BA Japanese @ SOAS

Im thinking about taking the Japanese course at the School of Oriental and Africian Studies London. Does anyone have any experience with the university, particularly about its reputation mainly Internationally and about the Japanese course?

I didnt take a language at A Level, they describe taking one as being 'preferable'- are they likely to discriminate against me not having taken one even if the rest of my application is good and I show a keen intrest in learning Japanese?

Also the entry requirments, 'BCC' seem a bit low- is there any particular reason for this?

Thanks

Reply 1

*boo*

1

Hi, I've accepted SOAS as my firm choice to study Economics. I've heard mixed comments about it but when I went to the Open Day I really liked it and most prospective students who were there really liked it too! I suggest you should go and visit it (next open day is in june).
My friend from China says it's quite well known in China and it has many links with Asian/African universities because it specialises in those areas so I'm sure it has a good international reputation.
The only reason why it doesn't have a great reputation in the UK is because it focuses on areas that most people in the UK are not interested in. It's ranked quite highly in the league tables so that must prove a point. You can check out the various league tables especially subject tables for Oriental Languages. In the Guardian newspaper they're ranked 4th (even though people say it's not very reliable but that's debateable!) To make it into the top 10 of a national newspaper says something!

I'm not sure how oversubscribed the Japanese course is but if they're asking for BCC I think it's because there isn't a high enough demand for it. I think in many universities oriental languages don't get as many applicants as other courses because people prefer learning european languages or maybe language courses in general are not as popular with students.

A lot of students drop out of the SOAS language courses so you have to be really dedicated. You could also try applying to one of the joint degree courses if you don't think you'll be able to cope with a straight Japanese degree. I think you should write a really persuasive personal statement if you don't have a foreign language at Alevel. If you have at least one good foreign language GCSE it might also help a bit.

People have been telling me it's the best place to go if you want to learn an oriental language and the teaching is excellent. It's better at languages than the other disciplines it offers. They also offer language classes for non-soas students during the evening or weekends so if you decide not to go to SOAS you can still go to those classes to learn Japanese part time, assuming you'll still be in London.

If you have any more questions, I'll try to answer!
Good luck!

Reply 2

mussed

Muffle

Im thinking about taking the Japanese course at the School of Oriental and Africian Studies London. Does anyone have any experience with the university, particularly about its reputation mainly Internationally and about the Japanese course?

I didnt take a language at A Level, they describe taking one as being 'preferable'- are they likely to discriminate against me not having taken one even if the rest of my application is good and I show a keen intrest in learning Japanese?

Also the entry requirments, 'BCC' seem a bit low- is there any particular reason for this?

Thanks

They are very unlikely to discriminate against you. Two of my friends are going to do Japanese: one at Edinburgh (where you might want to also consider applying to cos it's got a good dept) and one at SOAS. Both of them got unconditional offers from SOAS with Scottish Highers: one had five Highers at AABCC (B in English, no other language; As in Art and Info Systems and Cs in History and Modern Studies); one had four highers in French, Latin, Art and something else but had failed her English Higher (which isn't that much beyond GCSE, to be honest). Both came from a good, academic private school and the second one came from a stable family background and everything; they aren't the sort that would usually inspire sympathy from admissions committees. So I wouldn't worry about the discrimination. Both, however, are highly enthusiastic about Japan, have been on an exchange and love it.

They both say that SOAS has a very good reputation and that the Japanese course looks excellent (I think the one going there has to learn the... - oh, you know, some sort of alphabet! - before she goes). The application requirements are definitely due to demand, as the person before me has already said; if lots of people wanted to do Japanese they would be higher.

BA Japanese @ SOAS

Related discussions

Articles for you