My plan to move to japan

11 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **My plan to move to japan**

   So I have done lost of research on education in Japan. But I wanted to ask if I needed anything else for this journey.

   First of all I’m 16(M) and away to start my last year of high school in the UK. My plan is to study at a language school in Japan for 2 years. Then go onto uni. I’ve done some research about language schools and the requirements, and this is what this post is mainly about. Just wanted to check if I have missed anything out.

   Okay so, I know I need a student visa, evidence of my education in the UK, and some important documents that I don’t have to worry about right now.

   And for uni I know that it’s easier for international students to get in if they have studied at language school school. I also know that I have to do a couple tests for the entry requirements. I think I found out somewhere that I also need at least 1 education where it is needed for further education in my own country, which is called a higher course here in Scotland.

   So I was just wondering if I need any other reqs before I actually pursue this as a life choice.

   Also, would it be difficult to get a job in Japan while studying as a student.

   Any help would be much appreciated and sorry if this post is a bit vague

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5. It’s not easier for international students to attend Japanese universities if they went to a language school aside from the fact that you’ll be more proficient in Japanese than you might have otherwise been. Regardless you’ll need to take the EJU, and you entry or denial is entirely dependent upon what you score on that.

   Alternatively you could enroll in an English program at one of the various universities which don’t require the EJU, but they will typically instead require whatever the typical university entrance examinations are of your home country.

   On a student visa, you are limited to working 28 hours weekly after receiving permission to engage in activities outside the scope of your visa. With that said, no, it’s not particularly difficult to find a baito as a student.

6. Go to uni in your country and then worry about moving to japan. It will be easier and cheaper. There is no reason to attend school here

7. You haven’t mentioned money at all. One of the requirements for a student visa is proof that you (or your financial sponsor) has enough money in the bank to support you during your studies. There is no hard number published anywhere but typically it’s equivalent to around 2,000,000jpy. The trick though is that you’d need that amount available to show for each renewal, so if you’re talking about 6 years of schooling (two years language school, four years university) you’re going to need considerably more than that to start so that you’ve still got enough after a few years of using it.

   You could look into things like MEXT scholarships to help with the university funding, but there are no scholarships for language schools.

   You also haven’t mentioned what you plan on studying. Depending on your field of interest you may find that the UK has substantially better options available that are also considerably cheaper.

8. ESL jobs are always there, odd gigs, restaurant izakaya and now i guess convenient store jobs seem more common to include foreigners.

9. Try the next scholarship via embassy recommendation for language studies/undergraduate

10. Study in the UK, Japanese AND another skillset of some kind. Try to do an exchange year in Japan if you can. Apply to JET when you graduate.

    Do JET for a few years and learn what it’s like to live and work in Japan. Then use your (hopefully improved) Japanese skills + previously acquired other skills to jobhunt while you already hold a work visa.

11. In addition to some of the points already mentioned, I just wanted to check; is your plan to go straight out of secondary school?

    Most unis will require ‘the completion of 12 years of education in your home country’ and evidence thereof. In other words, you won’t qualify, because out of secondary school you’ve only done 11 years. The proof of education most unis require isn’t GCSEs, but A-levels, so you’ll need to have gone to college first. In fact, I just double checked now, and Tokyo University as one example *specifically* requires A-levels for UK students.

    (For the Americans seeing this, the UK system isn’t like the US system. When we say ‘high school’, it’s closer to being ‘extended middle school’ (it’s ages 11-16, not 15-18). ‘college’ is different from ‘university’, as we do college ages 16-18, get a qualification called ‘A-levels’, and *then* go on to uni)

    There’s also no specific advantage given to students of language schools, unless that *specific* school has an agreement with a *specific* university. But 9 times out of 10, language school or no, your primary method is going to be taking the EJU, then followed by an exam dished out by the university (there’s usually a specific one for foreign students, the specific method differs by university, but most universities require EJU scores first). A lot of language schools also focus on conversational Japanese; do some research on the specific ones, and bear this in mind.

    And if I might be permitted to give one slightly unrelated piece of advice: don’t set any plans in stone. You’re still young and have time. Moving to Japan is a *massive* change. If it’s not financially unviable, I would advise doing A-levels, getting a spot at a University (since you’re Scottish, I believe you get free uni education? Don’t underestimate how good that is. We English get charged so much that it was actually *cheaper* to go to a Japanese *private* uni), and then spending a gap-year in Japan via a language school to see how much you actually like *living* here.

    ‘Living’ is a very different experience from ‘visiting’, and you should at least try it before you make any decisions with irreversible consequences. And if you try via a gap-year, you’ll have lost nothing, and can always come back once you’ve finished your education. Trying to aim specifically for a Japanese uni is a much higher time/money investment for more limited opportunities in your position.