This will be a block of text so thank you in advance for reading to the end if you feel so inclined.
I just came back from Japan after living there for nearly 5 years being on and off SOFA status, a visa given out by military bases to allow american nationals to work on the base while residing in Japan.
I then attempted to get off the base and make myself a home in Japan after my job at the base played a lot of dirty tricks and then essentially kicked me off base without doing any of the proper paperwork to process my visa cancellation properly. I found a great company, started working there while I was still on SOFA being as it was perfectly ok for me to do so, they finally processed my sofa visa cancellation but because of how they filed it, they gave no choice but to leave the country unless I was able to switch directly to a work visa.
The company was fully ready to sponsor me, and I was on my way to being their Language Department Head. I speak near fluent Japanese and had no issues on a daily basis with my job, and I was learning a ton while I was there.
Unfortunately, when the company tried to start the paperwork for a work visa, me not having graduated college meant that immigration wouldn’t even really accept my application for the visa (they would take it, they just clarified that there was essentially a %0 chance of it passing).
So without being able to be paid for my last month of work, I was forced to come back to the states end of August, broke, heartbroken, and consistently running my head through how I’m going to get that Degree out of the way so I can come back and work for them again.
Me and the 社長 are good friends, as well as everyone else at the company, and I still do commission work for them even while I’m in the states.
All that blob of information aside, here are the two options I’m seeing and I’m looking for any additional information that might help me process how to go about this whole ordeal.
ONE – Begin my education at the University of Northern Colorado, and move to a study abroad program in Japan whenever that option becomes available. This is technically the quicker option, but American universities cost a lot more and at this current time, in order to continue improving my Japanese skill I would be much more satisfied if I could be in an environment where I am taking classes in Japanese so that the immersion continues to help my language skills progress at an effective rate. I can read all the 常用漢å—, and have zero issues with 日常会話, but I need to improve on the more delicate aspects of the language, such as 敬語 and other business-related and higher-learning level Japanese.
TWO: Get down and gritty and apply straight to a Japanese University. This would be the absolute best option, the only problem being that due to the time in which I’ve come back, I’ve just missed the application deadlines for the EJU as well as the MEXT scholarship. I can make it in time for the application period for most schools if I start getting my ducks in a row and studying, but without any scholarships or some sort of financial aid it would be a ginormous feat to try and bear the full weight of that on my own. Some universities seem to offer scholarships or lower tuition if you’ve passed the N1. I passed N2 several years ago and plan on knocking out the N1 this coming December. But if I don’t get my test scores back until after they’re required for the application period for next year, that ‘s not going to do me a lot of good.
TL;DR I speak Japanese and with enough studying I know I can be fully ready to attend a Japanese University. The only problem is finding a means to get over there. Any information you kind folks might have that might further educate my plan-making would be a god-send.
Sorry for the wall of text and a big thanks in advance if you’ve read this far. I just want to get back home to my Japanese family and get back what was arguably the best job and group of people I’ve been with in my life, in as fast and effective of a means as possible.
Thank you.
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
—
**Getting to a Japanese University: Best Options**
This will be a block of text so thank you in advance for reading to the end if you feel so inclined.
I just came back from Japan after living there for nearly 5 years being on and off SOFA status, a visa given out by military bases to allow american nationals to work on the base while residing in Japan.
I then attempted to get off the base and make myself a home in Japan after my job at the base played a lot of dirty tricks and then essentially kicked me off base without doing any of the proper paperwork to process my visa cancellation properly. I found a great company, started working there while I was still on SOFA being as it was perfectly ok for me to do so, they finally processed my sofa visa cancellation but because of how they filed it, they gave no choice but to leave the country unless I was able to switch directly to a work visa.
The company was fully ready to sponsor me, and I was on my way to being their Language Department Head. I speak near fluent Japanese and had no issues on a daily basis with my job, and I was learning a ton while I was there.
Unfortunately, when the company tried to start the paperwork for a work visa, me not having graduated college meant that immigration wouldn’t even really accept my application for the visa (they would take it, they just clarified that there was essentially a %0 chance of it passing).
So without being able to be paid for my last month of work, I was forced to come back to the states end of August, broke, heartbroken, and consistently running my head through how I’m going to get that Degree out of the way so I can come back and work for them again.
Me and the 社長 are good friends, as well as everyone else at the company, and I still do commission work for them even while I’m in the states.
All that blob of information aside, here are the two options I’m seeing and I’m looking for any additional information that might help me process how to go about this whole ordeal.
ONE – Begin my education at the University of Northern Colorado, and move to a study abroad program in Japan whenever that option becomes available. This is technically the quicker option, but American universities cost a lot more and at this current time, in order to continue improving my Japanese skill I would be much more satisfied if I could be in an environment where I am taking classes in Japanese so that the immersion continues to help my language skills progress at an effective rate. I can read all the 常用漢å—, and have zero issues with 日常会話, but I need to improve on the more delicate aspects of the language, such as 敬語 and other business-related and higher-learning level Japanese.
TWO: Get down and gritty and apply straight to a Japanese University. This would be the absolute best option, the only problem being that due to the time in which I’ve come back, I’ve just missed the application deadlines for the EJU as well as the MEXT scholarship. I can make it in time for the application period for most schools if I start getting my ducks in a row and studying, but without any scholarships or some sort of financial aid it would be a ginormous feat to try and bear the full weight of that on my own. Some universities seem to offer scholarships or lower tuition if you’ve passed the N1. I passed N2 several years ago and plan on knocking out the N1 this coming December. But if I don’t get my test scores back until after they’re required for the application period for next year, that ‘s not going to do me a lot of good.
TL;DR I speak Japanese and with enough studying I know I can be fully ready to attend a Japanese University. The only problem is finding a means to get over there. Any information you kind folks might have that might further educate my plan-making would be a god-send.
Sorry for the wall of text and a big thanks in advance if you’ve read this far. I just want to get back home to my Japanese family and get back what was arguably the best job and group of people I’ve been with in my life, in as fast and effective of a means as possible.
Thank you.
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Shouldn’t the MEXT university track be open for applications around now? I’ve never tried the uni track so I’m not sure about this, but maybe try to look into it. Im almost certain I saw some people say applications start in September
The best way to get back to Japan is to earn a degree, and the best way to do that is to just get started, follow through on it to the end, and then apply for the job and visa. You mentioned UNC, which means you are close to Aims Community College. You can do your first two years there at minimal to no cost, depending on financial assistance—they have an office of about 12 people to help you find financing. There is no application deadline, the application process is free, and you could conceivably start this semester. But even if that is not doable, you could start in the winter and take classes in summer to get back on track. They also have Japanese classes so you could stay current or even improve (and build some networking for later into Japan). For Colorado residents, there are a myriad of programs available that make getting your degree affordable or even free, depending your situation.