I am a 27 year old who recently graduated with my bachelors degree. I intend on returning to school for a masters degree (especially after a disappointing University experience due to COVID) and I would like to go to a Japanese university, and learn Japanese.
I would like to attend a language school first, and apply to University later. With the idea that a higher level of Japanese proficiency will increase my chances of getting into Universities, and better Japanese will allow me to apply for more Scholarships.
I am currently working full time, and wouldn’t want start a Language school until mid 2023 at the earliest. Saving money and studying on my own up until then, with the current goal to be JLPT N5 by December.
I would prefer to attend a language school away from the bigger cities, both to cut down on cost as much as I can, and immerse away from English.
Does this current plan make sense? What schools do people recommend for the best balance of intensity, cost, and ability to work part time.
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Also if anyone knows the average age for Graduate Students in Japan. I know here in the States the average age for Masters programs is around 30, but I still worry about being on the much older side of all this. Especially for applying to Jobs post Graduation.
4 comments
>Saving money and studying on my own up until then, with the current goal to be JLPT N5 by December.
Be aware that you’ll need to have ~$15k USD saved for each year of language school you plan on doing. That’s an immigration requirement, not a school requirement, so it’s inflexible.
>With the idea that a higher level of Japanese proficiency will increase my chances of getting into Universities
That’s not really how it works. You either meet the minimum requirements (generally JLPT N2) or you don’t. While having a higher level of fluency will certainly help you succeed in any given program, it’s not going to affect your chances of getting in.
>and better Japanese will allow me to apply for more Scholarships.
Also not how it works. As a foreigner you are not eligible for the vast majority of the available scholarships. The scholarships that *are* available to you are more academic-based.
>I still worry about being on the much older side of all this. **Especially for applying to Jobs post Graduation.**
Maybe look at the post that is literally right below yours?
“[Is age an inportant factor when looking for an entry level job in Japan?](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/wlupdm/is_age_an_inportant_factor_when_looking_for_an/)”
You’re 27 now. So you’ll be 33 or 34 by the time you finish your masters. (2 years language school, 3-4 years of master’s program) Getting an entry level position at that age isn’t impossible, but it is going to be *much* harder.
You’re looking at this the wrong way. What I see here is “I just want to be in Japan” and not “I need to go to graduate school in Japan to achieve XYZ career goal/opportunity.”
Graduate school isn’t a do-over of undergrad. It’s also not fuck-around time. It’s intended for people with a clear and distinct end goal that will prepare them and/or make them qualified for a particular career path. Graduate school is generally focused on small, lecture/workshop type classes that last hours, labs for the sciences, long-term projects and — especially in Japan — highly research-oriented.
I don’t see any mention of your intended program of study, any thought about possible research or thesis work, nor any explanation of why you need to be in Japan. Generally, when people come here asking about grad school, it’s because they’ve (surprise) done the work and the research. They know they want to go to XYZ University because the engineering program there is top notch and there is a professor with a lab there focused on ABC aspect of engineering that happens to be similar to their undergraduate thesis or their current job. Or, they majored in East Asian art and have already been speaking with a researcher at University of 123 about possibly assisting the researcher’s ongoing work studying ancient Jomon pottery found at some specific site as a translator and researcher. And so on and so forth.
Why Japan? What programs are you targeting? What is your end goal?
If you end goal is just “Japan” because “anime” or whatever other reason you have floating around in your head, then remove graduate school from the entire equation because it’s a fruitless endeavor that’s a waste of your time, the schools’ time and your money. Wait until the borders open up, come visit and see if you’d like living here long-term. Apply to language school. Apply for english teaching jobs. But don’t do graduate school just to come to Japan.
If you’re gonna go to grad school, just skip the language school and apply to a Japanese university with an English grad program. There are many. You can always take Japanese classes at the university, or just self-study.
MA degrees will not get you anything except maybe a small bump in salary later on, BUT it can be a decent way of getting a visa to get yourself into Japan while also giving you two years to try and network if you want to stay in the country. I would recommend pursuing a scholarship such as the MEXT. You don’t necessarily need any Japanese to get a good scholarship.
What is your goal career wise? You already aged out of the new grad job market. What do you intend to do after school? How will you make up for being in your 30s?