Hi all, new to this website so hope I'm using it right. I'm currently doing an Access to HE course, which is a tad exhausting, but if I can get the results I need it'll be worth it. I'm hoping to apply for a combined BA Japanese and BA Linguistics course at SOAS - I've looked at a few universities, but SOAS seems perfect for me, as it apparently is the tippity top for language learning and the Linguistics course has a translation pathway from year 2 on, which is the field I want to go into. For GCSEs I got 5 in Maths and 7 in English, though that was right before COVID first hit, so it was a decent time past. I am hoping to go to the SOAS open day, but personal circumstances have a small chance of getting in the way, so we'll see.
As for why these subjects specifically... regarding linguistics and translation, I really enjoy exercising precision in language. I like having an idea and chipping away at the forming sentence with just the exact right words to perfectly express it. Considering how much I enjoy using language this way, linguistics feels like the right choice, and translation even more so; as for why Japanese, simple as it is, I've been borderline enamoured with the country, culture, and - yes, predictably - the media for more years than I could give an accurate number for. I even started learning the language on my own in my early teens, so while that didn't progress to a competent level, I have a strong foundation that I've kept up throughout the years. Really, the career of J-E and vice-versa translation seems perfect for me; especially as they're more task-oriented than interpersonal communication, the latter being a weak point of mine.
To be honest, I'm quite nervous about getting the right grades; not just SOAS, but most uni's offering these kinds of courses seem to have very high requirements, and while I like to think I'm pretty sharpminded in a classroom, getting majority Distinctions seems like a tall order with little room for error. Not much I can do but try, though.