Attending a Japanese University

[Nyororin]

As a foreign student, you would not be held to the same academic standards for entry as the normal Japanese students. Entrance exams become a moot point as unless you already have some sort of valid visa, you`re only going to be able to attend as a foreign exchange student. This means that the concerns of the other posters in regard to the entrance exams aren`t really valid.

However, there are a few points that you don`t seem to have hit upon.

No matter what your level of fluency, as a foreign student with a student visa - you`ll be held to the same financial requirements as an exchange student. This means having the money in advance, etc etc. That would not necessarily be cheaper than a formal exchange program. In the end, you pretty much need to have ALL the money in advance, with piles left over for show.

They may not give you permission to work. This is really up to the school and the sponsor of your visa. If they think that work is likely to interfere with your studies, they don`t have to give you permission. You could end up in a position where you cannot legally earn any money while in Japan. Even if you were able to get permission, the government doesn`t like the idea of students possibly running out of money while attending school and being unable to pay their fees, so you will still need all of that in advance.

Working to earn extra money is one thing, but working to simply be able to afford the schooling in the first place is *not* an acceptable plan.

I do believe that the fluency in one year is quite possible - but not under normal circumstances. And it would be pretty hard to pull off outside of Japan. Maybe an intensive immersion course? Either way, the clock is ticking, and when it comes to language acquisition time is not on your side. If you haven`t hit some level of fluency at 16 or 17, it gets increasingly more difficult to do so at a very high speed. The younger you are, the better, which is why small children can learn to speak a different language in no time.

[SSJup81]

I commend you on being so organized and having such a well, thought-out plan, but, like someone else suggested, seems it'd be easier if you attended a university in your area, or a university in your home country (sorry, don't know where you're from) that has a very good program pertaining to languages that includes Japanese. That way, you can just do a study abroad program your third or fourth year in Japan.

[anrakushi]

ignoring all the financial difficulties etc that you mentioned, because you are going to need some decent financial backing for visa sponsorship, language fluency in 4 years is not a problem if you are dedicated.. but getting into osaka university will not be an easy task. even my friends from malaysia who were fluent in japanese (and 5 other languages mind you) had trouble getting into Ryukoku University which is not a top level university. you are really setting your sights pretty damn high and i commend you for your drive and ambition but remember not to put all your eggs into one basket, look at other education options in Japan and in your own country.

as for the worth of a Japanese university degree.. that is debatable. however being at a top ranking university will certainly put you in a good position for employment in Japan. as for university life, this is an interesting thing and it changes from one program and university to the next. for my friends i made while in university at japan on exchange, they had a pretty easy schooling life, not a lot of work. a lot of emphasis was put on their graduation thesis. many of my friends had the last 6 months of their degree completely empty, they had already completed all required classes for their degree. infact i knew a couple that had finished after 3 years. but a japanese degree must be 4 years so they had to continue paying for that year. >< waste of time if you ask me. but oh well.

[Miak]

I looked some info up online, and a source said the immigration office expects you to have around $14,000 for one year.

Would you need funds to defray all expenses during the period of your visa, or for all of your intended study time?

For example, if I planned on going to a four year university, yet I applied for a 1 year visa (that I would renew yearly) would I need to show funds for the period of my visa (1 year), or the period of my studies(4 years)?

[noodle]

Miak, by the looks of thing's, I'll be heading off to Osaka University in a couple of months for an exchange program. I have a choice between 1 semester, 1 year (2 semesters) or 2 years (4 semesters). I've decided on the 1 year.
To be honest with you, it wasn't difficult for me to get accepted at all. I even got accepted to Tokyo University (ranked 1st in Japan) just by a simple recommendation from my university. But unfortunately, an exchange agreement will no longer exists with my university after this year for Tokyo.

As for the financial situation, exchange programs will generally be a lot cheaper because the tuition fees will be paid in your home university (this being usually the most expensive part about university).
I think that the estimates you've made or you've found are not that accurate or have been made so that you are VERY safe. For example;

B. Living Cost, Utilities, Travel Expenses 500-600$

For me, this cost will be 0$ unless I decide to go into town or travel to other cities etc, but even then, it certainly will not cost that much per month!

As you've done research already on Osaka, I'm sure you've seen this already, but I'll give it to you anyway. Check you OUSSEP

OUSSEP HomePage | Calendar

They have a very informative guide to everything and anything to do with exchange programs. I will be doing the program called "Independent Study". This will allow me to study what I need for my degree AND I will also be having language lessons. Which means that I will not be wasting one year by studying things that have nothing to do with my degree.

You also mentioned that foreign students in English speaking countries generally have a poor level of english, but you must understand that the situation is very different to Japan. In English speaking countries like England, they will generally take foreign students because they bring a lot of money to the university. This always helps in their decision making. People might disagree with me about this, but it is fact that many of the foreign students are only accepted due to money. This can easily be seen by the failure rate for foreign students in the first year of undergraduate studies (but of course, this doesn't mean that no foreigners pass, in fact, in post graduate studies, they are generally far superior).
In Japan, I highly doubt it is similar because from what I know, foreigners and Japanese pay the same tuition fees, where as in the US or England, tuition fees for a foreigner can be up to 5 times more expensive! eg, Where I would pay £3,000pa in england for any course I want, a foreigner could pay anything above £11,000pa depending on the course.

[xYinniex]

hmm, Thats a big organised list and also a big ambition. Though studying japanese as a major in japan, when it is not your first language seems a bit ambitious. Maybe, try majoring in something else, because it will be a long hard road, if you're not motivated enough.

and also if you want to go to OSAKA university, ranked third, i;d expect that you would need straight A's. Heck, even a lower uni would ask for straight A's from you because if you didn't know yet, japan has the hardest education system.

[koaku]

I looked prices for a ticket to Tokyo (Paris_Tokyo or Paris_London_Tokyo) ...British Airw.= 1100€ , Air France same day = 3721€ !!! lol

Anyway..I noticed that there was not much ppl for Todai here?

[Katia]

Chances of getting accepted into a JApanese university (especially) for a foreign student are quite low and you have to be a Straight A+ student in Japan to get in, only making it even more so difficult for a foregner.

However, you are probably aware of this as you are so dedicated and organized about this. If you stick to your goals you do have high chances of getting in (assuming you are a high ranked student) I also suggest you to get into a high ranking high school as well if you're not in one already.

Good luck and do your best ^^

[noodle]

I'm surprised people keep mentioning straite A's like its something hard to do. Anyone can get straite A's with just a little determination and/or great exam techniques. I think since I've been in school, my average attendance is about about 40%, yet I always come out with straite A's because I know exam techniques and I learn what I have to learn.

So, miak, I would say don't worry too much about getting straite A's because if you want to, you can. It's not hard. In fact, I'd say try to offer something other than straite A's, because everyone can get this. You need to prove you have character. Character can be more important to a university than your grades, or at the very least it could be the one thing that seperates you from the rest of the A grade students.

[Katia]

Originally Posted by noodle

I'm surprised people keep mentioning straite A's like its something hard to do. Anyone can get straite A's with just a little determination and/or great exam techniques. I think since I've been in school, my average attendance is about about 40%, yet I always come out with straite A's because I know exam techniques and I learn what I have to learn.

So, miak, I would say don't worry too much about getting straite A's because if you want to, you can. It's not hard. In fact, I'd say try to offer something other than straite A's, because everyone can get this. You need to prove you have character. Character can be more important to a university than your grades, or at the very least it could be the one thing that seperates you from the rest of the A grade students.

unfortunately it's not as simple as getting straight A's.

duhh! it's easy if you're determined and study before an exam. But an A isn't gonna get you a high enough enter score...

look at it this way. Every subject is out of 50 points over all per year. Everything 39 (out of 50) and above is an A+ only 20% overall students can get above that (50 out of 50 is 0.2 percent of students)

you battle against each other, not getting a good grade at that point. A 39 is a low A+ and it's not gonna get you into Osaka uni you need to be in your 40's in all subjects, which means medium to high A+ on every outcome, every exam, test etc. Without exception for an entire year.

That's not something you can study for the night before I'm afraid. So a consistant determination is required.

ciao