@Soheils I guess I might have overstated the extent to which Japanese has changed. The difference between modern Japanese and Heian era Japanese is comparable to the difference between modern and Shakespearian English – clunkier, full of archaic expressions and written in a far more formal register, but still readable with some explanation. The gap between modern and Old Japanese is almost like the gap between modern and Middle English (like the version used in the Canterbury Tales) if not wider.
Take, for example, the starting line of a letter sent from a 7th century Japanese emperor to his Chinese counterpart: 日出處天子致書日沒處天子. A modern Japanese speaker might make out the words 日出 and 日没, meaning sunrise and sunset, but not much else. Only a trained scholar would be able to decipher it as 日出ずる処の天子、書を日没する処の天子に致す, which means “From the ruler of the land of the rising sun to the ruler of the land of the setting sun.”
It’s fascinating how influential poetry is in Persian culture. Is it true that every Iranian family has a copy of Hafez’s Divān at home?
It’s not too difficult to figure out. If your objective stats are solid, and you got good recs, and your essays were at least okay, then, if you don’t get an interview, it means that likely it will be a positive decision. If your stats are below average, or your letters of recommendation are ho-hum, or your essay was a disaster, then no interview is bad.
@karakoram
Thank you for the clarification. The symbols look different enough to me, haha.
Is it hard to learn to read a syllabary?
Poetry is the concrete that holds our culture together. Every family has Divan e Hafez at home, and almost all our expressions are verses in the poems of Saadi and rumi.
My three languages (I am not going to include languages I already know or those that I am learning) 1-russian 2-spanish 3-chinese
Countries: 1-russia 2-greece 3-armenia 4-romania 5-china 6-india 7-japan
@notjoe
Thank you:)
I’m just nervous. My stats are good as far as I know.
3.94 UW 4.35 W
2140 SAT
National Merit Commended
AP Scholar with Distinction
National Honor Society
Student Ambassador
Freshman Mentor
First Degree Black Belt
My recs were great as far as they all told me which I can’t access of course and my counselor and teacher both read my essays and said that they will read well with the committee.
Oh and also:
Low income
URM
16 year old senior
And that is a few things off the top of my head.
I just figured since I live outside of Philly there would be ample opportunity for an interview.
@pubkid yup! December 10th is the official decision release date and they said that they weren’t even aware that guidance counselors were being contacted and that this is new so they’re not really sure what it’s about
I think you have more reason to be positive than negative if you don’t get an n interview, but b keep in mind the lottery-like effect of the admissionstate process to us on the receiving end.
The one thing that might be a negative is your age. It might be counterintuitive, but.my sense is that the Admissions committees of schools are a little wary of underage candidates.
@notjoe@fuzerabit I disagree. They try to interview everyone regardless of likelihood of acceptance, so it is more likely some sort of glitch or lack of availability. They will make a decision without it, but not because it was an obvious choice.
They make this pretty clear in their released information.
@notjoe@Fuzerabit
As an int’l 16 year old senior, I asked Harvard about age, and they claimed to not consider it AT ALL. So don’t worry about age. Fwiw, I got my interview in mid November, though it was through Skype.
Hey all, I’m applying EA too although I know I have no chance at this point. I feel like as if I’m applying as the stereotypical asian nerd, which I’m not as clearly my GPA and test scores will tell otherwise. Plus, I’m reconsidering my “passion” that has characterized the majority of my high school career and applying as undecided, which gives me no flavor for Harvard lol (but ironically I applied here EA as they seem to be the most flexible with their course selection). But yeah Best of luck to us all~
@Soheils the syllabary itself isn’t too hard, what really makes things complicated are the Chinese loanwords and how each Chinese character or Kanji can have different meanings and pronunciations. Throw in the various formal registers, agglutination etc and you can see why Japanese is often considered one of the hardest languages to learn.
Well here’s hoping it is positive.
I am young but don’t present myself that way:
I have worked at the same employer since the age of 14, I also mow lawns in the summer and shovel snow in the winter.
other stuff too including clubs and volunteer stuff. Just know it’s a crap shoot when it comes to admissions at highly selective schools.
Please people do NOT post your stats for an impromptu chance me. We are all in the same position so we aren’t qualified to determine your chances. At this point what is done is done. You have applied to the school, and adcoms will determine your qualifications!
Yeah, keep in mind Harvard rejects/defers RSI attendees, IMO winners, olympiad winners, 2400s and in favor accepts students with less accomplishments. So it’s really difficult to predict for sure who gets in and deferral/rejection is likely no indication of your academic skills or type of person
