How competitive is JET?

[ZaichikArky]

Like, I really need to know how much of a chance I will have to be accepted. Like, what are they looking for? What kind of GPA and experience? This may influence if I chose to stay in my university for the 4 years, or gradute a quarter early.

Like I'm hoping my GPA will be like 3.1 by the time I graduate. Maybe 3.2. I don't think I can do anything more than that. I didn't do EAP(study abroad) and I'm not exactly planning to. I already got rejected from one of the Japanese programs here :|. I'm not sure if I'm up for another rejection.

So I was wondering what they were looking for and how much of a chance I have. By the time I graduate, I'd have taken Japanese 3 years and been a TA for probably one or two quarters.

I'm sorry if this question has already been asked. I'm new!

[Lisa M]

On your application, don't use the word "like" so much.

Honestly, I don't know how competitive it is, but writing any part of the application (is there an essay type thing?) or doing the interview in valley-girl mode will definitely decrease your chances of being accepted.

[ZaichikArky]

haha! I didn't even realize I used "like" so much. i probably wouldn't do that in an application. FYI, I am Californian XD.

[Masa the Masta]

haha! I didn't even realize I used "like" so much. i probably wouldn't do that in an application. FYI, I am Californian XD.

Not surprised. :clap:

Don't worry, I'm from Cali too.

[atomiton]

Don't worry, I hear it's curable. XD

[alansmithee]

Like, maybe you should worry about, like, graduating college before you, like, worry about applying for a program which requires a 4 year degree. Like, if you were rejected to go to, like, Japan before, what makes you think you would, like, be a good fit later?

[Masa the Masta]

Like, maybe you should worry about, like, graduating college before you, like, worry about applying for a program which requires a 4 year degree. Like, if you were rejected to go to, like, Japan before, what makes you think you would, like, be a good fit later?

Like, you're not funny.

I think many people have said getting accepted to a Japanese teaching abroad program is a draw of a hat. She simply wasn't selected for one, is all.

[NERD]

In short- nobody knows for certain. Didn't we have several threads about this very subject?

Chances are, with limited space and gaining popularity behind JET, it will be more competitive as the years go by- unless Japan was to start a war or something.

[Pierrot le Fou]

I had a 2.7 GPA.

I failed Japanese 2.

I got in without being alternate'd or anything.

I don't know if there is a selection process of merit.

[JusenkyoGuide]

When I asked 8 years ago (Jesh, was it THAT long ago?) I was told that JET accepted 2 out of 3 people who applied. Lately, given the popularity of Japan, I've heard it's more 1 out of 2 now.

GPA doesn't seem to count for much, as long as you're over a 2.5. It has far more to do with your essay and then your interview, showing that you have an interest in Japan beyond anime and the ability to thrive in a different culture.

[mikem]

I got in without being alternate'd or anything.


Well you're good enough. You're smart enough. And gosh darnit people like you!

(Two out of three maybe?)

[MNJetter]

When I asked 8 years ago (Jesh, was it THAT long ago?) I was told that JET accepted 2 out of 3 people who applied. Lately, given the popularity of Japan, I've heard it's more 1 out of 2 now.

Seriously? Maybe that's the acceptance rate for people who interviewed, not applied. At my consulate last year, the acceptance rate was only about 8%. I heard that about 3,700 people applied. Out of those, they brought in 350 for interviews, and the total count of acceptances was 210.

But back to topic, don't let stats bring you down. The things that they look at in an application are not so much GPA and qualifications as they are evidence of what the JET program looks for most in their interviews - a positive, flexible, creative person who is interested in international exchange and the Japanese education system. If you can get that message across in your application, you will get an interview, and if you can get that same message across in your interview, you'll probably get in. Honestly, CLAIR believes that just about anyone can be an ALT. They mainly look for people who are most likely to survive the risk of culture shock and the rigors of living abroad without screwing up the program's reputation. Sending people home or making excuses for their illegal behavior is expensive, time consuming, and damaging to the program.

This is Japan. It's all about appearance. :)

[Daddaluma]

When I applied I went through the New York Consulate. They said that about 50 percent made it through to the interview and 50 percent of those actually got positions.

I guess it just depends on your consulate.

[JusenkyoGuide]

Seriously? Maybe that's the acceptance rate for people who interviewed, not applied. At my consulate last year, the acceptance rate was only about 8%. I heard that about 3,700 people applied. Out of those, they brought in 350 for interviews, and the total count of acceptances was 210.
That's what the woman from San Francisco said. But that was 8 years ago, and I could have misheard what she meant so...

[MNJetter]

Maybe the Chicago consulate is more competetive because it (and Detroit) cover more or less the entire Midwest.

damn low-population-density areas... :P

[Shadowknight]

Getting into JET probably depends on these questions, based on Az's editorials
1. Do you mind having fingers rammed up your ass on a regular basis? yes or no
2. If you are a male, do you have a problem with random women asking you "how many women have you raped?" yes or no
3. Do you have a problem with people acting as if you're a dumb American who only speaks english, even if you have just proved you are quite fluent in it to the person you are conversing with? yes or no
4. If you watch pornography, are you willing and able to tolerate Japanese porn for your viewing pleasure, particuarly if it involves school girls? yes or no
5. If you are a woman, do you have a problem with people mentioning how fat you are, even if you are so thin that turning side-ways makes you invisible? yes or no
6. If you are a male, do you have a problem with small children grabbing at your genitalia on a regular basis? yes or no
7. If you become sick or injured, do you have a sense of humor about how poor our healthcare system is? yes or no
8. Are you intersted in purchasing used schoolgirl panties? yes or no
9. Would having a man dressed in S&M gear yelling "Foooooo!" and dryhumping you make you feel uncomfortable? yes or no
10. If you are a woman, would you feel uncomfortable being gropped on a train? yes or no
11. Do you like watching lots of tv shows watching celebrities eating food? yes or no
12. Are you interested in watching tentacle rape porn? yes or no

[Daddaluma]

Maybe the Chicago consulate is more competetive because it (and Detroit) cover more or less the entire Midwest.

damn low-population-density areas... :P

I would have figured the high population density areas would have it worst . . . guess not

[Artful_Dodger]

haha! I didn't even realize I used "like" so much. i probably wouldn't do that in an application. FYI, I am Californian XD.
It's pretty bad when nervous speech patterns leak into your typing style.

[mikem]

It's pretty bad when nervous speech patterns leak into your typing style.

It's not a nervous pattern. It's just valley-ben.

[ZaichikArky]

Thanks for all the information, guys! This has been a bit confusing, but quite useful

Like, maybe you should worry about, like, graduating college before you, like, worry about applying for a program which requires a 4 year degree. Like, if you were rejected to go to, like, Japan before, what makes you think you would, like, be a good fit later?

That is a bit rude. Honestly, I KNEW I wanted to do the JET program while I was taking Japanese in High School! This is the number one thing I want to do as soon as I graduate. I'll cry for-evar if I don't get in... well, maybe for a while, then I'll get accepted into a program like Nova which I hear is a bit shady...

I'm a Junior in College. I'm graduating my winter quarter as a senior. MAYBE even fall quarter, but I think that's stretching it. As soon as I graduate, within a month, I plan my ass to be IN JAPAN. There is no question about it. It's been a dream of mine since I was 15. I am VERY serious about it. Azreal's editorials didn't deter me in the least. I just need to know where I stand. I screwed up bigtime with my first major and my GPA suffered a lot. Since I have so many units right now, it's harder to raise it, and I am working hard in a major that is more comfortable for me.

But yeah. I'm not asking this question just cause LIKE I want to know how cool JET is, I'm seriously doing it, even if I have absolutely no chance and won't even get accepted into an interview. And I LIKE handle interviews very well. I alway seem to give a good impression, for some reason... so if by some stroke of faith I get accepted into the interview I'll be thrilled.

Anyway, thanks for all the imput : ).

[mikem]

I'll get accepted into a program like Nova which I hear is a bit shady...

Nova isn't a program it's just a company. A company specializing in consentual slavery.

[ZaichikArky]

Nova isn't a program it's just a company. A company specializing in consentual slavery.

Like what horror stories do you have to tell about it. I have heard:

-they hate Americans(the British and Australians)
-It's run by the Yakuza( 0_o)

[Masa the Masta]

I'll cry for-evar if I don't get in... well, maybe for a while

:duh: NOW you sound even more like you came straight out o' da OC..

[mikem]

Like what horror stories do you have to tell about it.

It's actually way more simple than that. There are people, who for whatever reason, are desperate to live and work in Japan. So Nova will hire them with very poor renumeration. Low wages, forced rent at a Nova owned apartment, long hours and unpaid overtime, etc. :duh:

Nova also has a history of treating their customers with equal value.

There are often people who have had good experiences with Nova though. Just be sure to read all of the fine print before you sign up.

[ZaichikArky]

<b>NOW you sound even more like you came straight out o' da OC..</b>

I'm actually from the Bay Area. And that statement was meant to be silly. lol. Yeah, I have been told before I'm a bit Valleygirlish, but it actually mainly comes about online, for some reason. If you actually met me, you'd see I'm not too characteristically valleygirish. I'm more tomboy, not too pretty and not even too blond anymore : ).

[Pierrot le Fou]

In all honesty, there are several main steps of the JET application process.

When submitting the essay, people who make a single error that gets noticed will be tossed in the 'reject' pile immediately and get blacklisted from ever entering Japan. The authorities will prevent you from entering the country (with any visa whatsoever) and sell you into indentured servitude with a less-than-congenial Korean English teaching service.

If you manage to get your essay finished without making any mistakes that go noticed, then you will be put into the 'maybe' pile. The people in the maybe pile get put in a box, and then pushed down a flight of stairs. The section that makes it to the second step past the landing (further down) get interviews. The rest get a free chicken infected with bird flu -or- a BSE infected chunk of Kobe beef.

Those that do make it to the interview are further whittled down. Those people incapable of speaking the English language (read: the Scottish and Welsh) are tossed in the "fight the alternates to the death" pool. Later on this will come into play. Those people who fail to wear a suit are stripped down and put into a fundoshi, and forced to ride a giant wooden phallus in a parade under the guise of 'cultural exchange.' This happens in the US, not Japan, as it wouldn't have the same shock value in Japan (depending on whether the giant wooden phallus matched your skin tone, in which case they may think it was actually attached to you, because foreigners have massive wangs).

Those who manage to be able to speak English, AND make it to the interview, are then pulled through the latest in holographic imaging technology (only in Japan) to make them run through a Takeshi's Castle-esque set of challenges relating to a regular day of elementary school. If you vomit because of school lunch, you fail, and are summarily peer-pressured into committing ritual suicide.

Those who pass the challenges are then accepted on the JET program, assuming that they make a sacrifice of a virgin sperm whale (sounds silly to me too, but apparently 'sacrificial sperm whale' when said in Japanese actually means 'wicked hellah good luck' or 'I am a slave to the Japanese system now' or something). No tools are allowed in the hunting or sacrificing of the whale.

The Scottish and Welsh are then put against the people who failed to make the interview due to not falling far enough down the steps. Any survivors are killed. It's like those damned Japanese movies about JHS kids on an island.

"Survivor" was it?

[NERD]

^Dude, what kind of beef you have against Korea?

[paul]

Obviously the BSE infected kobe kind.

[ZaichikArky]

interesting post. so uh, what kind of terrible error can you make with the essay?

[Masa the Masta]

snip...


What part of Takeshi's castle part was hardest for you? I need to know in case I need to be prepared for such a run! :clap:

[Pierrot le Fou]

It's part of the healing process. Japan sends them incompetent English teachers to work at slave wages, and Korea forgives the Japanese for one Korean 'comfort woman' for every 3 English drones sent their way. Isn't it a fair trade?

[alansmithee]

Like, you're not funny.

I think many people have said getting accepted to a Japanese teaching abroad program is a draw of a hat. She simply wasn't selected for one, is all.

Like, reading comprehension? Like, she said she, like, doesn't even have a degree. So it like, probably wasn't a like, teaching program. Like, good try, though.

[NERD]

It's part of the healing process. Japan sends them incompetent English teachers to work at slave wages, and Korea forgives the Japanese for one Korean 'comfort woman' for every 3 English drones sent their way. Isn't it a fair trade?

Dude, there are thing to joke about... but issues concerning those 'comfort women' or anyone who had to deal with forced labor under the Japanese rule, not cool man. Especially since the right-wings in Japan fail to show any remorse for their sinful past.

[Samwise]

"Survivor" was it?


BATTEHRU ROYARE

[TommyA]

Sorry this is no help, but I just wanted to say how funny it was to see someone else type "like" as much as I do! I say it and type it TOO much!

[koku]

Sorry this is no help, but I just wanted to say_______ how funny it was to see someone else type "like" as much as I do! I_____say it and ______type it TOO much!



The spots with ________ are the spots you fought hard to not say like, aren't they?

[Azrael]

Things seem to have changed from the 3 years ago that I applied. From what I've heard, the application got A LOT harder. It almost seems like the selection process is random.

For the interview, and I'm not trying to make up anything or pull something outta my ass here, but it seemed they grilled minorities a lot harder than they did, say, white folks. ...Living in Japan though, I can actually see and understand what they were getting at with that though. My interview was a bitch, and a lot of my Asian friends who applied also talked about tough interviews. Some of my white friends though, according to them it was like...

Interviewer: Are you an axe murderer?
Interviewee: Um, no?
Interviewer: Ok, great! You'll be hearing from us.

More than just seeing if you would be a decent teacher, I think part of the interview process was designed to see if you could cut it living overseas in a radically different culture and so far away from hom.

But honestly though, I don't know what's going on anymore. I've met a lot of JET's...who should have never made it past the application process. And I've heard of potentially awesome people who have been turned down. It almost seems like luck of the draw.

And if it makes you feel any better, I decided my freshman year of college I was going to do JET. And pretty much didn't think about anything else. I kind of realized that midway through my senior year. I was kind of lucky to get in, had I not I didn't really have a contingency plan. ...And had I not, none of us would be here right now. :P

[ZaichikArky]

And if it makes you feel any better, I decided my freshman year of college I was going to do JET. And pretty much didn't think about anything else. I kind of realized that midway through my senior year. I was kind of lucky to get in, had I not I didn't really have a contingency plan. ...And had I not, none of us would be here right now.

That does : ). I know there are other programs I can do, but JET is what I've always wanted to do, and I hear bad stuff about other programs, not as much about JET. I guess primarily I'm worried about my GPA not being high enough. I suppose then I just will have to try to impress them to look away from that and try to get them to see I'm good in other things. heh. thanks!

[Azrael]

If you want to live and work in Japan, JET is still the best way to go, methinks.

Don't worry about GPA. Mine wasn't too high (I spent a few years comically failing at computer science). As I said, the most important thing is someone who can hack it in Japan, and, you know, not kill a few Japanese grade schoolers along the way. ...It's a lot easier said than done.

[Livre]

I'm definetly going to apply to the JET program once I graduate. It sounds like alot of fun, and seeing as how I don't have a 'biggu dukku' (or a dikku at all for that matter) I'll be free from such attempts. Although I'm sure not all students have the voracity of yours Azrael.

[Zensouken]

Although I'm sure not all students have the voracity of yours Azrael.

You could have easily used "vivacity" but I started to laugh upon reading that...






...then I realized they are voracious.

[mikem]

If you want to live and work in Japan, JET is still the best way to go, methinks.

I think it mostly depends on your priorities. If you get a good degree and then go to language school you also have a lot of options. Tech people that are bilingual always have some demand.

The really cush way to go is to get a buisness degree from a top 100 MBA program. Then you can come to Japan and work securities making tons of money. Often you can also get lifetyle adjustment packages which means you get a gaijin sized apartment with a parking space, a car, and tuition assistance so you kids can go to private school. Of course the long hours and high stress tend to offset all of that quite a bit.

The real question is more about what you want to get out of it. It's hard to really dig into the culture when you have a huge mansion in Roppongi Hills. :)