College in Japan

[benducati]

since the former thread (small but significant to myself) was wiped here it is again.

i'm a junior in highschool. not in junior highschool. but a junior in highschool. meaning im in 11th grade.
some douche in the thread before this gave me an attitude saying i shouldnt worry about future related issues whilst still in middle school.

situation: im really interested in attending college in japan. though i dont know how to approach the whole thing.
ive read quite a few admission requirments for international students (i.e. university of tokyo/kyoto) and all of them refer to study abroad/student exchange programs.
as prestigious as kyoto/tokyo university is id assume almost every other college is the same. and while those programs are great and all.
what im really interested in is actually applying to be an actual student at that school. if thats in any way possible? or something along the lines of that.
if you guys could share any knowledge/info you have on the subject it would really help alot. cause atm im shooting blind.

[大きオタク男]

I want to study abroad as well, but since im older then 18 I cannot apply for an exchange program. Maybe you can, and if you can, you have to contact the local advisor at your school. Also, I don't know about highschool in America, but I can assume that you don't have a bachelorship when leaving Jr Highschool. You need that to get into a Japanese university, and you have to a test wherein your English and Japanese proficiency is tested.

This is as far as my knowledge goes, I would like to see people who know more than this :D

[BluZytrix]

Alright benducati,
You my friend are in the absolute best position at the moment. I'm glad you said something now. The Japanese government just released the best scholarship known to man for year. You can go for four to five years that is all paid by the government. That's an entire degree! The application is usually in August and if I were you, I would totally check this out. here is a link (http://www.seattle.us.emb-japan.go.jp/English/ExperienceJapan/index_experience.htm)
I would definetly keep an eye on this scholarship. I, am going to Japan through my University, which you should look into if you are looking to going to college. Another option may be to do an independent program of which there are many. Good luck.

[erbiumfiber]

Hi, it's me again. Here's the link for Sophia University, the university that teaches in English (but you can also study intensive Japanese)

http://www.sophia.ac.jp/E/E_admissions.nsf/Content/adm__Dprocedure__Qualifications

As you can see, you only need a high school diploma- just apply as you would to a university in the states.

I'm going to look for the other English-speaking university and I'll post that next.

Without being fluent in Japanese, I think it's unrealistic to attempt to be taught, in Japanese, at somewhere like University of Tokyo.

Like I said before, it's in a nice area of Tokyo and has some housing for international students- more for men than for women. And it's still cheaper by a lot than private school in the US. Probably you could use US loan programs to finance this, but I'm not sure.

[erbiumfiber]

OK, here's the other one that I know about: International Christian Universtiy- (note Sophia is taught by Catholic Jesuits- just a few classes but it is a Catholic University). Since most Japanese are not Christian, you shouldn't worry if you're not Christian.

More suburban campus and they encourage you to eventually study in Japanese after studying the language for a couple of years.

http://www.icu.ac.jp/admission_e/index.html

There may be other programs, but in these you can be a REGULAR undergraduate student, study Japanese, and eventually take some classes taught in Japanese.

There probably aren't schools like this in the boonies. I would heartily recommend at least applying to both...

[erbiumfiber]

Or you could go to an American University in Japan, like Temple University.

Note- quite a bit higher in cost than Sophia- I can't find tuition information on ICU

http://www.tuj.ac.jp/newsite/main/

[mikormack]

just finished doing a summer intensive Japanese course at ICU and my study abroad at Sophia begins in two weeks.

if you're looking to enter as a regular freshman at most schools (Sophia/ICU are the exceptions) be prepared to get a 1 on your Japanese Language Proficiency Test. if you cannot speak with near-fluency (including the 2000 kanji required) then you're pretty much shit out of luck.

as far as ICU goes, it's a nice campus and the teachers are friendly, but it's a bit small (maybe somewhere around 3500 students?) and it's kind of in the middle of nowhere (relative to the rest of Tokyo). it's approximately a 30 minute train ride and a 15 minute bus ride from Shinjuku, so if you want to get in and see the heart of the city it'll be a bit expensive, but Kichijoji and Mitaka themselves have a lot of cool shops and great restaurants.

in terms of Sophia, I have yet to attend so I cannot attest to it, but the Faculty of Comparative Culture has general liberal arts courses that you can choose from. as college in Japan is more or less a joke, you have to be somewhat focused if you actually want to learn anything. the exception may be with the language programs, where you'll likely work your ass off and have lots of homework. as for the other classes... well if you're not good at taking final exams, again, you're shit out of luck. the Japanese system usually has little or no homework, no projects or papers, and the only grade is from the mid-term and the final. but again, that's all hearsay.

supposedly ICU is a bit better, as the teachers actually require work from you... but as my summer course was a bit different from a normal ICU degree program, your mileage may vary.

[hapamama]

The small, private university I attended in Southern California offered a Japanese study abroad option at Hokusei Gakuen University in Sapporo. Most of the Brethren colleges here in the US offer that option.

[erbiumfiber]

Mikormack, are you going to live on-campus at Sophia-or at least in University-sponsered housing? Or do you have to find your own place? I used to go to church every week at St. Ignatius (on campus) and it looked like there was some housing right near the church for foreign students...May I ask how much the housing costs if you're getting a dorm room from the University?

I think you'll really like the Yotsuya area- you're really in the heart of Tokyo...

[Pierrot le Fou]

I really recommend applying to a US university with a decent program for whatever majors it is you are interested in, and make sure they have an exchange program with Japan. The best way to get a job in Japan is not through Japanese knowledge, but rather the ability to speak Japanese along with having other skills that extend beyond just language ability.

There are plenty of fluently bilingual folks like hapacheese and the like who can do translation and interpretation rather easily and most likely far better than someone who is starting serious study at 18. The only guy I know who does serious translation (governmental agencies and the like, flew with Koizumi's delegation to Chile the other year) has been in Japan for 20+ years or so, and started doing this sort of stuff at a time when the demand was huge, and the pool of qualified applicants was not.

Don't sacrifice your future earning power for some concept of the wonder of living in Japan. You will have plenty of time to come to Japan after college if you'd like, as well as studying abroad here for a year if you'd like. Then you can decide if it's something to put your career on hold for.

[mikormack]

unfortunately our classes are held at the Ichigaya campus (which from everything I've heard is fairly run-down)... although rumor has it that this year they're closing Ichigaya to do much needed repairs. I'll know more in a couple weeks, I guess.

in terms of housing, I'm doing a homestay through the study abroad coordinating program (run by CIEE (http://www.ciee.org/)) and the approximate cost of housing I think is $900/month? I'm not entirely sure, but you can check on the CIEE website if you wanna know more about their Sophia Program (http://www.ciee.org/program_search/program_detail.aspx?program_id=55).

[erbiumfiber]

Ouch! What you save in tuition vs. a US school (except that maybe you have to pay your home school some tuition?) I guess you make up for in the cost of living.

They did A LOT of construction on the Yotsuya campus, built a HUGE new beautiful building.

If anyone here is Catholic, they have a Catholic mass in English at noon every Sunday (and, of course, a Japanese mass at 10 or so). It's a pretty big church, mostly Filipino parishioners (common at most English language Catholic masses). I started going to a non-denomonational church in Harajuku because the music is much better (great tribute to my faith right there...)

In terms of whether to do an undergraduate degree at home (US) or abroad, yes, you do need to consider the acceptance of the degree in the US. But if you're planning to go to graduate school (practically required to get a halfway decent job these days) it might not be a problem. My daughter is very keen to study in the UK as an undergraduate. As most degree programs in the UK are three years, there can be some resistance in the US. But, she's planning to go to graduate school and I think she would fit in really well at any of the schools she's planning on so I am supporting her plans to be an "international student."

[Pierrot le Fou]

Just for reference, there are plenty of incredibly prestigious UK universities, whereas in academic circles, Japanese universities, especially private ones, are not regarded that well. The top Japanese universities are almost entirely public ones which I sincerely doubt a non-fluent non-Japanese could stand a snowball's chance of Hell in getting into. Without the prestige of a university, it will be more difficult to get into a grad school, let alone the top ones.

University is concerned the norm in the US and the UK, it is a luxury in Japan.

[BluZytrix]

Pierrot le fou et le fou.
I am a non-fluent, non-Japanese(black) person that is leaving in one week to attend Keio University for a year of study there. Keio is by far in the top three Universities in Japan(toudai and waseda are up there too). I wouldn't say that it's a snowball's chance in hell. Plus, I have already pointed out the scholarship that one can get that start you off with an intensive year of Japanese training and then puts you through 4 years of Japanese college.

[Pierrot le Fou]

A study abroad program and actual regular admission to one of their degree programs are worlds apart.

Call me when you've graduated with a degree that is indistinguishable from the Japanese guy who aced his entrance exam.

[Kustom]

Yeah, Pierrot is right, all those universities have exchange programs. I have never ever met a gaijin who entered university regularily like the Japanese do; I was under the impression that you needed to take the exam at the end of high school, which is impossible to pass if you didn't go to an elite Japanese high school and prep school in the first place.

And you're probably much better off doing an exchange since it will give you degrees from both universities (one will be a silly certificate of studies abroad, but you can still put it on your resume to great effect). Keep in mind that Japan is not an easy first foreign country to live in, so I wouldn't recommend commiting to four years of college if you have never lived there before...

[koku]

for the record, I know someone who did that.

Highschool here, went to a Japanese College there.

It's possible, hard as hell/out there. The reason study abroad is probably better, is because

A) it's going to be cheaper

B) your degree is usefull there AND here.

C) if you don't like it, you're not stuck there :P


If you have your heart set on doing it the other way though, e-mail/contact some colleges and find some advice.

[SoulPlay]

Well, im in college right now, planning to do a semester abroad in my sophomore year, my choices are Kansai Gaidai or nanzan, i get full tuition plus any scholarship/aid for books/travel expenses, but i just dont know which to pick.

[koku]

Well, im in college right now, planning to do a semester abroad in my sophomore year, my choices are Kansai Gaidai or nanzan, i get full tuition plus any scholarship/aid for books/travel expenses, but i just dont know which to pick.


man full tuiton i want that.

EDIT: I would go to the place that speaks the clostest to the Japanese you want to learn. Most likely tokyo-ben i presume.

[SoulPlay]

Actually its kyoto-ben, its so nice and elegant.

[koku]

Actually its kyoto-ben, its so nice and elegant.

oh you want to learn kyoto-ben?

hmmm isnt the official gov. taught language tokyo-ben? Isnt that also what most people understand?

[Pierrot le Fou]

Jesus Christ kokujin, you DO NOT know someone who passed Japanese university entrance exams from the US. You need to actually visit the universities to do so, and that means being in country, and fluent. I'm sure you know someone who went to a University in Japan, but which taught in English most of the time, and had an exchange program such that people from abroad could apply normally.

And dialect isn't that much of a big deal, which you seem to know very little about. So how about rather than polluting a ton of threads with your off-base assumptions and paranoia, you keep your complaints to your dialect thread?

[neta]

I'm going to begin attending the faculty of comparative culture (taught in English) at Sophia University later this month. I know very little Japanese and am completely throwing myself to the winds (I fell in love with Japan after an exchange the summer of my Junior year. As for admissions it is the same as a private school in the states (Essay, SAT's ect.) I got in with less than stellar grades and a 1250 on my SAT. I looked into Temple initally but they wont support you for a visa so basically you already have to be living in Japan or do it as an exchange through philly.

[koku]

Jsnip

......actually I'm pretty sure he moved there/ended all ties with school here.

And depending his this guys japanese level,

can he attend english taught, work on his japanese some more and then transfer to a japanese taught japanese university that he wants?

[Pierrot le Fou]

There are programs that allow you to take Japanese-taught classes while you're there. And it is possible to transfer universities. But you STILL would probably have to join a regular program rather than just be accepted like a 'normal' student, as 'normal' students don't join a school late, and have to take an entrance exam which is for students who are STARTING their schooling.

So, pretty-much, no, he didn't actually get accepted/attend a Japanese university like a Japanese person. And it doesn't matter if he moved there or not.