Waiting Anxiously

I've been a bit quiet after my previous post. Since then, I've submitted the Waseda essay (which is separate from the CSU IP essay) after several painstaking nights of typing. The forms were on A4 paper, so I had to use a typewriter. Unfortunately, on the last night before it was due, my typewriter ribbon ran out of ink, so one of the pages of the application was slightly crooked as opposed to the neater copy I was in the middle of redoing when the ribbon died.

I'm supposed to find out whether or not I've been accepted by April 15th. In the meantime, I'm crossing my fingers!

IP Interview

I just had my interview for study abroad today, and I think it went super well! I tried to stay calm going in, and everyone was super nice. I'm glad that I contacted a lot of people before I went into the interview because I was absolutely prepared and it went without a hitch. I'm writing down the details to help other people who might need to prepare for the IP interview in the future.

I dressed up for the interview in a skirt and nice blouse, and the interview panel (Cecilia from the study abroad office and four volunteering CSU professors) was also sporting dressy-casual. We started with introductions, and then the questions began. Here's a summary of the things they asked me:

What classes do you intend to take in Japan, and how does this contribute to your major?

What's the greatest thing you hope to gain from your studies abroad?

How does going to Japan relate to your future career goals?

What is your main worry about going to Japan?

How have you prepared yourself for going abroad? Have you contacted any program alumni?

Financially, how are you preparing to go to Japan?

Name a challenging event in your life that has helped you.

What interests you culturally about Japan?

Talk about Japanese current events.

Question about the Japanese Empress.