And Now We Wait...

So, Day 2 was actually a bit more nerve-racking than Day 1. Since there were so many applicants this year we were told to prepare for a 15 minute interview. In the past, they have asked applicants 3 sets of questions:
#1. Why B-School? Why Japan? Why Tsukuba?
#2. What topic would you like to research? Describe your plan in detail.
#3. Questions directly related to the previous day's test and portions that were answered incorrectly were targeted.

Cool. This is in my mind when my number is called and I head into the interview room. I walk in and see as panel of three professors, two men and a woman, seated before me to conduct my interview. I say "Hello" to which the response is "Right, so we need to check your name and test ID number. Read it for us, in Japanese"

(Inside voice: Nice way to start an interview, make me feel right at home why don't you folks?)

I read my name and number, they check it against the picture they have of me on my application and finally they tell me to sit down. Originally, I was also told by my tutor and advisor that the interview would be in English. Now, I can speak Japanese of course but I sound much smarter in my own language. I'm working on my Japanese daily but when given the choice between being interviewed for Graduate School in a language I've spoken all my life or one I've studied (sporadically at times) for about 7 years...I chose the former.

Anyway, the interview begins and as I suspected, they want to proceed in Japanese. I told them that I preferred to answer in English and they said that was fine but they would ask me the questions in Japanese. (Inside voice: Okkkay) As expected the first question they asked was the "Why B-School, Why Japan" to which I feel I answered well. Next they asked me what I wanted to do once I finished school. No problem there either. Then they told me that my classes would primarily be in Japanese and asked how comfortable I was with that. I told them I was able to understand everything they had asked me thus far and would continue my Japanese studies throughout my time in Japan in hopes of attaining true fluency. (Inside voice: Excellent! We're on a roll!)

And that my friends was where interview ended. They said a polite thank you and asked me to send the next person in. I was baffled. They didn't ask me about my research plan or anything about the test and I was out of there in less than 8 minutes! I literally walked down the hall away from the interview room feeling like I had a cartoon bubble over my head with like 9 question marks in it. Like, "What????"

So, I called my tutor and spoke to a few other people in my research lab and everyone's reaction was mixed. I wanted a drink. I explained to my Japanese friends that an interview that ends abruptly and quickly in the States is definitely not a good sign, but I was assured (and I used that word very lightly) that here it could go either way. We talked about it until I was tired of talking about it and we drank and talked about the strange and seemingly odd way in which the Japanese do things.

The best part is, that experience is over and I have the future to look forward to. That test night I allowed myself to moan and be uncertain and ho-hum but the next day I celebrated moving past that milestone. Feb. 17th the results will be posted so until then I'll just hope for the best.