Hey everyone. So, I've been considering applying to UTokyo and was having some trouble making a decision on whether or not to focus on coming here.
Essentially, I'm unsure of whether I should go to Japan for my undergraduate studies (probably in physics, mathematics, or robotics. Considering UTokyo because it comes up in the top few for each of these but also for a few other reasons).
I'm currently 15 (about to be 16) and living in India, in class 11.
Just a tad bit confused about making my decision to focus on coming here because I have a few things to consider:
- I'll have to learn Japanese, as most of the English oriented courses are not for subjects I'm interested in (At least, for UTokyo) So like, is it feasible to try to learn Japanese to some level within a year and a half? I'll graduate in about that much time, so I'm not sure if I have enough time to acquire enough proficiency to get through a screening.
- Even though like most people, living here has been a childhood dream of mine, I'm unsure what its actually like. I'm not too worried about the alienation or speaking only in Japanese, but I don't know how to try living here without just straight up investing 4 years during my undergraduate program, which feels like a big undertaking. Don't get me wrong though, I really do want to try living here, but I doubt I'll ever be able to come here during vacations.
- How do I even start preparing for unis? I know learning Japanese will be a big requirement, but I've heard plenty of people talk about entrance exams for various colleges, but I don't see anything besides 'special screening tests' and reviewing my grades and other academic metrics. I'm not sure if the SAT counts, but since I'll be going abroad I've already started preparation for that and should give it this November. If anyone has any info on the entrance for UTokyo for foreign students, then I'd be immensely grateful if you could send it. Most of what I found has been a wall of Japanese, something I can't read.
- Setting aside my totally subjective want to try living there, is it a bad idea to consider this over something like say the Technical University of Munich (I'm slightly proficient with German), or any other big university on the other side of the planet? I'm not sure if this sounds stupid, but in terms of education quality, it's not a downgrade at all right? A lot of what I'm looking for in terms of courses and whatnot is also locked behind walls of Japanese that I can't read, so I'm not able to figure out what is best for something, although its probably just that I haven't been looking at the proper places. If anyone would know where I could find a translated version, I'd be super grateful (especially for UTokyo).
Any advice whatsoever on how I should proceed with making a decision would be immensely helpful. Apologies if my question isn't clear or any information I've provided is lacking. I must admit I'm a little worried I've started preparing for this far too late…
by GameDevilXL