I’m a High School student in my senior year. I’m planning on which countries I want to go to study and get my degrees, and Japan was one of them. I searched, and one of the things I heard that studying there can be hard for international students because Japanese unis and colleges don’t care about international students. I’m a US citizen, but I lived and studied in the Middle East so I’m worried that my HS transcripts and SAT score wouldn’t be accepted, and I’ll have to take some other tests. I’m also worried that living there would be hard if I ever decided to go there. Is Japan a good country to study there as an international student? I appreciate any kind of advice. Thanks.
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EDIT: Also, are there any scholarships or financial aid for international students?
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**I’m a US citizen in my senior year in High School, and I’m planning to go to study in Japan. Is Japan good for international students (English courses, living, etc.)?**
I’m a High School student in my senior year. I’m planning on which countries I want to go to study and get my degrees, and Japan was one of them. I searched, and one of the things I heard that studying there can be hard for international students because Japanese unis and colleges don’t care about international students. I’m a US citizen, but I lived and studied in the Middle East so I’m worried that my HS transcripts and SAT score wouldn’t be accepted, and I’ll have to take some other tests. I’m also worried that living there would be hard if I ever decided to go there. Is Japan a good country to study there as an international student? Ill appreciate any kind of advice. Thanks
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Japan has a ton of international students. Not sure where you got that Japan doesn’t care about international students…
Based on your GPA and standardized test scores you can look at mean stats for the schools you want to apply and make a list of safety, fit, and reach schools (as you would any other country)
If you’re looking to work in Japan in the future the name of the school you graduated from is weighted more heavily than the major you graduated with. So it would be in your best interest to apply for higher ranking schools if you’re pursuing the English-taught curriculum. If you’re trying to get into the Japanese-taught program you’ll most likely have to take a gap year as the intake is in March/April as opposed to August/September.
There is a very limited number of scholarships offered for international students (check https://www.mext.go.jp/en/) your best bet would to check with the school itself.
Hi OP.
> I searched, and one of the things I heard that studying there can be hard for international students because Japanese unis and colleges don’t care about international students.
To a certain extent this is true for universities in any country. Simply because they tend to get most of their money from their government, either directly or indirectly. Japanese universities exist primarily to educate people for the Japanese labor market. Because of that they will obviously care most about their courses that are taught in Japanese. I don’t think Japan is any different from other non-English-speaking countries in that sense: If you want the best education in Japan you’ll need to do it in Japanese.
> I’m a US citizen, but I lived and studied in the Middle East so I’m worried that my HS transcripts and SAT score wouldn’t be accepted, and I’ll have to take some other tests.
Look at the websites of whichever specific universities you’re interested in. Entrance requirements may vary per university and program.
> I’m also worried that living there would be hard if I ever decided to go there. Is Japan a good country to study there as an international student?
“Good” in what sense? The social climate? A lot of this is up to your personal preferences, so it’s hard to give you any advice beyond “try to find testimonials of people that were in similar positions”.
> EDIT: Also, are there any scholarships or financial aid for international students?
There is no Japanese financial aid for international students. You might be able to get student loans from the US. The main country-wide scholarship program for international students is the MEXT scholarship. You can find more information about it on the website of your local Japanese embassy.
Personally, I would caution you against taking out loans to do your undergrad in Japan instead of the US, especially if you’re intending to study in English. There aren’t _that_ many universities to pick from, you’ll be somewhat limited in the number of majors that you can do and most of those options will be fairly mediocre. You’d effectively be paying top dollar for a (likely) mediocre education. I’d advise you to instead go to a US school for your undergrad. You can probably get a much better education for either the same or lower cost, especially if you stick to your in-state schools (I don’t know whether you’d be considered an in-state student anywhere if you’re currently living in the Middle East) or do your first two years at a community college before transferring to a big name school.