HELP! My search for Graduate programs...

College Search & Selection
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<p>First, if you'll allow me, a brief introduction of my history with collegiate environments (it may come off obnoxiously strong at first glance, but please read through!):</p>

<p>I hate the concept of ivy league colleges. I hate that employers see these colleges on a resume and essentially thrust that applicant's name to the head of the herd -- an institution's namesake apparently begets the light of the divine, fixed in a halo of fiscal and synergetic promise behind their alumnae.</p>

<p>I have a strong resentment toward private colleges in general because as a timid, self-concerned freshman I was convinced that my future was tantamount to nothing if I wasn't paying out the nose for my education. It took me two years in a university that was far too expensive, for a major I cared much too little about, before I discovered my true drive. </p>

<p>I am now a proud Japanese Language student at Queens College of the City University of New York (CUNY). Though transferring in 2011 altered my standing, I am more or less a junior currently. As such, I have begun my search for graduate schools.</p>

<p>In my findings, I stumbled upon Harvard University's A.M. degree in Regional Studies with a focus in East Asia. Humoring my 3.2 GPA-self, I flipped through the program's digital pages. However, imagine my surprise when I actually found myself enticed by the curriculum!</p>

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<p>Now, even if I was to consider grand-old Harvard as a viable option, my GPA and monetary restrictions are the first obvious problems that come to mind.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any informed experience in this program?</p>

<p>Are there better options when it comes to schools with East Asian programs?</p>

<p>As a whole, how is the 'Harvard experience'? Specifically for the graduate students, if possible?</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>Jocelyne</p>

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<p>With a 3.2 GPA, even if you aced the GRE you’d be unlikely for a Harvard grad program. </p>

<p>Is it area studies that you want to pursue or language studies or a discipline like anthropology with east asia as a geographic target of research? </p>

<p>What do you hope to do with a graduate degree?</p>

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<p>I had suspected as much. Thank you for responding.</p>

<p>I have a few intentions for my graduate degree. First, I’d like a strong language program near or to the point of native Japanese fluency. With this I hope to travel in Japan and do some writing on the food and culture. My second aspect is more research based; I have an avid interest in sexuality, and women’s and children’s rights in modern Japan. I have also been looking into schools that offer multiple East and South Asian language courses. Learning these types of linguistics seems to be my niche.</p>

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<p>Take an anthropology course in the fall and see what you think. It seems like that would be the intersection of your interests. It will give you the tools you need to do the research that interests you. You’ll have to take the language courses on the side, though many anthro students will have (or will acquire) language skills in preparation for field work. </p>

<p>Look for programs that deal with developed cultures, that have a cultural/sociological bent, and that have faculty who write about Japan. Do the literature review for a paper on sexuality and women and children’s rights in Japan, and look up the institutions of the authors of those papers. Search for Japan in Cultural Anthropology and look up those authors’ institutions.</p>