As I was brainstorming about what I should write, it was both exciting and nerve-wrecking to think back to the day I took the entrance exam of GSIT, Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation. I can still recall the day I took the exam, especially the second part of the exam where I had to interpret in front of three professors. Now I’m a student at GSIT, taking classes from the very same professors. Although learning here is even more difficult than I had expected it to be, I still find it enjoyable, because this is what I have dreamt of. Coming back to the topic, I thought of what would be the best tips I could give to anyone else who would read this piece of writing, and I decided describing the moments of the entrance exam would best suit the purpose.

Although most of the people know that they have to get through the first round of the exam in order to be given the chance to take the second round, many people focus on practicing interpreting and I was one of them as well. However, it was the first round that had been unexpected. The excerpt that was read as well as the one that was given were both easy – too easy that I worried about making any mistakes. I think the purpose was to look for fluency in the writings, and what helped me the most was the everyday summary practice with my friends. When I first practiced writing, I would come up with expressions that would be considered “Konglish” and nothing like English. However, as I kept writing, I started to notice my weak points, and it was only a matter of time before I started to make fewer mistakes after realizing the kind of things I’m weak in.

As for the second part of the exam, I was surprisingly not that nervous. It was thanks to having simulations from both of my English to Korean and Korean to English interpreting classes. The one from English to Korean especially helped, because it was part of the class to practice interpreting in exactly same environment. This meant we had to walk into a room in the GSIT building and interpret in front of a professor. Moreover, the classroom that we practiced in was the actual room that I took the exam in, so I think I was even more fortunate. Also, contrary to my worry, the interviewers were very understanding – they seemed to know how nervous I was, and continued to smile, which made me calm down. Then I heard the first text. Suddenly, I could feel my heart pumping, and I couldn’t listen as well, which led to an unfortunate quality of interpretation. However, for some reason, I didn’t mind this when I was interpreting the second text. I think if I minded the first interpretation, I probably wouldn’t be a student at GSIT, so my best tip is that don’t worry about making mistakes too much.

Even to this day, there are times when I am not sure how I got accepted into the GSIT. That’s why I cannot guarantee this essay will help anyone who hopes to enter GSIT. However, I hope people can learn from my experience and be better than I have done, as a student from both HUFS and GSIT.