I want to study in Japan, APU / G30, need help!

[Crl]

Hello, I am interested and have been interested in studying in Japan since I was a kid. I never thought the possibility would ever present itself to me until recently when I found out about Ritsumeikan APU, and than later Global 30.

I am 21 years old, and I am currently serving in the US Military, I will be finishing my contract with the Military in a few months and want to be ready for the 2013 Application / Acceptance period.

This aside, I am worried that I may not have performed well enough during my high school years. I am trying to attend 4yrs undergraduate (from there extended to 6yrs or more if applicable)

I am a very bright person and while in school always had high test scores including the nation wide testing scoring in the top percentile for math and reading, but I was a slacker / lazy and did not do my work as I should. I still managed to have a 2.8-3.2 GPA, though I do not remember what my total 4 year average was.

I did take advanced classes to include math and some english. As far as clubs go, I only attended one club which was German Club, so my extra curricular activities are not very much.

I do not know if military service, including time deployed to combat zone, would somehow be considered extra curricular.

Are my chances lowered because of my slacking off during my high school years or does my military background hopefully improve my chances?

What things can I do and work on now to help improve my chances of getting in? I was thinking when I finish my military service working at a homeless shelter and doing other volunteer work, would this help my extra curricular activities?

I am known for performing well in interviews, but I am afraid the first stage of paperwork may not look great if my GPA is not atleast 3.0 and there is a chance it is less, I can not remember.

I can also provide info showing that I was selected as student of the month during my senior year with a GPA of 3.6.



I am sorry if there is already threads like this, but I did not want to steal someone else thread and I could add my own personal material in it.

Please help and thank you!!!!!

[gemini81]

Your best bet is to just apply to the schools you want to attend and go for it.

Ritsumeikan APU is a great school with a strong focus on International Relations/Asia Pacific region, if thats what you want to study.

Give it a shot. Japan is a great place to live and you'll be able to learn Japanese no matter where you decide to go.

[ichitomo]

I agree. It is best to just apply to the schools and do your best in the applications. APU, as far as I know looks broadly at applicants. Tests and grades are not the only things they look at, so you have as good a shot as anyone. I think I remember meeting someone who went to APU who was previously in the US military.

[KansaiBen]

I agree. It is best to just apply to the schools and do your best in the applications. APU, as far as I know looks broadly at applicants. Tests and grades are not the only things they look at, so you have as good a shot as anyone. I think I remember meeting someone who went to APU who was previously in the US military.

My two cents worth, in general schools here are crying out for paying foreign students and will not turn you away if you can front up with the cash. GPAs are not really used for admissions etc here but they may use them for American applicants. The worst they can do is say no, after all.

[Genkii]

My two cents worth, in general schools here are crying out for paying foreign students and will not turn you away if you can front up with the cash. GPAs are not really used for admissions etc here but they may use them for American applicants. The worst they can do is say no, after all.

This.

You only need a TOEFL certificate if you're not native english and the rest doesn't matter aslong as you can show you can pay for it.

[KansaiBen]

Hello, I am interested and have been interested in studying in Japan since I was a kid. I never thought the possibility would ever present itself to me until recently when I found out about Ritsumeikan APU, and than later Global 30.

I am 21 years old, and I am currently serving in the US Military, I will be finishing my contract with the Military in a few months and want to be ready for the 2013 Application / Acceptance period.

This aside, I am worried that I may not have performed well enough during my high school years. I am trying to attend 4yrs undergraduate (from there extended to 6yrs or more if applicable)

Temple University Japan requires a 2.5 GPA if they sponsor your visa and 2.0 without. With your grades you would probably squeak in. No harm in asking. American college, too. If you are over 22 you are waived from needing SAT scores.

http://www.tuj.ac.jp/newsite/main/un...fications.html

[Nightwalker]

Your four years of service blow any bs extracurricular from other applicants out of the water. With that in mind, what was your job in the military? It completely blows my mind that there are soldiers naive enough to blow 140-150k of total educational benefits for some bs undergraduate degree. An undergraduate degree nowadays doesn't do anything for your career prospect. You need a master degree in STEM.

My advice to you would be to take as many community classes as possible, and then transfer out to another school for your BA. Afterward, you can use your educational benefits for your graduate degree.

[YMO]

I work as a G30 professor at Tsukuba.

Some of what is said her may be true for some G30 universities, but not all.

Last year at Tsukuba, about 50% of applicants were turned away. We take fewer applicants, but we take only solid applicants, and those we do take tend to do well (around 90-95% get scholarships - lazy people need not apply [not that they'll bother, hur hur hur]). As a national university, your tuition fees are not so important (which is why 1st year is free at Tsukuba [http://www.global.tsukuba.ac.jp]).

Your GPA will be on the table, particularly in the first round of applications (paper based); however, in Tsukuba at least, a good interview (second round) can make up for a whole lot. We're also sympathetic of individuals who had difficult circumstances which are not of their making (family breakup, etc). Ultimately, if a course has 20 places, it's hard to justify giving it to the guy with the 2.9GPA over the guy with the 3.7, irrespective of interview performance (but not impossible).

Your military service is good, but it's non-academic, and will probably not be counted highly. Tsukuba is applying for GI Bill recognition currently (I know, because I'm heading it), so that should be a bonus, as all the G30 universities should be eligible (if they're willing to apply).

From what I know of APU, it provides a good education, strongly focused on Japanese language education. Maybe half your classes are Japanese language. It is, shall we say, rural. If that's good for you, great. It is not ranked highly, but ranking generally show research achievement, rather than reflect undergraduate teaching, which I gather is generally good.


Ultimately, you'll surely love wherever you go.
Apply, see what happens. Contact the universities, or their representatives - try and get a recommendation...

[edit; of course, I speak only for my own university, and I cannot speak for other universities, although their positions may be similar.]

[Crl]

Thank you everyone for replying to this thread. I've done a lot of research regarding this subject since this thread was posted.

For the question of my MOS. I was a 94F I was trained for almost a year in electrical training and fixing of special electronics and detection equipment. I spent a year deployed maintaining and running a multi million$ satellite providing communication for my area. To include networking. I have up to date CLS training and unit armorer status. Aka. I was at one point in charge of a security vault filled with millions of $ of equipment. I am also getting out for a medical discharge so I will have a supply of funds to help with the living problems and cost. I also get education benefits from more than just gi bill. I have family that are apart of programs which help family members go to college.

To say that military training isn't really much on the education side would be slightly false. Take into account that most of the knowledge is hands on tech knowledge compared to actual book study.

I am told I am amazing with interviews so I can hopefully play this to my advantage

I have looked into my GPA a bit and it actually might be much higher.
I did spend my senior year as an honor student / student of the month out of a few thousand. I am going with a more 3.2-3.5 GPA.

And as far as the GI bill goes. http://inquiry.vba.va.gov/weamspub/s...o#content-area for Japan shows the universities already covered

The reason why I am trying go overseas for 4 years is not exactly that. I intend to stay for more then 4 years. I am looking for over seas employment and depending how the stay turns out. Assuming of course I do get to Japan. I intend of staying and applying for citizenship. APU claims a 95% employment rate sometimes even before graduation. And from the research I've done. International graduates are reletively successful at claiming jobs both here in America and overseas

I apologize for any major grammar and spelling errors my phone is not always forgiving when typing on the internet.

[Nightwalker]

Veterans have an easier time getting a skilled job than civilians. The training in the military is 10x better and more efficient than the stuff in the civilian world. Don't listen to some delusional professor living in an ivory tower. I'm sure that you will get in somewhere.

If you do go to a tech school, you need to make sure that you have summer internships lined up. Good luck to you and thanks for serving our country.

Anyway, if you want to live in Japan, here is a basic cost breakdown for survival in Osaka City:

$500-700 rent
$200-300 food
$100-200 utility
$50-100 transportation

Your cost will slightly higher for Tokyo or cheaper in the countryside.

[Crl]

I'm not too worried, overall I know that my life experience and my academic background should be well off enough to show that I am an above average student when I apply myself.

I know my interview process with where ever I go should be rather well off as well. I am often complemented on how well my interview process's go.

[KansaiBen]

$500-700 rent
$200-300 food
$100-200 utility
$50-100 transportation

Your cost will slightly higher for Tokyo or cheaper in the countryside.

Be interested to see how you do that as they use yen in Japan not dollars.

$700 is about 50,000 yen, would be interested to know where you can rent for that in Osaka, anything larger than a shoebox that is.

[Effected After]

Veterans have an easier time getting a skilled job than civilians.

Maybe in the US.

[Nightwalker]

Be interested to see how you do that as they use yen in Japan not dollars.

$700 is about 50,000 yen, would be interested to know where you can rent for that in Osaka, anything larger than a shoebox that is.

Those 1LDKs are out there. I should know since my parents-in-law are in the real estate business.

[Genkii]

Those 1LDKs are out there. I should know since my parents-in-law are in the real estate business.

No ____ing way.

Average 1LDK are around 8man.

Only thing cheaper are guesthouses.

If it's 5man it's probably infested with cockroaches. Not unheard of in Osaka the city of food

Where did you saw it? Juuso? that explains.

[KansaiBen]

Maybe in the US.

Depends on the types of skills you learn too, if all you know is how to strip a machine gun or maintain a tank then that doesnt transfer easily to the civilian world. I will add that a huge and growing number of US veterans are now either unemployed or on sickness benefits due to their injuries sustained in battle.

[KansaiBen]

If it's 5man it's probably infested with cockroaches. Not unheard of in Osaka the city of food

Where did you saw it? Juuso? that explains.

My apartment is 5 man but I live out in Nara. I lived in a 3-man apartment in Hirano when i first came here, it was a bunka-jutaku, an old style traditional apartment, with clay-dirt walls and tatami flooring. Some even have Japanese style squat toilets. Expect a 5-man apartment to be no bigger than 50 square feet of space probably be old and small.

[Super Grover]

Ahem. If he wants to go to APU, why is anyone offering Osaka rent prices???? Last I checked APU is in Oita, right at the ocean. You can try to stay in a dorm. Anyway, 50,000 yen down there buys a lot more than it does in major urban centres on Honshu. This is one reason why Rits APU pays its staff less!
It is a decent university for students (lots of online comments to check out), but if I were you, I would enquire into their job-finding rate and where the students found jobs (what part of Japan).

There are other good Global 30 universities (there aren't 30 yet, btw). I am talking about "good" in a Japan context.

[Super Grover]

My apartment is 5 man but I live out in Nara. I lived in a 3-man apartment in Hirano when i first came here, it was a bunka-jutaku, an old style traditional apartment, with clay-dirt walls and tatami flooring. Some even have Japanese style squat toilets. Expect a 5-man apartment to be no bigger than 50 square feet of space probably be old and small.

I do believe you mean 500 square feet. 50 square feet is a mere 4.65 square meters. No one in Japan lives in 4.65 m2.

And what was the purpose (none, I am being rhetorical) of your gratuitous post #16? He did more than strip guns.......

I was trained for almost a year in electrical training and fixing of special electronics and detection equipment. I spent a year deployed maintaining and running a multi million$ satellite providing communication for my area. To include networking. I have up to date CLS training and unit armorer status. Aka. I was at one point in charge of a security vault filled with millions of $ of equipment. I am also getting out for a medical discharge so I will have a supply of funds to help with the living problems and cost. I also get education benefits from more than just gi bill. I have family that are apart of programs which help family members go to college.

To say that military training isn't really much on the education side would be slightly false. Take into account that most of the knowledge is hands on tech knowledge compared to actual book study.

[Crl]

Just wanted to add, from what I've looked up, there are more options for housing available including a host family, sharing an apartment with other students off campus. Also, I do believe most programs REQUIRE the student to spend first year in the dorm. After that its optional.

[Agitator]

My apartment is 5 man but I live out in Nara.

But is it 0-woman?

Punnily,
A.

[shagin]

I work as a G30 professor at Tsukuba.

Some of what is said her may be true for some G30 universities, but not all.

Last year at Tsukuba, about 50% of applicants were turned away. We take fewer applicants, but we take only solid applicants, and those we do take tend to do well (around 90-95% get scholarships - lazy people need not apply [not that they'll bother, hur hur hur]). As a national university, your tuition fees are not so important (which is why 1st year is free at Tsukuba [http://www.global.tsukuba.ac.jp]).

Your GPA will be on the table, particularly in the first round of applications (paper based); however, in Tsukuba at least, a good interview (second round) can make up for a whole lot. We're also sympathetic of individuals who had difficult circumstances which are not of their making (family breakup, etc). Ultimately, if a course has 20 places, it's hard to justify giving it to the guy with the 2.9GPA over the guy with the 3.7, irrespective of interview performance (but not impossible).

Your military service is good, but it's non-academic, and will probably not be counted highly. Tsukuba is applying for GI Bill recognition currently (I know, because I'm heading it), so that should be a bonus, as all the G30 universities should be eligible (if they're willing to apply).

From what I know of APU, it provides a good education, strongly focused on Japanese language education. Maybe half your classes are Japanese language. It is, shall we say, rural. If that's good for you, great. It is not ranked highly, but ranking generally show research achievement, rather than reflect undergraduate teaching, which I gather is generally good.


Ultimately, you'll surely love wherever you go.
Apply, see what happens. Contact the universities, or their representatives - try and get a recommendation...

[edit; of course, I speak only for my own university, and I cannot speak for other universities, although their positions may be similar.]

I would like to study Geosciences at Tsukuba University. But I am not sure if I can get in. I am from India , and have 93 % in 12th and 95.4 % in 10th from ISC board and I have 5 in AP CAL BC , AP Mechanics . I have taken SAT reasoning and have 1950 as cumulative score and have 800 in SAT subject tests of Mathematics Level 2 and Phyics each and 780 in Chemistry . Also , can you tell me what are my chances of getting scholarship ?