Major Choice for Uni

[simply94]

Went to a Uni Talk hosted by our school last Thursday and was completely mind blown and hitting myself hard for procrastinating so much. I had set myself a deadline to choose a major by the start of 2014, but completely forgot about it and still am not decided.

I know that I definitely want to do something history related, as I am very interested in history and have started researching my EE which is in History. However, in terms of history I am more interested in modern international history, east asian history to be even more specific and am not sure a course that includes compulsory subjects mainly in British history would give me enough motivation.

My dream school is Cambridge, and if I keep up my grades I have a fair chance of getting in (?) so I probed about on the Cambridge website. Then I found another option, to do Japanese Studies and choose most of my electives in history linked topics. I am genuinely interested in Japan, the culture, the food, the language so that would not be that much of a hassle. However, I am finding very limited schools offering Japanese Studies with many electives in History.

Should I give it a go at history or am I better off applying to Japanese Studies at limited choices?

Hoping to hear from any uni students or IB students that are in the application process and know more about the reputation of history vs asian language/study.

Also, I am Chinese. Not sure if that would affect admissions. Would I be in a disadvantage/advantage because of my heritage?

This is quite a lot, so thanks to anyone in advance!!

[emmapatregnani]

Cambridge is one of the most competitive universities in the world. What they are looking for is accademically excellent, motivated and well rounded people but most of all they are looking for students who have a real passion for what they want to study. Therefore I think that applying for japanese studies is definitely the right choice. Your interest is very specific, you're exactly what they're looking for (if you hve the grades and the rest). In terms of application history is generally more competitive but don't get me wrong, any course at cambridge is extremely hard to get into. As for your nationality I think that will only help. Supposing you speak the language and you've experienced the culture, that makes you someone that has seen different prospectives of life,it's always a plus.

Good luck!

[simply94]

Whoa, swift reply

Thanks. I actually come from Taiwan and live in Shanghai, so the language doesn't pose a problem. Your words are motivating, and hey! a fellow '15 er.

Will definitely log off IBS now to finish my history hw. lol.

Best Wishes for you too!

[flinquinnster]

Hey! I applied and got an offer for law at Cambridge, so hopefully I can provide some useful university-specific advice (if not subject advice!).

Overall, I completely agree that Cambridge is a difficult school to get into. Their priority is to look for intelligent people with a particular passion for a subject. I think that overall if you have impeccable results for IB and the 2 or so years before the IB, you will definitely get an interview, and have a pretty strong chance for admission (Cambridge interviews around 80% of all applicants and accepts about 25% of total applicants). As long as you have a decent PS expressing some level of interest for your subject (overall, I thought mine was a bit on the dry side, if thorough), you have a chance. Looking at your IB predicted score in your signature, I think that as long as you aim for at least 2 or 3 bonus points in your predicted score, you have a fair chance at getting into most colleges - and even if you apply for a more competitive college, the pooling process hopefully should balance it out. Unlike with the US, there is very little need to worry about building up extra-curricular activities - only focus on them insofar to demonstrate an outside interest in your proposed course of study (and to do CAS!).

I think with regards to the subject you choose, that if you're aiming for Cambridge or other bigger or more prestigious universities, then you should apply for a broader course like history or Asian studies. I'm not sure about details, but if you only apply for Japanese studies, then you really limit the universities you can study at. For instance, I don't think that Cambridge university has a Japanese studies course - but it does have Asian and Middle Eastern studies. Moreover, even if you do end up doing a broader course like history, often there is the option to specialise - so, you can still have a fairly large level of choice in what you specifically study, even if there are some compulsory areas. Even if you do end up having to study aspects like British history, it's all about providing a strong basis from which to approach other aspects of history - even though this may seem a bit Eurocentric, compulsory areas of study in history may still prove useful, such as understanding the influence of British imperialism in Asia. I'm not sure about the various reputations of history versus a more specific course, but if you do end up at Cambridge, I think course reputation matters less!

About the final issue of ethnic background, I think that it matters less than you think it might - and definitely less than in a more 'holistic' admissions process such as in the USA. If language isn't an issue for you, then I don't see being of Chinese background as a particular advantage or disadvantage (my background is Chinese too). For me, it got brought up in my interview, but more in a conversational sense than anything - I personally think that it had no bearing on the decision. Whilst your background might be considered in regards to increasing the diversity at Cambridge colleges, it's really not a major factor to consider.

Hope that my advice was useful. If you're a May 2015 candidate applying for UK admissions for 2015, I wouldn't stress too much about making your final decision too soon. I myself only made my final choice of subject and started the application process in September 2014 (which was also the same month in which I had to finish my application) for 2014 admissions, so you've still got time! Do some more research and ponder those choices some more.

[emmapatregnani]

Hey! I applied and got an offer for law at Cambridge, so hopefully I can provide some useful university-specific advice (if not subject advice!).

Overall, I completely agree that Cambridge is a difficult school to get into. Their priority is to look for intelligent people with a particular passion for a subject. I think that overall if you have impeccable results for IB and the 2 or so years before the IB, you will definitely get an interview, and have a pretty strong chance for admission (Cambridge interviews around 80% of all applicants and accepts about 25% of total applicants). As long as you have a decent PS expressing some level of interest for your subject (overall, I thought mine was a bit on the dry side, if thorough), you have a chance. Looking at your IB predicted score in your signature, I think that as long as you aim for at least 2 or 3 bonus points in your predicted score, you have a fair chance at getting into most colleges - and even if you apply for a more competitive college, the pooling process hopefully should balance it out. Unlike with the US, there is very little need to worry about building up extra-curricular activities - only focus on them insofar to demonstrate an outside interest in your proposed course of study (and to do CAS!).

I think with regards to the subject you choose, that if you're aiming for Cambridge or other bigger or more prestigious universities, then you should apply for a broader course like history or Asian studies. I'm not sure about details, but if you only apply for Japanese studies, then you really limit the universities you can study at. For instance, I don't think that Cambridge university has a Japanese studies course - but it does have Asian and Middle Eastern studies. Moreover, even if you do end up doing a broader course like history, often there is the option to specialise - so, you can still have a fairly large level of choice in what you specifically study, even if there are some compulsory areas. Even if you do end up having to study aspects like British history, it's all about providing a strong basis from which to approach other aspects of history - even though this may seem a bit Eurocentric, compulsory areas of study in history may still prove useful, such as understanding the influence of British imperialism in Asia. I'm not sure about the various reputations of history versus a more specific course, but if you do end up at Cambridge, I think course reputation matters less!

About the final issue of ethnic background, I think that it matters less than you think it might - and definitely less than in a more 'holistic' admissions process such as in the USA. If language isn't an issue for you, then I don't see being of Chinese background as a particular advantage or disadvantage (my background is Chinese too). For me, it got brought up in my interview, but more in a conversational sense than anything - I personally think that it had no bearing on the decision. Whilst your background might be considered in regards to increasing the diversity at Cambridge colleges, it's really not a major factor to consider.

Hope that my advice was useful. If you're a May 2015 candidate applying for UK admissions for 2015, I wouldn't stress too much about making your final decision too soon. I myself only made my final choice of subject and started the application process in September 2014 (which was also the same month in which I had to finish my application) for 2014 admissions, so you've still got time! Do some more research and ponder those choices some more.

Cambridge Asian and Middle Eastern course has three options Japanese studies, Hebrew studies or Chinese studies, so yes there is a Japanese studies course but I totally agree that it is not a course that can be found at any university.