any reason for this? What should I do?

Colleges will be very busy with the current admissions cycle at the moment, as interviews are ongoing. Don't expect a reply before the end of next week.

Reply 24

J.tytler

8

Original post by MizzPoly

I sent an email to the college I am interested in applying to last week and have not heard back from them at all. Is there any reason for this? What should I do?

Original post by MizzPoly

It is for next year and not this year obviously.

Since there in the middle of this years admissions, I don't think they really have time to reply or even particularly care that you're thinking of applying next year

What sort of reply were you even expecting? :K:

Reply 25

shnibbles

Original post by MizzPoly

It is for next year and not this year obviously.

Sorry I was thrown off by the "I'm applying in 2011".

Reply 26

MizzPoly

7

Original post by J.tytler

Since there in the middle of this years admissions, I don't think they really have time to reply or even particularly care that you're thinking of applying next year

What sort of reply were you even expecting? :K:

Wouldn't they have enough staff on hand to handle things like answering emails? Not every single staff member needs to be working on the same thing surely

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 27

J.tytler

8

Original post by MizzPoly

Wouldn't they have enough staff on hand to handle things like answering emails? Not every single staff member needs to be working on the same thing surely

This time of year they're going to be inundated with more important emails from this years applicants regarding interviews, accommodation, bursaries etc. So yes, they do have enough staff to read, and probably have read, your email. I just really don't see what you're looking for. You didn't mention asking any specific questions, so otherwise it's just a bit of pointless email tbh, and I imagine they'd treat it accordingly.

Reply 28

Maixiu

Hey, there's a good chance I'll be applying for Oriental Studies at Oxford and I'm torn between studying Chinese or Japanese. I currently study Chinese for A-Level so I'm swinging towards Japanese, but I noticed on the course website that you can take up a subsidiary language in the third year. If I've already got an A-Level in Chinese would I be able to just continue where I left off or would it be back to basics, learning it from scratch? It would be great if some Chinese or Japanese students could tell me more about this!

Thanks in advance, Matthew

Reply 29

bluegabs

Hey guys,

I'm planning to apply for Oriental Studies-Japanese next year but I just want to check a few things.

1. Are my grades good enough? I got 5A*s and 5As for GCSEs with 2 of the A*s being in Modern Foreign Languages

2. Am I doing the right A-levels? Currently I'm studying Politics, History, French and Economics and am planning to continue with all four into next year

3. Am I doing all that I can to show that I have a passion about Japanese? My subject of interest is Japanese history and I've read "a short introduction into modern Japanese history" and am planning to read more about the Meiji period after the AS exams. I'm also reading the "State and Politics of Japan" by Ian Neary and I attend lectures and talks at the Japan foundation.

Any advice is greatly appreciated,

thanks

Reply 30

iSoftie

14

Anything such as a Japanese A level? Do it as AS but if you've got the balls: A level in one year. Apart from that, you are all set!
If you can't find a Japanese A level settle with another Oriental language. 4.5 A levels isn't much of a hassle if you really love your subjects.

Reply 31

bluegabs

Original post by iSoftie

Anything such as a Japanese A level? Do it as AS but if you've got the balls: A level in one year. Apart from that, you are all set!
If you can't find a Japanese A level settle with another Oriental language. 4.5 A levels isn't much of a hassle if you really love your subjects.

I would do Japanese as an A level, but my school doesn't offer it or any other oriental language as an option so I'm a bit stuck :frown:

Reply 32

bluegabs

Does anybody know what the structure for lessons and tutorials for oriental studies (japanese) are?

apparently they're different but I don't understand how

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 33

Durara

Hey guys so I'm applying for Japanese at Oxford and I would like to know how the course is and how intensive it actually is :smile:

Also... I'm predicted AAAC is that good enough or not? :s-smilie:

Reply 34

cpchem

14

The likelihood of you getting a meaningful response is, in all honesty, pretty low. In four years I met one person studying Japanese and Korean, and I don't know of any Orientalists on the forum. Best of luck, all the same, and the official line is to be found here: http://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/general/undergrad_admissions.html.

Reply 35

Hizzu

Hey,
I'm starting the course this year. I can tell you all about it in a few weeks :P From what I've heard it's pretty intensive.
I took the french baccalaureate, not A levels, but I can tell you that my offer was pretty low. I said in interviews that I expected to get 16 or 17 out of 20, but then the offer was for 15 (which is considered "rather good" but not "really very good" in the french scoring system).

x Grace

Reply 36

Scottish Shinigami

I have been invited for an interview for Japanese Studies at Oxford, I am ecstatic. I will be at Hertford College and travelling down from Bonny Scotland. I really want to do my best, getting into Oxford would be a dream come true for me.

I take it the panel will contain course tutors who do in fact speak Japanese? Is it a good idea to drop the odd phrase in, "Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu" (It is a pleasure to meet you) or something along those lines? Or is that just a terrible idea altogether?

I am quite secure in my Japanese and it's role within the interview. I am worried about the role of my written work. One of the pieces is a 2 year old discursive essay on the ASEAN alliance and its military role in the region; I am not so secure on it. The other bit was a French hand in and had a few corrections to be made but I think it's ok. None of them are in Japanese due to all my Japanese work being self-study and JLPT exams so I am also concerned that the school work pieces I submitted aren't relative to the course.

Finally, are there any other tips and pieces of advice you can give me, what to expect and what to completely avoid doing altogether?

Thanks in advance,
Scottish Shinigami

Reply 37

mranderson

I'm an international student and just finished my Skype interview. It ended up rather messy, both technically (video going on and off) and with my responses, which I stuttered through. They didn't ask me any questions like the type people report for other subjects -- it was stuff to do with my personal statement and essays. Took about half an hour over Skype.

Reply 38

TheMouseyS

11

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to apply for Oriental Studies at Oxford in the coming year, with a particular emphasis on the Middle East and Arabic (perhaps even with a subsidiary language such as Hebrew, Farsi or Turkish). Could anyone (orientalists themselves or other) please give me an insight into what I should be reading or doing in preparation for the interview stage of the application (provided of course that I am invited back). My interests are predominantly revolved around contemporary issues facing the region, such as politics and international relations (now especially with the Arab Spring, the recent Arab-Israeli conflict with Operation Pillar of Defense and mounting tensions between the West and Iran). Is there, also, anything I should be doing extra-curricula (debating, public speaking, activism etc).
I'm just slightly confused as to what makes a successful application for this kind of course at a university which is notorious for its ambiguity when it comes to applications.

Any advice would be much appreciated :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 39

TheMouseyS

11

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to apply for Oriental Studies at Oxford in the coming year, with a particular emphasis on the Middle East and Arabic (perhaps even with a subsidiary language such as Hebrew, Farsi or Turkish). Could anyone (orientalists themselves or other) please give me an insight into what I should be reading or doing in preparation for the interview stage of the application (provided of course that I am invited back). My interests are predominantly revolved around contemporary issues facing the region, such as politics and international relations (now especially with the Arab Spring, the recent Arab-Israeli conflict with Operation Pillar of Defense and mounting tensions between the West and Iran). Is there, also, anything I should be doing extra-curricula (debating, public speaking, activism etc).
I'm just slightly confused as to what makes a successful application for this kind of course at a university which is notorious for its ambiguity when it comes to applications.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Oxford Oriental Studies Students and Applicants

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