Schooling
 

Hi I'm new to this forum so please be kind. :)

I'm just about the finish college here in the Philippines and want to continue my education in Japan since the educational system here is crap... :mtongue: (no offense intended). I chose Japan since its the nearest to my country that has a superb selection on technology related courses (I'm currently taking up computer engineering). I was planning on taking Nanoscience and Engineering since I'm very intrigued by this field. I was wondering if you guys know of any school offering this course? My first choice was Waseda University but there may be more out there that I don't know about. Financial support isn't really a problem and I can also live anywhere even if it isn't the city.

Also another reason I chose Japan was because of its culture :rheart: , and no I'm not talking about the cosplay/anime culture or whatnot, but in its sense of honor and respect the culture portrays a trait severely absent in my Filipino culture wherein the more dishonorable you are the more successful you will be in life.

I haven't been to Japan but I have been reading a lot about it. I'll try to visit it once before graduation and see for myself what the country is like. I know prejudice exist but I'm willing to endure it for my dreams. :D Also any info or concerns regarding this matter is appreciated since I for once have no relative experience regarding the country.

Thanks!

Are you able to speak the language fluently?

I don't know much about Japanese schooling to comment on other aspects, but I imagine if you wish to take classes and learn well that you would need to be fluent in speaking, reading and writing. I can't imagine you being allowed in unless you did speak it to that standard, particularly as I believe most universities have entrance exams which would of course be in Japanese.

No, I have just began to learn the alphabet and a couple of basic words. Though Japanese student VISA's require you to take a 1 year course I think on Japanese so that may help. I'm doing self-study on the language atm but I plan to enroll in one of the Japanese language courses in my school to help me learn.

No reply?? Anyway I was able to find only a few universities offering nanotech as a course, so sad... But one thing really bothered me, the universities I researched on said that I must have a minimum of 12 years of primary and secondary education, but in my case I only have 10, since the Philippine high school system only have 4 years of high school and no junior high. Does this mean I have to go back to high school or what? :eek:

That is a good question. The only Filipinos I know in Japan came for work, not school.

I feel bad posting without a definitive answer, but in my experience, if you have to ask then the answer is *no*.

Enrolling in Japanese universities require that you pass their entrance examinations. You have to answer the examinations in Japanese characters. Can you do that? Depending on the universities, the common subjects you have to pass are kokugo (Japanese Language) Sansu (Math) Rika (science) Eigo ( English) and Shakai (Social Studies). There are some universities who offer scholarships but I am not sure if you can aquire education in universities here in English language only.
If you plan to attend school at Japanese Universities, I advise you to learn the language, spoken and written. :ywave:

As of the moment I'm taking up Niponggo, how to read and write it so hopefully after 2 years of learning the language I can fairly master it. :D

Another followup question... I surely hope I dont offend anyone but I just wanted to clarify...

Are the Japanese people really prejudice? I have been reading around about Japan and its culture and found out it has a "higher rate" of prejudice than most countries, is this true? For a guy like me, I'm Fil-Am (filipino-american) what kind of prejudice do I have to anticipate? :confused: (if the said issue is true)

I'm not currently in Japan, so I wouldn't know for certain (I'm sure other members can answer with more certainity), but I don't think there's much prejudice at all. From speaking to a few people of Japanese nationality, and from what I've read on the forums here, there seems to be more of a curiosity regarding foriegners, and very rarely do they face prejudice or discrimination. I believe that should you go that you should be fine. You'll probably get a few curious looks or questions about your culture, but I doubt any prejudice.

I have a Fillipino student in one my classes. He's an English speaker, as well as speaking at least one of the languages used in the Philippines. I'm not sure what his parents do, but he's not half. Japanese public schools are open to the children of legal residents, but I think this is pretty rare. His Japanese is very bad, and he studies most subjects with the special needs students, even though there is nothing wrong developmentally with him. My classes are ones where he gets to be the center of attention because he speaks English, but it must be terribly boring for him. Alternately, he must find most of the other classes to be difficult. I know I would have a hard time following math, science, or social studies in Japanese!

Do I agree with his parents decision to put him in a Japanese school? I don't know, depends on what he is learning at home, outside of school. Given that he's only 12, I suspect even by high school, he ought to be to a point of being close to trilingual, with experience being a real part of Japanese culture, and probably on track for permanent residency or citizenship. In that sense, if he is getting education at home or elsewhere in English or his other language, then this was a good choice by his parents.