<p>You mean your major adviser? “Counselor” on these forums usually are referred to high school guidance counselors.</p>
<p>If you mean your major adviser, well, okay… but have you ever taken a class with him/her? If not, then no, s/he has no idea how you actually perform in a class. I have a professor who I use as a mentor and he is extremely well known (perhaps more so than most of my professors) and I would never dare to ask him for one because he actually never taught me. He may hear good things but it still doesn’t make him qualified to write for me.</p>
<p>Ok proficient I can understand. You really want to be careful with how you describe language skills because it’s almost like a trap door. When I wanted to write down fluent for my own application my professor suggested I submit an article I wrote for a research group in china in Chinese to serve as evidence of my claims. One of her friends in the Columbia ealac dept suggested it because it would be a clear cut case. Overall I think you have as good a chance anyone I just personally think the fact that you didn’t major in it and haven’t taken time after university to really do anything involved with Asia might hurt you. If you would like any more detailed advice feel free to contact me. Also since you are interested in social science stuff I’d really suggest studying in Beijing. Chinese uni professors from tsinghua, Beijing u, and foreign studies uni love western students interested in the topic and are very helpful.</p>
<p>What about the Programs that don’t require a GRE score at all? I keep hearing that one should steer clear of those because they might not be all that good. Any thoughts on Schools/programs that don’t require GRE Scores?</p>
<p>I wasn’t suggesting that you apply to MIT. I was just showing that some top universities, with excellent graduate programs, do not require GRE scores.</p>
<p>MIT lol I said i like to dream but i’m not delusional. </p>
<p>Anyway,</p>
<p>I thought I should also add another wrench in the works. LOR(s)</p>
<p>Apparently I’m one of the few that came from a smaller undergrad. program. There were literally 2 professors in my major. Now even though I am coming from a French background, I thought I should at least get one of the prof.s from my undergrad major who could speak to abilities…etc etc. The problem is, of the two professors, I never really got along with one, she was the department head who was way too busy for any of us (though that wont stop me from at least asking) and the other one who that I actually think would’ve written a good letter is running around France working as a liaison for American students studying France. = translation he doesn’t have time to write a recomm. letter for me.</p>
<p>And i always thought the LOR(s) were the easiest part of applying. :P</p>
<p>wow, you just have all sorts of things going against you, huh? Here is a suggestion that you may or may not like. Take a year off before you start applying to gradschool for EAS and maybe go somewhere in Asia to teach English for a year. I know you are studying abroad for one semester but if you go and do something like the EPIK program for a year or two after you graduate, you would have both work experience and more significant experience in Asia. I think this could maybe strengthen your application. I am actually working in Asia right now but I don’t have a background in EAS…just linguistics and education, but it would be a good place to start making some money and even think about how you could get some good GRE scores to make up for a not so stellar GPA.</p>
<p>HAHA AppleLinguist you and I think alike. I actually took time off (rounding my second year now) tried to teach English in Korea. I even applied thru EPIK but got rejected. </p>
<p>Do I really have so little of a chance a getting on anywhere? I was told that MA programs were essentially for people like me because I am not competitive enough, given my cred.s.</p>