<p>Unlike many of my peers, I still don’t know exactly what I want to major in. And when I think I have an idea the complexity often overwhelms me. All I know is that I really like foreign languages, especially Asian ones. They come naturally to me. But what can you do with an “East Asian Studies” major anyways? Therefore, I have a couple of questions.</p>
<li><p>Provided I wanted to take two foreign languages at once (Chinese+Japanese), would that mean having to take an East Asian studies major? Would doing that be suicide (the two languages)?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there any schools that specialize/have good departments in anything related to the above studies? At the very least I know UCSD has a good graduate school for international relations with the Pacific Rim, but when it comes down to what I’ll be doing for Undergrad I still dont know what I’d be doing.</p></li>
<li><p>Would it be possible just to take the two languages on the side, because honestly mixing it in with a business degree of some sort would be a lot more interesting than taking just the languages, which I honestly dont know where they would get me. I do know University of Southern California has a Business degree with emphasis on East Asian relations, but taking the languages is kind of a side thing (intensive courses during the summer and thats about it).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, if anyone would be so kind as to give even the slightest bit of insight on that topic, it’d be GREATLY appreciated. This is a question that asking a friend or a teacher wouldn’t get me very far, so I thought I’d try here.
Thanks</p>
<p>Wow that was a long post. I will answer over several posts.</p>
<p>Unlike many of my peers, I still don't know exactly what I want to major in. </p>
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<p>I believe this to be normal, ok and even an advantage going to college. You will have an open mind and will explore all options. </p>
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<p>And when I think I have an idea the complexity often overwhelms me. </p>
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<p>Take a deep breath and relax. Research and planning will help ease the anxiety level. Ask for help!</p>
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<p>All I know is that I really like foreign languages, especially Asian ones. They come naturally to me. But what can you do with an "East Asian Studies" major anyways?</p>
<p>IMHO, East Asian studies and languages are very relevant today and for the future. Obviously the economic emergence of China from a poor agricultural planned economy to a more free market manufacturing based economy has very siginifcant implications economically and politically. Lets not forget about the rest of Asia, paticulary with the growing influence of South Korea.
For example, did you know that the next Sec General for the UN will most likely come from South Korea.</p>
<p>Here are just some practical applications for a east asian language major:</p>
<ol>
<li>English language tutor in China, Japan, Korea,etc.</li>
<li>Work for the CIA, US State Department, US Military.</li>
<li>MBA. work for international companies.</li>
<li>Law coupled with language will enable you to navigate the complex world legal environment.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>MBA. work for international companies.</li>
<li>Law coupled with language will enable you to navigate the complex world legal environment.</li>
</ol>
<p>These two really pique my interest a lot. I like where you are getting at.
MBA as in a business degree, right? (Have yet to understand the terminology)</p>
<p>Anyways, I dont really want to burden you anymore, but Thanks ALOT. Really appreciating the help</p>
<p>My advice is go to the best school you can get into. Interdepartment ranks for things like liberal arts don't matter that much, but the overall name of the school matters alot. I was an anthropology major at Dartmouth, and I later got an MBA from a top 5 program as one of the youngest in my class. If you want to go into business and can't get into a top 25 USNEWS school, then my advice is to major in something more practical like econ or finance.</p>
<ol>
<li>Provided I wanted to take two foreign languages at once (Chinese+Japanese), would that mean having to take an East Asian studies major?</li>
</ol>
<p>No, I do not think you would be forced into an Asian studies major. That is, you could major in something else and use your electives for language. Or, you could double major and take more than 4 yrs to graduate, or take summer classes if timing is an issue. </p>
<p>With that said, I think that you probably will want/have to major in Asian studies to get the language skills, exposure to the culture/history and even study abroad that will complete your education.</p>
<p>Would doing that be suicide (the two languages)?</p>
<p>No, the grammar of both languages are similar. They both use similar written language (ie Kanji). Obviously they sound different. I am learning that there are striking similarities between Korean and Japanese for certain vocabulary (ie the phonetics for promise is almost identical).</p>
<p>Would any of the colleges on my list be a top 25 USNEWS school?
What is USNEWS?
Slipper said "My advice is go to the best school you can get into"</p>
<p>What schools are you looking into? Certain schools just tend to do extrordinarily well with recruiters. IMO USNEWS is the most accurate ranking (with a couple missteps- Brown underranked, WUStl Overranked) of how well a college can prepare you in terms of recruiting and grad school admissions.</p>
<p>i dont know if you want to stay near where you live, but at least take a look at SOAS: School of Oriental and African Studies... its part of the University of London System and one of the best schools in the world, and if you want to do anything concerning Asia ive heard its the place to be... for an overseas student its 10,000 pounds, but in the UK they get their degrees in 3 years, so its cheaper that way.
<a href="http://www.soas.ac.uk/%5B/url%5D">http://www.soas.ac.uk/</a></p>
<p>The point though, is why got to Chicago which has a great GRADUATE program in east asian studies, get SLAMMED on your GPA and look worse for grad school when you can go to a place like Brown, get a better GPA, have more time to pad your resume with cool activities and research, and then get into a better grad school.</p>
<p>UCLA/ USC are still prestigious enough (particularly in SoCal) that a liberal arts major will get you alot of options, BUT I would major in something like econ and minor/ double major in a humanities major like asian studies if I wanted to go into business. The truth is even with an econ major, with the right planning a double major isn't too difficult. IF your goal is law school, any major is fine.</p>
<ol>
<li>Are there any schools that specialize/have good departments in anything related to the above studies? </li>
</ol>
<p>Yes. There are many schools, all over the country that offer chinese & japanese language and asian studies. Since, I am an East Coast person, I focused on Vassar College. They have a nice program for Chinese & Japanese language as well as an Asian Studies program. Their Study abroad option also sounded very exciting.</p>
<p>Do yo have a preference for Region, public vs private, uni vs lac, small vs big, etc?</p>
<p>If possible I was thinking about staying in California (I'm from Sacramento), but maybe in the Southern portion. Public vs. Private is not an issue, and as for uni vs. lac, small vs. big I'm open to both. Just seeing the best school I can get into really.</p>
<p>I was thinking about going into business, so I'm guessing you mean double major(with the asian studies)? What does my undergrad major/ requirements have to be to go into business?</p>
<p>Finally, one last question. Would my inability to really know what I want to major in just yet be an incentive to attend a LAC where the GE is not so rigid?</p>
<p>Sorry for showering you guys with questions, you've been really helpful.</p>
<p>Pomona looks like a great school. Can you get in there? Please share some of your numbers. There are always the UC's too. (Davis, SB,....)</p>
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<p>I was thinking about going into business, so I'm guessing you mean double major(with the asian studies)? </p>
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<p>Double major is an option. But it does not have to be with a Business major. You could double with Economics/Math for example.</p>
<p>What does my undergrad major/ requirements have to be to go into business?
Let me answer the question this way. I believe that most successful MBA students/candidates work for at least 2-3 years before applying for an MBA.
Therefore the question is what type of job can I get with my Chinese/Japanese language and possibly other major? With that said, I think a school that offers internships, opportunities to work in a corporate environoment would be attractive. These internships, summer jobs, etc can lead to Full time jobs.</p>
<p>Finally, one last question. Would my inability to really know what I want to major in just yet be an incentive to attend a LAC where the GE is not so rigid?</p>
<p>What? This is not correct. Chinese and Japanese are grammatically as different from one another as each is from English, which is to say as different as human languages can be. There is some vocabulary overlap due to loanwords from Chinese into Japanese, but the grammar and phonology (inflection, word order, tonality, everything) are totally unrelated.</p>
<p>Japanese does incorporate Chinese kanji into its writing system, but IMHO, unless you master one before learning the other, it would be extremely difficult to memorize the often very different uses and pronunciations of a character across two languages. I don't know anyone who has mastered both Chinese and Japanese without either multi-year immersion or childhood exposure.</p>
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<p>Would doing that be suicide (the two languages)?</p>
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<p>At a tough school like U of Chicago? IMHO, yes. Unless you already know that you are profoundly gifted at learning languages (and I mean truly unusual talent, not just that you were the #1 student in high school French), I think this is too much to take on as a freshman. Start with one, and if you find it easy to manage the the first year of that language, then start the second sophomore year.</p>
<p>Well, Japanese and German are both subject-object-verb languages, so would you advise a student that it wouldn't be too tough to learn both together, since the grammar is similar?</p>