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Chinese Studies at SOAS

Chinese Studies at SOAS

Hi everyone,

I'm becoming slightly paranoid or something now - I applied to SOAS to study Chinese & History starting in 2008, but I've not heard anything from them. I know lots of people who have had offers from them in all subjects, even History, but not Chinese. SOAS has an issue with applicants with previous knowledge, and I have a very strong feeling I will be discriminated for already knowing Chinese because at an open day I was told I was overqualified :s-smilie: ... I have a GCSE A* in Chinese which they say is acceptable but anything above is not. Therefore I've chosen not to sit my AS/A level exams for Chinese but am still learning it. So in theory, I'm not overqualified but in practise I am - which they wouldn't know! :rolleyes:

Was wondering if anyone else was having this problem? Also, has anyone had any offers from SOAS yet for Chinese? Or do any previous applicants know when SOAS usually give out offers?

I really want to go there or Edinburgh and haven't heard from either of them! Am so worried! I have places at Nottingham and Leeds, but I'm not too keen on going there.

Let me know :smile:

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Reply 1
Firstly, it seems that no one on TSR has received any offers for Chinese yet.

Secondly, SOAS's course will teach you Chinese so I think that the fact that you didn't do it at A-level is good. Learn it in the background. In my opinion though, no news is good news.
Reply 2
Someone in exactly the same boat as me! :biggrin:

I'm applying for Chinese & Management as SOAS...no replies yet. I also got an A* at GCSE Chinese but I'm not too worried about SOAS rejecting me to be fair. I've still got my hopes on Sheffield for my first choice (who also have yet to reply).

Good luck! :smile:
Yay!! Chinese Studies applicants :biggrin: I haven't seen many on TSR :p:

I too have applied to SOAS and Edinburgh and have yet to hear anything from them. So far I've only been made an offer from Manchester and Nottingham.

I guess we'll just have to be patient :smile:

Did anyone apply to read Chinese at Oxbridge?
Reply 4
I am also still waiting for an offer for Chinese & Politics/History.... but to be frankly I dont think well hear from them before Christmas as there was the first "wave" of offers 2 weeks ago or something and since then there were no offers I think and I guess they will wait until January for the next offers
Reply 5
julia.bcn_89
Yay!! Chinese Studies applicants :biggrin: I haven't seen many on TSR :p:

I too have applied to SOAS and Edinburgh and have yet to hear anything from them. So far I've only been made an offer from Manchester and Nottingham.

I guess we'll just have to be patient :smile:

Did anyone apply to read Chinese at Oxbridge?


We're probably a rare breed here on TSR, especially compared with the Japanese Studies applicants! :p:

I also wonder if anyone on TSR has applied for Chinese at Oxbridge!

As Ghassan said, we'll probably have to wait until Jan to hear from SOAS. :biggrin:
Reply 6
I applied to study chinese last year, recieved my offer in december, but some of my fellow students recieved there offers in january, so expect to be receiving them soonish, apart from the offer you won't really recieve much communication from soas until you choose it as your firm.

Good luck people!
Adon
We're probably a rare breed here on TSR, especially compared with the Japanese Studies applicants! :p:

I also wonder if anyone on TSR has applied for Chinese at Oxbridge!

As Ghassan said, we'll probably have to wait until Jan to hear from SOAS. :biggrin:



Does anyone know why there seem to be so many more Japanese applicants??

Well, I had an interview at Oxford for Chinese last week. I don't think it went very well so I am not expecting an offer :frown:

I would however really like an offer from SOAS or Edinburgh :biggrin:
Reply 8
What did they ask you?
I was told by a member of staff that we were "very likely" to hear from them before Christmas. Well, they've still got a week.
I did not apply to Oxbridge because, apart from the fact that my grades might not be good enough, I don't think their course is what I need. I want to study Conference Interpreting as MA, so I don't suppose I need thourough knowledge of Ming poetry. Some literary knowledge for sure is necessary, but I personally feel that Oxbridge focusses on literature in general and thoughout the course. My attitude was supported when I spoke to a teacher at Beijing University who told me that students from Leeds, for example, can hold their own among Oxbridge students when it comes down to... active, day-to-day use of language even though you'd expect Oxbridge to be way better.
Reply 10
Regarding the Oxbridge course I am rather uncertain, as I think that the course at Cambridge(where I have applied) is really good and I really want to study both modern and classical chinese. However I would not be able to do joint honours what I really want to do (either with History or Politics). On the other hand if I get it right the SOAS course really only includes the study of Chinese history in year 1 if I get it right what I dont like so much, as I really also want to study Chinese history and culture too.Besides that I am really into going to SOAS, as I think I'd fit into its student body better than into Cambridge's student body. When I went there for my interview it really seemed as if you mainly find white middle/upper class people there(although until going there I always thought of it as some kind of stereotype). Additionally Oriental Studies is not a really famous course there and for example at my college students told me that there were only 2 people doing Oriental Studies there , and they both did Egyptology, what for me would probably mean to be the only one studying Chinese at my college...


Nice to see a German applicant btw...:smile:

Vielleicht sehen wir uns nächstes Jahr an der SOAS:smile:
great_expectations
I was told by a member of staff that we were "very likely" to hear from them before Christmas. Well, they've still got a week.
I did not apply to Oxbridge because, apart from the fact that my grades might not be good enough, I don't think their course is what I need. I want to study Conference Interpreting as MA, so I don't suppose I need thourough knowledge of Ming poetry. Some literary knowledge for sure is necessary, but I personally feel that Oxbridge focusses on literature in general and thoughout the course. My attitude was supported when I spoke to a teacher at Beijing University who told me that students from Leeds, for example, can hold their own among Oxbridge students when it comes down to... active, day-to-day use of language even though you'd expect Oxbridge to be way better.


Ooh! I hope you're right! I'm so impatient :biggrin:

Yeah, if you want to do Conference Interpreting, the Oxford course is definately not for you. From what I gathered, the Oxford course very much focuses on Classical Chinese, literature, ancient history etc. (which is exactly what I am most interested in!) Unfortunately, I will not be made an offer though haha :p:

So I'm really keen to get made an offer by either SOAS or Edinburgh as the course at Nottingham mainly focuses on business, economics and politics.
Reply 12
Well its the same here with Classical Chinese and Literature but in fact that should not be a problem at SOAS, as I think that it is possible to focus on Classical Chinese and Literature if you want, and as you are doing single honours( I guess? ) it wont be a problem to take ancient Chinese history as a floater.
I applied to Cambridge for Oriental studies and was unsuccessful! Wasn't really too cut up about it considering I don't want to go and the course is quite old in a traditional sense. Plus you're likely to be virtually on your own because they only admit like 2 per year in each college, and therefore it'd be kind of boring. They do tend to focus on literature etc and you don't visit China for the whole year which is a bummer.

So glad to be able to speak to other people wanting to study Chinese - its nice to know that I'm not the only one! Especially people that want to go to the same two uni's I do! SOAS & Edinburgh! I heard Edinburgh don't give out their offers till after the january deadline so I don't think we'll be hearing from them till February. I do hope great_expectations is right that we hear from them before Xmas.

Was anyone applying to SOAS for 2008 at the open day in March earlier this year???
I think that you CAN focus on older Chinese literature at SOAS as well, if you do single honours.
Otherwise it's basicly modern language only.

Ghassan, are you/your parents members of the DSDG?
I actually live more in the Mönchengladbach/Rheindahlen area than in Cologne (where I'm born and live some of the time), that's why I'm asking...
Reply 15
great_expectations
I think that you CAN focus on older Chinese literature at SOAS as well, if you do single honours.
Otherwise it's basicly modern language only.

Ghassan, are you/your parents members of the DSDG?
I actually live more in the Mönchengladbach/Rheindahlen area than in Cologne (where I'm born and live some of the time), that's why I'm asking...


I dont really think that studying single honours has anything to do with your focus on either modern or classical chinese... I mean if you do joint honours you would still do the classical chinese module that all first year Chinese students do. In 2nd year you have the same courses as single honours students and in 3rd and 4th year you only have to do 1 or 2 courses that you can choose in the chinese department but actually can choose to do classical Chinese as these two courses and could even do more courses in the Chinese derpartment, as you would only need to do 5 courses in your other subject:smile:

Erm, actually I dont really know what the DSDG is:smile:^^
Ghassan
I dont really think that studying single honours has anything to do with your focus on either modern or classical chinese... I mean if you do joint honours you would still do the classical chinese module that all first year Chinese students do. In 2nd year you have the same courses as single honours students and in 3rd and 4th year you only have to do 1 or 2 courses that you can choose in the chinese department but actually can choose to do classical Chinese as these two courses and could even do more courses in the Chinese derpartment, as you would only need to do 5 courses in your other subject:smile:

Erm, actually I dont really know what the DSDG is:smile:^^


Yes, true. Quote: In Years 3 and 4 students are offered a choice of units which enables them to weight their studies towards either the modern or the classical aspect, but it is our philosophy to produce rounded graduates who will have a competence in both.

<New years resolution: Improve reading skills>

But if you look at the modules they offer, it seems a bit like they're putting greater store by modern language (http://www.soas.ac.uk/programmes/psub23426.html).

DSDG= Dülmen Station Dependants Group. Sorry for being curious, but the first thing coming to my mind was that your parents might be military staff. My parents used to work for Rheindahlen Support Command (JHQ Rheindahlen).

btw, it seems we better forget about the "before Christmas"-thing. Tough luck.
Ah, and yes, nice to meet you as well. Merry Christmas (in case you celebrate)!
But surely the course couldn't be all that interesting if you're near fluent in Chinese before you start? there's a good reason they don't like their aplicants to be overqualified, and that's because half the course is pure language study...
Reply 18
dominiclmorris
But surely the course couldn't be all that interesting if you're near fluent in Chinese before you start? there's a good reason they don't like their aplicants to be overqualified, and that's because half the course is pure language study...


Yes thats definitely true but I dont think that someone who speaks Chinese fluently would choose to do a Chinese degree, as it would just make more sense to just study History or Politics or whatsoever and then to specialize in Asia and particularly China....

What would interest me btw really is how much the Chinese degree really is about Chinese culture...As I intend to do joint honours I applied for Chinese and Politics (and Chinese and History but I told them that I would prefer Chinese and Politics and hence I might not get offers for both courses if I even get an offer at all:biggrin: ) and thought that I would be able to combine Chinese language,history and poltics together... however I think that you dont really study much Chinese history when doing joint honours with politics and hence I am thinking of doing Chinese and History instead. In that way I could do my master in Asian politics and would have a basic grounding in Chinese history as well......
It would just be interersting to know how much history, philosophy etc you for example do in the literature courses, as they seem to involve philosophical and historical texts..
the thing is, when you do a joint honors, the 'chinese' part of the degree is /only/ language study. When you do the full chinese degree, you get some language, culture, literature, you know how it works, but when you do a split degree, you do half pure chinese and half core-whatever your other degree is. Hense it would make more sense to do a pure history degree, choose the china stream, and take floaters in other courses that interest you.