Attending a Japanese University
 

I am currently interested in attending Osaka University. As I am only 14, I have quite a few years before this is possible, but making plans for college can never hurt.

As of now, I am learning Japanese with the method at all japanese all the time, so I plan on being fluent four years from now (not to a native level, just fluent enough to attend college).

I typed up a short overview on my plan to attend Osaka university. Will you please post anything you find wrong with it?

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Plan for attending Osaka University

Osaka University is a major national university in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest university in Japan and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan.
Osaka University is recognized as a leading university, especially in basic sciences and the medical field. The university was ranked the 61st among the world's best universities and the 3rd best Japanese university in 2006, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. (Information from wikipedia)
Expenses

Entrance examination fee: 160$
Tuition fee (two semesters): 5000$
Matriculation fee: 2600$
Accommodation
A. 50$ a month (International students lodge on campus)
B. 250-600$ a month for a private apartment
Estimated Monthly Costs (Information from Osaka University)
A. Cost of Food 300-400$
B. Living Cost, Utilities, Travel Expenses 500-600$
C. Study Expenses 60-120$
D. Entertainment, Clothes 210-220$
F. Other Miscellaneous Expenses 140-230$
E. Total (Per Month) 1210-1570$

Yearly expenses based on the above
First year- 26,000$
Second, Third, and Fourth years- 24,300$

(The above includes all expenses, although, of course, prices may rise a little bit)

Financing

Before leaving for Japan, I plan to have 10,000$ earned through part-time work in high school, international scholarships, parents, student loans, etcetera. This money will be used for fees that have to be paid within three months of my move to Japan (University fees, accommodation, etc.)

During this three month period, I will be searching for a part time job. According to Japanese visa laws, international college students are only aloud to work for 28 hours a week. There are two different employment options I am considering.

1. English Teaching: This involves teaching English to Japanese citizens. Hours are flexible, so I could teach after school. The average pay is 20-40$ per hour. Assuming I was working for 25$ per hour, for my allotted 112 hours a month, I could make as much as 2800$ a month. In summer time, when the government permits you to work eight hours, this would double to 5600$ a month.

2. Freelance translation: Since this is done primarily online, the Japanese government could not enforce the 28 hour limit. Most translators can handle 2000 words of translation with an eight hour work day. Most Japanese-English translators make 0.25$ to 0.40$ per word. Assuming I could translate 1000 words a day, six days a week, for only 0.15$ (rather low pay, considering the market values given above), I would make around 3600$ a month. Since this is all freelance, I could work whenever I wanted after college hours.

Based on the “Expenses section” it would be safe to say my monthly expenses for my first year will be around 2200$ a month. The above employment options, along with scholarships (which there are many), student loans, and the generous support of my family should cover my stay in Japan.

Schooling Plans

Now that I have covered my financial plans, I can talk more about my actual schooling. Although getting into a Japanese university is difficult, many people say the school is very easy to succeed in once accepted.

Foreigners must take a nationally standardized test called the EUJ that determines their level of Japanese. If they score high enough, many schools will accept them, after, of course, they pass the entrance exam.

I plan on studying at Osaka University’s College of foreign studies. My major will be Japanese, and my minor will be business, or English. Below is a course description from Osaka University’s college of foreign studies.

“Our goals are to promote education and research in foreign languages and cultures, both in theory and practice, to instill broad knowledge in the students so that they can contribute to the world community, and to nurture their deep understanding of foreign affairs.

To achieve these goals, SFS offers 25 modern languages as majors and many other ancient and modern languages as minors. During the first and the second years, the students are to take one foreign language as their major language, together with core introductory subjects in various academic disciplines. In the final two years they will study their major language at a more advanced level, along with a problem-oriented research related to a particular academic discipline of their choice.”


Plans for life after graduation

After graduation, I plan on moving back to America for 1-6 months. After my temporary visit, I plan on going back to Japan to be either a full time translator or a full time English teacher.

Closing Note


Although I plan on going to college in Japan, I realize it will probably happen in a much different way then described in this document. The main purpose of this article was to give some information about financing undergraduate life in Japan, along with giving some basic course descriptions.

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Note: I know freelance translating, even after obtaining the work permit from your university and the immigration office, is most likely illegal. I would rather engage in english teaching.

Which brings me to my question. If you obtain a part-time work visa while in college, can you teach english if someone is willing to hire you. As I have stated numerous times, I am only 14, so this is a very vague/naive plan to my future. Please give any advice you may have. Thank you!

You sound dedicated and motivated and have done some very thorough research.

Being fluent enough to attend college means being native fluent, and I think that is a pretty ambitious goal over the next four years, especially if you don't live in Japan. Although you are right, the hardest thing about Japanese colleges is getting in, you want to go to Osaka University, It's ranked number 3 for a reason.

Without a degree or passing JPT1 or a lot of translating experience, finding consistent translation work is going to be hard. $0.40 a word? That's what some companies charge for highly technical translations which include a translator and editor/proofer, but that's not a realistic number. $0.15 is more realistic, but I still am not sure how you plan to attend classes and do homework AND work 28 hours a week (but you're young and have more enery than me). Tutoring english is probably more lucrative, but 28 hours (plus travel time) is very ambitious. 3 or 4 hours a week is more realistic.

Just a couple things to think about...

I honestly dont really know about many of the stuff you talked about, but it seems that getting money in japan is not going to be so easy. Its like MMM says u have to go to classes u have to study and the work teaching (suposing u find work teaching) and translating.. u would have to go to an hospital really soon from exaustion... If i were u i would seriously consider learnig japanese very well until u are fluent and then try a scholarship or some program not to think too much about money and concentrate in the important things, your studies and the experience itself...
But like i said i dont have any information about many of the stuff you talked about...

Thanks for the help! Yeah, I think I am going to drop the translation work idea for now. By the way, the 0.40$ was taken from a website that had no idea what they were talking about. It was stupid of me to even include that figure.

You are also right about the over-working situation. That was a bit naive of me to state I could work 28 hours a week, on top of school work, in the document. Just wandering though, it is legal to work 28 hours while under the visa status "college student" if you recieve permission from your school and the immigration office, correct?

I was also looking into the Monbukagakusho. The competition is very steep, although that is not to say I won't give it a shot. It appears as though many people take the test and interview with no knowledge of the Japanese language...yet still pass. I read one blog where a guy was talking about how he guessed on most of the questions, and didn't answer anything on the Japanese test, yet he was still awarded the scholarship. I know this isn't the case for everyone, but it still gives me a bit of hope. I would assume being fluent in Japanese (yet not being of Japanese origin) would only benefit you in the application process.

There are many other scholarships besides the Japanese government scholarship, such as the ones from JASSO, and private organizations. A student loan would be last resorts.

Based on your answer, I am going to try to cut down on the work, and look into scholarships and student loans instead. I have heard, from many people, that University education in Japan is very poor, and not very demanding. Supposedly, many students go out and get drunk and party. I know it would be ignorant for me to believe this fully, but I think that led me on to thinking I would have a lot of free time. Do you agree/disagree with this idea the Universities in Japan are less demanding than their American counterparts?

By the way, I have no particular preference to Osaka University. I would study in any major city, so if you have suggestions, please state them.

I'm not trying to be negative at all. I just don't know how realistic it is to obtain the level of Japanese necessary to pass the entrance exam for a Japanese university within the span of only 4 years. Even if you spoke every single day. A lot of my Japanese friends weren't even able to pass that exam. I have a friend now who told me all the studying he did for that test. He had to study various subjects such as Japanese history, etc. I forget what else. I'll ask him again for you.

Haven't you considered going to college where you live? let's say you enter college at 18 then get your bachelor's degree by the time you are 22 or 23. You could get a master's degree by the time you are 25 or 26 and then go for your doctorate. You would be maybe 28 or 29 by this time and able to get a well paying job. Let's say you eventually make $75,000 dollars plus every year. You can live a very comfortable life. I think this is more realistic than spending the time and resources to get into a top 3 Japanese university.

I would love to see where your Japanese is in 4 years. You should ask MMM how much studying and how long it took him to be able to become a translator. I'm not sure if he took that entrance exam or not but you should ask.

As for my Japanese level, I am pretty confident I could pull of fluency in four years. Many people attend a Japanese University after one year of Japanese language school. I don't know if you know a lot about learning languages, but generally, schools aren't going to give you that kind of fluency, meaning people hack their ways through Japanese Universities with broken language skills. If you want a more clear example, visit your local university and find some international students. Try talking to them. Their English will usually be way less than perfect, but are they not still in an english speaking college, succeeding (to a certain degree...)?

You are 100% right about the entrance exams though. I am not sure if the exam is editted at all for foreign students. If not, I will just have to study harder.

In the past, I did consider attending a university in America. The idea faded though. My goal is not to get rich quick or anything. My goal is to live a modest life in Japan. Obviously, it would be ignorant to say I wanted to live in Japan my whole life, because I haven't been there, but I would like to attend college there.

On another note, like I said earlier, I am really only using Osaka University as an example. I am not to picky about the college I will attend in Japan. I don't have too go to Osaka University (Or any of the "top universities".)

Thanks for pointing out all that stuff though. It got me thinking about those issues. If you (or anyone) has any more advice on this topic, or personal experience in Japan please share.

Wow... I'm going to graduate in about a year and I didn't even plan that far ahead... D: I feel under-educated now =X

I have never taken JPT1, but I have enough experience translating that it isn't necessary. I graduated with a BA in Japanese and then lived in Japan for three years in an almost 100% Japanese life (I didn't have many non-Japanese friends, partially by design, to make sure my Japanese would be strong). I even taught Japanese for a few years before getting into translating. (Which you aren't sure about now, so this really doesn't matter.) With a major in Japanese from a school with a very Japanese program and reputation, I don't think I would have wanted to attend Japanese college...or that I would have been able to...but that is just me, and it doesn't mean you will have the same experience.

I have never heard of people attending Japanese Universities after one year of language study, unless they are doing an exchange, and the classes they are taking are in English. I know Waseda has a program like this. International Universities or ones which teach classes in English may be something to consider. You have taken a lot of important things into consideration, but I think you are kind of forgetting the most important thing when you say you don't care what University you go to, as long as it is in a big city. Do all universities have Japanese majors? Do you really want to go to SCHOOL in Japan, or do you just want to live there. If you just want to live there, I would say wait until you graduate college, when you can have a full-time job, and not have to worry as much about doing your homework, writing essays and taking exams in a foreign language.

Here's another option to consider.

Attend a university in the US, but take a full academic year to study abroad in Japan. In most study abroad programs sponsored by a US university, all the credits you earn at a Japanese university will transfer back to your home university.

I did this myself. I went to a university here in the US, my first two years I spent in the US taking Japanese classes (among other classes related to my major). Then on my third year, I studied in Japan for a year. My Japanese improved drastically over that one year, enough so to be fluent in speaking. Right now I'm in the middle of applying to the JET Program, so I can work in Japan after I graduate this spring.

The big reason I recommend this option is because it truly is an extreme amount of work to go through in order to enter a Japanese university. And once you do get into a Japanese university, you're going to be dropped into an entirely new environment for four straight years. You may end up not liking it, and if that happens, all that work you put into getting in will have been wasted. You might think now that attending a Japanese university is the right thing for you, but unless you know exactly what its like, you could be setting yourself up for something you might end up not enjoying.

Studying abroad lets you go there for a year (or just one semester) and see how it is. A year of intensive Japanese courses in Japan is certainly enough to really get your Japanese language skills up to par. I also took part in an internship there at a Japanese law firm, and I had a chance to meet a lot of different people, and that can really open up doors (career-wise) for a person. Spoken fluency, an internship, and career contacts - all in one year - best choice I ever made, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.

Anyway... that's something to think about.

And also, I have to agree with MMM - complete literacy in Japanese in four years is a tall order to fill. You'll have to take some intensive, university-level classes for those four years, which is usually at least two hours a day, five days a week. If you can find those classes, afford those classes, and fit those classes around your high school schedule, you might have a shot. If there are no classes available where you're at, I personally don't think it would be possible to become 100% fluent in that amount of time.

I learned English to 100% fluency (whatever that is...) without taking college level classes, I am confident I could do the same with Japanese.

I would enjoy an exchange program, but there are some factors to consider.

1. They cost a lot, considering most of the time you will not even be studying your major.
2. They are rare in my area (Oklahoma)
3. They are only 1-2 semesters

Although I understand you 100% for thinking Japanese fluency is impossible in four years, who knows, I may just prove you wrong. :)

You are right, I may not like it, but then again, what is four years?

Anyways, to answer your question MMM, yes, I actually want to study in Japan. Although, as a 14 year old, I do not have a plan in stone, meaning I would switch my preferred major/school. I certainly do not want to go to Japan just to live there. I, personally, think that would be taking advantage of the university I attend. Thanks a ton for all of the advice guys (especially MMM) please share anything else you may think of!

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.

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.

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.

Question
 

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)?

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.

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.

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?

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 ^^

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

Where I live, 39 and 40s = automatic fail...

it could be very hard :):D

Are you serious about the points thing? I know a dude that got into Cambridge University (which btw is harder than Osaka), with simply B's and C's. The university look to invest in people that can offer them something special because getting good grades is too easy and to be honest isn't that important... It only proves that you can study from a book and take exams. It doesn't show them if you have ambition, or the fire to study something that YOU want to do etc.
How do you think they choose between people that all have A+'s? (and if you read what I wrote to the guy, I told him to basically get good grades and offer something else that makes him special.)

Also, speak for yourself. I (and many of my friends) have never had a problem getting from 85-100% in my exams from two days of revision. What you need to understand is that most exam's these days are all about exam technique. You'll know this by simply looking at previous exam papers. Most are very very similar and if you do and learn 2 or 3, you're guranteed a pass, and if you learn your course and do several exam papers, you can easily get A+'s.

Also, when I say straite A's, I'm talking about the grading system where A is the highest grade. ie, there is no A+.

I would do as other people have said an exchange program in college. I will be attending Sophia University starting in a couple weeks as and exchange student from Seattle.

Regarding to the post above: there are a few misconceptions about exchanging.

1) It costs a lot..if you go to a school like mine (Seattle University)...we have a direct exchange program with Sophia, since it is set up like that, i continue paying my home university like someone said earlier while im in japan. All my scholarships/financial aid applies. Sophia has partnerships with 120 universities worldwide according to it's website. Since there is a partnership set up with my school...it's pretty much guaranteed that you are able to go to Sophia as long as you have a 3.0 GPA..which is pretty easy. Partner Universities/Colleges List
link of schools that sophia is partners with.

2) Major...yes it is true that you might get off track from your major, but it really depends on what you plan to study.

There are so many teens now that have this japanese-craze in them..i have many friends around your age that are into this japanese frenzy and it's really funny. it's like japan is taking over teens here in the US. ;) You still have a few years....things change. I mean...i'm 20 now and you don't even know how many times ive changed on what i wanted to major in or do in life since i was 14. But you sound like one ambitious kid..you remind me of myself when i was 14 through the maturity in your writing..most people at 14 are still like little kids...being immature and stupid.

But i would stick to going to school here in the US and do an exchange for one full year. Also, look into doing an exchange program over the summer during high school....i did it as a 10th grader and it was really fun. My sister is doing the same trip this summer. You should look into doing a whole summer program if you save up enough money. I know some people who have done exchanges in high school and spent most of their senior year in Japan....im thinking that it's not available in Oklahoma...the probable future home of my Seattle Sonics :mad:

Then find a job in Japan after college...if you major in like international business like i am it will be a good basis/set up for your future ambition of working with the Japanese in japan.

Did you mean me? :confused:

I agree with pretty much everything you said, though its just rephrased from what others have said.

no i meant the OP being worried about costs and getting off track from his major...yeah, i guess i just rephrased it. sorry bout that

lol. no need to say sorry. :)

well I don't know about the system where you are, I'm talking about Australia. Sorry ^^" probably should have been more specific.

But yeah, that's the system we have here, it's out of 50 btw not 100.

well that's what I'm saying. Getting A's is not hard, it's getting higher then the opposition (aka everyone else) in the final year of high school you're battling against every other student in the nation, not just getting a high mark, but higher then everyone else. That's why it doesn't matter if you get an A, because in the end maybe a lot of people got A's, so the score gets put down to a B etc. The point is to get higher then other students, if you're doing a difficult subject, better chances of you succeeding higher etc.

And you're absolutely right, it is about the system and how you approach your studies.