Monbukagakusho Scholarship for Postgraduate!! [Archive] - Page 4

Kayumi

Jul 28, 2008, 20:15

that is why I am asking why master japanese, maybe you can study something else, while anyway learning and speaking japanese?
I'm gonna graduate in mandarin and japanese. I'm only good with languages, and no other course interests me :|
Thing is, mandarin is major in that course and if I major in mandarin I'll go to China one year, so I'm kinda undecided. I still don't know for which university I'm gonna apply for, it all depends is the Lisbon one has a masted degree or not.

Office lady? I don't mind at all, I always liked that kind of jobs, don't ask me why, maybe because my mother used to work in a travel agency and sometimes I used to stay with her there and loved it.
Thank you so much! :cool:

JapanDream

Jul 28, 2008, 20:32

abeeyo_q8

Jul 28, 2008, 20:45

the interview is quite basic...they had a paper with about 10 questions on it and they start going down the list asking stuff like what do u want to study, why do you wanna study in japan, stuff about your ability to study in a foreign country.

i felt like some of the interviewers were just as nervous as i was...since engish isn't there first language they all struggled a bit with the questioning.

the countries closer to japan probably send more candidates than those far far away :) like me...in kuwait...there were only 3 candidates (including me)

the reading comprehension on the japanese exam was much harder than i had expected...barely understood what the first one was about...the second one was much easier

Alma

Jul 28, 2008, 21:26

I'm gonna graduate in mandarin and japanese. I'm only good with languages, and no other course interests me :|
Thing is, mandarin is major in that course and if I major in mandarin I'll go to China one year, so I'm kinda undecided. I still don't know for which university I'm gonna apply for, it all depends is the Lisbon one has a masted degree or not.
:
well, anyway, being fluent in so many languages opens you a lot of possibilities, so dont worry! and good luck :wave:

mamoo

Jul 28, 2008, 22:22

Mamoo,
It's really surprising that you get to know the results so fast. Maybe there aren't that many ppl in singapore applying? In Malaysia, it took the embassy about 2 weeks to determine the interview candidates. Really sorry to hear about the bad news. The selection process in singapore could be more competitive. I hope you will ge it if you apply again next yr. :)

only 20 applicants were shortlisted for the exams and only 3 will be selected by the embassy. hence, not all of us have to go through the interviews which will be held this wednesday. i think i was not shortlisted as my referee didn't send my recommendation letter to the embassy.

the embassy called me in the afternoon today to inform me that they didn't received it. so i had to email and call my referee to send it again. then 2 hours later, i received an email from the embassy to say that i wasn't shortlisted for the interview. how i wished they had checked the shortlisted list before they called me.

it's okay. i'll probably not apply for this scholarship next year. will concentrate on the application for USA graduate schools instead. if there's a chance, i'll do my postdoc in japan instead.

menrui

Jul 29, 2008, 04:25

mamoo

Jul 29, 2008, 10:25

I dont even know the statistics for my embassy.. i dont want to ask either, i think it would be rude ha. and it might scare me.

mamoo,
yeah, really sorry to hear that. well, the US is more willing to accept international students, so maybe your chances here will be alot higher. also, research here is better any ways haha (but its not japan) .

it's okay. i cant be a winner all the time. just have to figure out what went wrong and perform better next time. i'm sure i'll have opportunities to do research or to stay in japan next time. good luck to you!! ^^

kimberleylhj

Jul 29, 2008, 16:08

Did anybody got the call from Ms. Yin??

menrui

Jul 29, 2008, 16:10

Wow, I'm having such a hard time finding a supervisor... I'm just getting a bunch of no replies. Anyways, does any one know if it is okay to ask a associate professor to be a supervisor?

kimberleylhj

Jul 29, 2008, 16:21

menrui, i'm having the same problem and question in mind too. i'll try to find out from a friend.

someone pls accept me as their student!!! haha..

Vyen

Jul 29, 2008, 16:28

yes~~i got a call from miss yin..i am in the list of recommendation by embassy..so excited..
Thank you all for the guidance and support...:-)
now, i need to start contacting the universities...

kimberleylhj

Jul 29, 2008, 16:32

congrats vyen!!! looks like we did ok after all. :relief:

good luck to all in finding supervisors.

clockworkorange

Jul 29, 2008, 17:40

I received NO call.

*cries*........did u guys just get the call?

btw, congrats!!!!!

ayumi.tt

Jul 29, 2008, 17:47

kimberleylhj

Jul 29, 2008, 18:07

clockworkorange, she probably has so many ppl to contact and couldn't finish it in less than half a day since i only got the call around 3pm. all the best to you.

clockworkorange

Jul 29, 2008, 18:16

Haha, thanks u guys, for trying to make me feel better....

Maybe ur rite...however, i was the 1st person to be interviewed on tuesday morning which was the 1st day of the interview....i assumed if i did get the recommendation i would be the 1st one to get called since i was the first name on the interview list.

But maybe it doesn't work that way.......i'll find out tmr.

Thanks, guys!!

Vyen

Jul 29, 2008, 18:38

i get the called too...
and 2 of my frens also got the calls... (^^) clockworkorange, ms yin said she got a lot of calls need to make. u could try and call her... =)
vyen, we make it! what uni are u trying to apply?

I plan to apply Hitotsubashi, IUJ, or hokkaido university. But i haven send any email to them yet..:relief:

Clockworkorange,
No worries, ms Yin might call you soon and best wishes.

clauxz

Jul 29, 2008, 23:01

Dear Malaysian

Congrats to all the call .. Indonesia got the call last week ..

To Menrui ..

Yeah i found my professor in March 2008. i got 3 professor to agree to accept me..

Dont worry ..
if the research paper is an interest to the professor .. ( stress on social contribution )
The professor will reply so ..

So far only one im interested to work with.

The professor that accepted me is an Associate professor.

I am not sure whether the monbusho people would like to accept this Associate professor.

What u guys thing !!

Good luck getting to ur preffered Univ ..

Nall-ohki

Jul 30, 2008, 02:59

Guys who are applying - try applying to the school directly. They will often contact the professor for you.

menrui

Jul 30, 2008, 03:25

Wow, I wake up and everyone is getting calls. good job guys!

Clauxz,
its great that you even have the option of choosing a professor. I think I'm going to have to "settle" for one haha.

Nall,
I wanted to do that too, but some schools ask that you receive permission from the professor first.

Speaking of which, I sent out about 10 emails and and only 2 of them replied. One prof just asked me a question, i replied, and he never replied back. The other one stated that he would "gladly welcome" me into his group. And then he talks about the importance of financial assistant. He seems really nice from his email and I'm really attracted to nice people haha. So Kobe university is at the top of my choices now... and my only choice for now.

Nall-ohki

Jul 30, 2008, 09:33

I wanted to do that too, but some schools ask that you receive permission from the professor first.

I got that, too, but I basically went to the international office and said I couldn't get a hold of the professor. In every case, they offered to try to contact my professor for me.

The key for me was telling them that you've tried to contact them, but have been unsuccessful.

menrui

Jul 30, 2008, 09:52

^oooooo I'm going to have to do that... thanks for the advice Nall!

kimberleylhj

Jul 30, 2008, 10:17

thanks for the great advice Nall-ohki!

clockworkorange

Jul 30, 2008, 10:59

I passed the interview!!! Miahahahaah.......

I called Ms. Yin. Apparently she tried to get thru to me but couldn't yesterday.

Grin.

kimberleylhj

Jul 30, 2008, 11:06

CONGRATS!!!! See, never lose hope!!! Now, let's continue working harder...

Vyen

Jul 30, 2008, 11:10

clockworkorange,

Congrats!!!:cool:
i remember you told me you want to do research in engineering, right? wish you good luck~~~

c0ok1e

Jul 30, 2008, 12:34

Everyone in this forum get the calls?? Lucky fools.. so how do u guys plan to contact the japanese professors who doesnt reply emails?

cktey

Jul 30, 2008, 12:36

Hi guys...

These few days had been hectic for me due to the work commitments. Just to share with you guys that I have received call from Ms Yin (half and hour ago) to be shortlisted into Embassy's recommendation too ^^

Now, let's work even harder from now on~!~

cravy

Jul 30, 2008, 12:58

I still received no calls....................sad...
anyway, will call her later.....pray...

Vyen

Jul 30, 2008, 13:16

Cravy,
don't worry and best wishes~~~

does anyone from malaysia plan to study MBA or international business? I got a little bit of problem since some school require GMAT and TOEFL.I haven take the test yet. hopefully can find a school that do not need these..

cravy

Jul 30, 2008, 16:30

CAlled ms yin jz now, she said 'try again nex yr'..... sigh..
Well, will leave this forum until nex yr..... bye.

kouki

Jul 30, 2008, 16:54

Cravy,

Sorry to hear that. Hope to see you around in the forum. I appreciate you sharing here.

>
Does anyone know what awaits us ahead? Another interview? Did anyone ask Miss Yin about that by chance?

I was just told to do my medical check-up in the meantime.

Good luck to you all! Keep in touch.

kouki

Jul 30, 2008, 17:23

Everyone in this forum get the calls?? Lucky fools.. so how do u guys plan to contact the japanese professors who doesnt reply emails?

Miss Yin did mention something like, you can try call them, and not necessarily speak in Japanese. You can still speak English with them. Good luck. :-)

kimberleylhj

Jul 30, 2008, 17:28

I think I will start calling if I don't hear any reply via email.
But the things is most of the professor are on summer break now... which makes them even tougher to be contacted.

menrui

Jul 30, 2008, 17:29

Cravy,
At least you know you tried. I think that is more then enough to be proud of.

To everyone looking for a supervisor. Nall gave a good advise on the previous page. Contact the department/school's international section and explain to them your situation and that you cant contact the professors. Maybe they will do it for you haha.

clockworkorange

Jul 30, 2008, 17:47

To kimberly and vyen, thank u very much for the encouragement.

and cravy, i know how u feel. i felt exactly the same way yesterday.....but i thot i'd just forget about it, do whatever i was doing here in malaysia rite now and enjoy it and prepare myself so that next year i'd do better. i mean with all the experience u had this year, next year ur bound to do better. at least thats what i think.

i also have one question:

how many professors can we contact? more than 3?

tomayto

Jul 30, 2008, 19:59

so... should anyone who passed the interview get informed by now? i haven't receive any news from ms yin and too afraid to call her. i guess the scholarship just isn't for me. haha. how disappointing. the worst part is a professor just emailed me saying he is willing to work with me on a condition that i got the scholarship. good luck to others who choosen...

c0ok1e

Jul 30, 2008, 20:28

To all successful Malaysians,

I emailed the Professor and he asked me to send the applications I sent to the embassy to the International Office of the University. I am not in KL so I just want to ask if the letters the embassy will send to us include the application letters we submit or do we have to get it from the embassy?

I really hope they will send back to us so I dun haf to go back KL to get a few pieces of paper

Any information please let me know. Thanks

ooilingfan

Jul 30, 2008, 23:54

Hi, I'm new here. Name's LingFan. I'm one of the applicants this year and received 'THE' call from Ms Yin on Tuesday.

Hope we can get to know each other and work towards realising our dreams. I think most of those that pass the interview should be able to end up there if no any unforseen circumstances. I'm quite worried bout the odds, Ms Yin did say that 70%-95% of those will pass the Feb final round. But the statistics may vary from year to year, and the range is so wide, 70 - 95%, 70% is like quite risky.

anyway, lets keep our fingers crossed. I've checked with my friend who already got the scholarship and is in his 4th year there, usually after August, the interview and medical checkup, there will be no news straight till next year's Feb.

I'm also very concern about the uni application and whether i should apply to a few profs and a few unis just to be safe. But i heard from my friends in japan that it's disrespectful if we apply to a few profs at the same time, it shows that we somehow lack faith in them, some of them may not be happy and not take us seriously.
Another concern is TOEFL, some schools do require TOEFL but I checked with Ms Yin and she say not necessarily, so i'm still waiting to get the final confirmation from uni. (TOEFL is more common in japan compared to IELTS)

So much for my first post =p have been babbling non stop
hope to hear from you guys soon.

And if there's an Andrew here from USM applied biology, would like to here from you. (We met during the interview).

c0ok1e

Jul 31, 2008, 00:25

Hi Lingfan,

Do you know how i can contact miss yin?? I want to ask her about the problem i mentioned above your thread

thanks

kimberleylhj

Jul 31, 2008, 00:30

tomayto, try again next year.. at least u know for sure there's a professor waiting for u. just probably try to learn from this year to excel next year.

lingfan, i think for the master program that are fully in english, toefl will be a must. so try to take ur toefl asap if u intend to apply to a master program in english.

i still have receive any news from professors nor international centers. but am afraid to apply to too many uni as like what lingfan said, i might get questioned for why i seem to be applying everywhere and not according to what i wrote in the application form.

MatsuyamaHime

Jul 31, 2008, 08:15

*in America*

*EXHAUSTED*

I'm supposed to interview Friday morning in ATL, and I'm catching the train down there Wed night/Thurs morning. I'm not sure that I've gotten a full night's sleep in the week that I've been in America.

:sleep:

I never did practice interviewing, but that's okay. As long as I know how to answer I'll simply be my charming, witty self.

menrui

Jul 31, 2008, 08:47

^My plan is to seduce the panel...

Nall-ohki

Jul 31, 2008, 09:02

^My plan is to seduce the panel...

:souka:

Let me know how that works out for you. :blush:

clockworkorange

Jul 31, 2008, 10:18

menrui

Jul 31, 2008, 10:40

^I think he is refering to the the results of the 2nd screening, which can be announced as late as february .

JapanDream

Jul 31, 2008, 14:13

Hi there,

I passed the interview round, too. =) Thanks to everyone for you help and support! I really appreciate that. Does anyone know by when the medical checkup has to be done?

Hi All Those Awaiting Interview in US (Menrui-Houston, MatsuyamaHime-ATL, etc)
Good luck in your upcoming interview!

kimberleylhj

Jul 31, 2008, 14:46

Ms Yin told me to do it now while waiting for the letter. Coz as usual, we will be having a really tight dateline.

Vyen

Jul 31, 2008, 15:08

i believe is before 22nd of August. this is what she told me.
hopefully all can pass the second round screening. all the best.:-)

still looking for university's professor:(

tomayto

Jul 31, 2008, 16:11

it is confirmed that i didn't make it. i just called ms yin this morning. haha. i will try my luck at states. hehe. good luck to others. gambate!!!

ayumi.tt

Jul 31, 2008, 16:39

i believe is before 22nd of August. this is what she told me.
hopefully all can pass the second round screening. all the best.:-)
still looking for university's professor:(

as long as we apply for the study field we've written, and not changing to other field, i think we could make it. and our certificate of health.
i am waiting for the letter from ms yin so i can send it to the uni....

Clockworkorange,
the second round screening is based on the documents we've sent, the letter of acceptance from japan uni,

Ling fan,
I've tried to contact a professor from osaka u, but he din reply me at all. it would be too risky if we just sit and wait for one reply. and the reply may turn out to be a rejection. we have to diversify to reduce the risk of not getting any university. Some more, the statistic is based on historical candidates performance and MAY NOT reflect on future candidates. don't u think so?
btw, if u don't trust what ms yin has told u about TOEFL, y were u wasting her time answering ur call or email?

ooilingfan

Jul 31, 2008, 19:46

Hi Lingfan,
Do you know how i can contact miss yin?? I want to ask her about the problem i mentioned above your thread
thanks
this is Ms Yin's email. She would prefer email than calls (she's really very busy so she'll appreciate less calls): jpemb54%arc.net.my
[i have to use % instead of @ as my account is not allowed to post emails in the forum yet]

Can we collate the questions and answers and post it here instead of everyone asking her the same questions individually?
I just got the feeling that the more we share, the more questions that will be raised. I don't want to get her overwhelmed by our enquiries, it's not good for us if we got her all upset.
For some of the answers for questions/concerns i posted: kindly review the following post replies.
Let's see whether we can collate something like a simple FAQ on "FAQ on things after the interview" for everyone as a guide/reference.

lingfan, i think for the master program that are fully in english, toefl will be a must. so try to take ur toefl asap if u intend to apply to a master program in english.

Do you know where can we sit for TOEFL in malaysia?
GOSH the time is so damn tight to sit for exam, get results and mail it to uni. Seems impossible for now, unless they allow us to send in results later.

ooilingfan

Jul 31, 2008, 19:54

What exactly is the Feb final round? interviews, more research writing?

Based on my understanding, the Feb round is just a review of all documents submitted by us:
The whole package of forms we submitted during our interview + medical report + university admission letter + any other relevant documents + interview results/evaluation (by the interviewers)

Then based on that they will decide whether we are the candidate they're looking for. Perhaps they will double check with the unis we applied to ensure our research is relevant to their needs, and our candidacy will bring benefits to both countries. Just a final screening round by the Ministry of Edu Head Office in Tokyo. What i heard from my friend is, after our final submission of documents this 22 Aug, there's nothing else we can do and we only need to wait and wait until Feb for the letter of approval.

Ms Yin told me to do it now while waiting for the letter. Coz as usual, we will be having a really tight dateline.

Hi,
Question: Do they have a designated panels of clinics where the results are recognised by them?

I wouldn't dare to do it yet as i'm afraid they might not accept it. I hope the mail package will explain in detail. Usually this kind of test will take less than a week to get the full report (blood and urine test may take 2-4 days).

The really tight deadline is the uni application. Cause a lot of communication and ding dong ding dong to do with the uni. I'm worried cause after my professor agreed to seek the dean's advise on my application, no news till now.

ooilingfan

Jul 31, 2008, 20:24

Ling fan,
I've tried to contact a professor from osaka u, but he din reply me at all. it would be too risky if we just sit and wait for one reply. and the reply may turn out to be a rejection. we have to diversify to reduce the risk of not getting any university. Some more, the statistic is based on historical candidates performance and MAY NOT reflect on future candidates. don't u think so?
btw, if u don't trust what ms yin has told u about TOEFL, y were u wasting her time answering ur call or email?

Hi, I agree with you. But we need to make sure our proposal matches the projects of the potential supervisors. I wrote my proposal based on ONE supervisor's advise, so in my example if i were to search for alternative, it needs to be of the same research theme. I'm also got a lot of 'no replies' from osaka uni. Then i tried another faculty of the same uni and finally got 1.
As what i read from some posts, some supervisors won't entertain students without japanese language proficiency due to communication barriers.

Regarding the TOEFL, i'm not trying to show disrespect to Ms Yin, but it's just that it may happen that it's her opinion on japan uni in general.
if you check Osaka U postgrad application, you may notice that TOEFL is one of the requirement, alongside with our basic degree.

I'm very concern of the TOEFL cause of our tight deadline. It's considered a simple requirement and i think none of us would want to miss out the opportunity because of an english exam (no offence).

I've applied to Taiwan scholarship and they rejected me cause i didn't take GRE exams & IELTS (i feel quite innocent as being a local uni grad, those 2 exams are totally unnecessary for me, by the time i learn about it i have less than 10 days to meet the requirements). Hope my bad experience will not happen to any of us this time round.

ooilingfan

Jul 31, 2008, 20:34

Anyone receive the post-interview mail package yet?

oh, regarding the statistics, i heard (before the interview) that this year's will be similiar to last year's and few years back = 30+ out of 70+.
Though the Feb final screening's stats may not follow suit accordingly, just want to know where we stand, and how much hope to put it. Having applied and rejected on many scholarships, my emotional and mental is quite exhausted. I feel it's better to focus on a few scholarships that is more likely to get rather than using our limited time to try and apply 100 scholarships. Don't you think so? we may end up wasting our time, wasting the scholarship committee's time and missed out on other things more worth the effort.

kouki

Jul 31, 2008, 21:15

>LingFan

Answering to that question of medical check-up, I am told that we can go to any clinics for medical check-up, as long as it is a licenced doctor.

For the TOEFL score, I suppose it is of advantage if you get that. If you would look at the requirement of the university, they will mention something like proficiency in Japanese is a must (at level 2 or level 1 in JLPT) and TOEFL (more than 550). However, students from English-speaking countries would not have to sit for TOEFL.

One more thing is that: We are applying to enter in April 2009, as research student, you will at least have to wait until October 2009, to be able to be a Masters or Ph.D student. I suppose other relevant documents can be sent later. Anyway, try to contact the universities' admission offices.

Good luck.

ooilingfan

Jul 31, 2008, 22:01

this is the reply from Ms Yin on some of the issues:

"Dear Mr Ooi,

1. You can look for other universities. But it will be disrespectful to the advisor.

2. All documents must arrived in the Embassy of Japan KL by 22 August 2008."

Kouki,
thanks for your reply
hopefully the 31 August deadline for Japan Universities application is for April 2009 intake. As it seems quite early now to apply for our Oct 2009 intake. And there's a uni entrance exam somewhere in August i heard. So i'm still quite blur of uni application actually.

Hope someone could shed some light? perhaps our task now is 1. medical checkup, 2. secure a supervisor

p/s: just got home, checked mail, no mails from embassy yet... =(

kimberleylhj

Jul 31, 2008, 22:07

Do you know where can we sit for TOEFL in malaysia?
GOSH the time is so damn tight to sit for exam, get results and mail it to uni. Seems impossible for now, unless they allow us to send in results later.
When I got the phone call from Ms Yin, I had this in mind too. That I'll probably be able to send all documents needed by the uni on time except for the TOEFL result. What I did was emailing the admission office to ask if my result can be sent in later. What I can say is just try to ask and reason out with them. And as kouki's advice, if you were to go in as a research student first, you can submit your result before taking the entrance exam.
As for where we can sit for TOEFL in malaysia..
Just go to www ets org (spaces to be replaced by [.]) and search for possible test centers and test dates in Malaysia. You will get the result in 15 days.
Hi,
Question: Do they have a designated panels of clinics where the results are recognised by them?
Actually, the medical examination is suppose to be submitted together with all the other forms if you follow the original outline. It's just that the Japan Embassy in Malaysia try to help us in saving cost in case we don't get through the interview. A medical checkup cost about +-MYR200.
Only blood test will take up to max 3 days. Others can be done within a day. And I'm sure we'll be able to do this within the dateline. Just that I rather have this be done now, so I can concentrate on gaining admission once I receive the official letter from the embassy.

ooilingfan

Jul 31, 2008, 22:11

Guys,

I saw this timeline in Osaka U's website. Just sharing to those who hasn't seen it:

"Those applying for admission to undergraduate or graduate programs recommended by Japanese Embassies Before Coming to Japan:

March - April Application
May - June 1st screening
June -August Letter of Acceptance
October 2nd screening
February(- July) Result of a final selection
March of the following year (September) Immigration procedures
April of the following year (October) Arrive in Japan "

Some guidelines plucked from uni website:

-Letter of Acceptance-

In case you would like to get a "Letter of Acceptance" for the Japanese Government (MONBUKAGAKUSHO:MEXT) Scholarship (Research Student), you must first pass a preliminary selection examination conducted at your local Japanese Embassy/Consulate General.

After you pass the preliminary selection, you should contact us with the documents required below before the end of August.

- A certificate of the preliminary selection issued by the Japanese Embassy/Consulate General
- Official form of "Letter of Acceptance"
- A set of the same documents as those submitted to the Japanese Embassy/Consulate General (description of educational background, certified academic records of the university attended, letter of recommendation from the university attended, and description of the field of study and study program etc.)

Please find a professor who you would like to have as a supervisor and mention the name of the professor, the school/graduate school of the professor, and the school/graduate school at which you would like to study.

Note:
- Concerning your research fields, study plan, and other factors, you are recommended to contact the professor who you would like to have as a supervisor in advance concerning your research fields etc. However, a "Letter of Acceptance" is issued officially upon having come to a decision by the school/graduate school not by the professor .
- A "Letter of Acceptance" is only a tentative acceptance, and thus does not guarantee definite enrollment into the university. The officail acceptance notification will be issued by the Monbukagakusho.
- As the majority of schools/graduate schools conduct entrance examinations, your admission to a Master's or Doctoral program may not be officially recognized at this point. Please consult with the professor beforehand, concerning any such issues as well.
- Should the documents and information which you submit to us be incomplete, we may not be able to process your application for a "Letter of Acceptance".
- Since it will take time to return these documents to you by post mail after the screening at our university, you may e-mail or fax a set of copies of them, and keep the originals.

ooilingfan

Jul 31, 2008, 22:31

it is confirmed that i didn't make it. i just called ms yin this morning. haha. i will try my luck at states. hehe. good luck to others. gambate!!!

Tomayto,
According to one of the universities. They mention that entrance through Embassy Recommendation (what we've been doing so far) is only one of the many ways.

You can also go through the 2nd method - Entrance via University Recommendation. Whereby you contact a supervisor, get their acceptance, they (the graduate school) issue the recommendation letter and from there they recommend you to apply for MEXT scholarship (different batch).
Diff graduate schools offers different number of places. You may want to check out the individual uni websites.
The deadline for this one is Dec 2008 for some uni, to enter for Oct 2009 intake.

The 3rd method is via Government Recommendation
This is tougher i guess, whereby you are recommended by the Malaysian govt (if you're malaysian) instead of the Japanese Embassy. The procedure for this you need to find out from Malaysian govt.

Hope this helps. Most of the documents are similiar. Perhaps you can request that the Embassy return you the documents so you can use them immediately.

ooilingfan

Aug 1, 2008, 00:35

Actually, the medical examination is suppose to be submitted together with all the other forms if you follow the original outline. It's just that the Japan Embassy in Malaysia try to help us in saving cost in case we don't get through the interview. A medical checkup cost about +-MYR200.
Only blood test will take up to max 3 days. Others can be done within a day. And I'm sure we'll be able to do this within the dateline. Just that I rather have this be done now, so I can concentrate on gaining admission once I receive the official letter from the embassy.

Hi guys, I've done some survey on clinics. I asked one in Subang, RM 195 (i showed the doctor our medical checkup form). In the end, i did my checkup in serdang, RM 95. So actually you can find cheaper ones. avoid blood sucking clinics. I used to do full body checkup at only rm110.

kimberleylhj

Aug 1, 2008, 01:24

2. All documents must arrived in the Embassy of Japan KL by 22 August 2008.

Gosh, it's really a tight dateline.

menrui

Aug 1, 2008, 09:47

this is the reply from Ms Yin on some of the issues:
"Dear Mr Ooi,
1. You can look for other universities. But it will be disrespectful to the advisor.

I was thinking the same, but if we get one supervisor's acceptance and letter of acceptance from the school, does that guarantee us acceptance into the university? If it does, I would definitely only applied to one professor and school. anyone know?

clockworkorange

Aug 1, 2008, 10:37

U guys are making me panic......

I haven even emailed any professors yet.

Nall-ohki

Aug 1, 2008, 10:46

I was thinking the same, but if we get one supervisor's acceptance and letter of acceptance from the school, does that guarantee us acceptance into the university? If it does, I would definitely only applied to one professor and school. anyone know?

It does not guarantee anything. MEXT hasn't even guaranteed you that you will get the scholarship yet.

There is also no guarantee you'll get your choice of school (that's why they have 3 choices and what to do if you can't get any of them).

As for the school, it is a CONDITIONAL letter of acceptance (dependent upon your receiving the scholarship).

ooilingfan

Aug 1, 2008, 10:48

I was thinking the same, but if we get one supervisor's acceptance and letter of acceptance from the school, does that guarantee us acceptance into the university? If it does, I would definitely only applied to one professor and school. anyone know?

:-) that's a very good question that i think only the grad school or Tokyo government can answer us. But we can still get the embassy's advise based on their past experience.

ooilingfan

Aug 1, 2008, 10:57

U guys are making me panic......
I haven even emailed any professors yet.

=) don't be panic, just try your best to contact as many grad schools as possible. In one particular department, send emails to the prof as well as the assoc prof, cause it may happen that they are too busy or out of state/overseas. If you send to many, some good people will pass your email or highlight the matter to relevant supervisors.
So far i feel that the condition is 2-way. MEXT's condition is that you get grad school acceptance, grad's school's is that you get MEXT scholarship. (They're somehow waiting for the other party to make the 1st move as reference)
So as long as you start off by securing one of them, things should be fine.
You pass the interview without having any supervisors, they must have seen you as highly qualified candidate. As oppose to mine, i think i convinced them based on the positive reply from my supervisor. I'm still worried as there's no news from the grad school for 1 week d.

menrui

Aug 1, 2008, 10:58

It does not guarantee anything. MEXT hasn't even guaranteed you that you will get the scholarship yet.

yes i know. I meant that, if the school and prof accepts us, does the university surely accepts us also without connection to our embassy's decision.

I'll try to ask my embassy about it... it would help alot.

ooilingfan

Aug 1, 2008, 11:04

Hi, actually i'm still confused of the 3 choices.

Anyone here managed to write a proposal which is relevant to all 3 universities of choice?
or the proposal is written based on the First uni / written on own account without recommendation by any supervisors?

JapanDream

Aug 1, 2008, 11:10

U guys are making me panic......
I haven even emailed any professors yet.
Hi Clockworkorange,
You're not alone--I feel the same way. It's starting to sound like we will have a LOT to do before Aug 22...And I still haven't written emails to profs yet...
Hi All,
I still have questions about this date. Do we need to get the Letter of Acceptance and submit it together with the med form AND make sure these documents reach the Japan embassy by Aug 22? Med form is reasonable but I think we will be VERY pressed for time to get the Letter. Besides, who will write the Letter of Acceptance? The prof or the Univ Admission Office?

menrui

Aug 1, 2008, 11:12

^it should be relevant to your desired professor, im sure you meant that. but wow, is your topic really specific or something?

ooilingfan

Aug 1, 2008, 11:28

Hi Clockworkorange,
You're not alone--I feel the same way. It's starting to sound like we will have a LOT to do before Aug 22...And I still haven't written emails to profs yet...
Hi All,
I still have questions about this date. Do we need to get the Letter of Acceptance and submit it together with the med form AND make sure these documents reach the Japan embassy by Aug 22? Med form is reasonable but I think we will be VERY pressed for time to get the Letter. Besides, who will write the Letter of Acceptance? The prof or the Univ Admission Office?

Hi, I'm totally with you on this. Very tight deadline.
The letter of acceptance, if not mistaken is either from the Dean of Grad School or Uni Admission Office. Your prof can only recommend you to the Dean. And it will take some time cause both of them are very busy people. I suggest you start sending emails out. Perhaps the Dean/Admission Office will call up MEXT or our respective embassies to verify our embassy recommendation before issuing Letter of Acceptance.
I'm working in a University, here the enrolment office usually issues the Letter of Acceptance after approved by Dean/Head of School.

^it should be relevant to your desired professor, im sure you meant that. but wow, is your topic really specific or something?

Yes my topic is very specific. I was told to rewrite by the Embassy once because i wrote it too general.
So my 2nd draft was written based on my supervisor's work, he sent the recent publication of his work to me and i summarized the work including some methods and materials, conclusions.
So i kind of limited myself since my proposal is too specific. It's quite hard to apply to other unis now unless they got similiar projects running.
Kinda tricky.

clockworkorange

Aug 1, 2008, 12:01

Hi JapanDream and lingfan,

actually i have the same problem as u, lingfan. my research proposal was pretty specific as well since i'm continuing my undergraduate research project. and its really REALLY hard to find a professor who conducts the same research or something similar. my research has something to do with air pollution- the monitoring and prediction of pollutant concentrations using neural networks. i've looked thru quite a few universities and while there is a lot of research regarding air pollution and neural networks, i have yet to find research incorporating both. so what i did was look for professors that were researching air pollution and interested in understanding the mechanism of air transport. Some of these professors weren't even from the chemical engineering dept (i have a degree in chem eng). In fact a lot of the atmospheric study labs i looked thru were under professors that are from the civil eng dept. so i'm not sure if they would agree to supervise me but i put one of these professors down in my application form.

But i haven emailed him yet.

Neway, i think it wouldn't hurt to just email professors and see if they take an interest in what ur doing. u never know.

ayumi.tt

Aug 1, 2008, 12:02

I was thinking the same, but if we get one supervisor's acceptance and letter of acceptance from the school, does that guarantee us acceptance into the university? If it does, I would definitely only applied to one professor and school. anyone know?

but can we guarantee we will get the letter of acceptance just by applying to one university? they will screen us before issuing the letter, right?
does anyone how are they going to screen us? getting more and more confused...

ooilingfan

Aug 1, 2008, 13:13

but can we guarantee we will get the letter of acceptance just by applying to one university? they will screen us before issuing the letter, right?
does anyone how are they going to screen us? getting more and more confused...

Hmm...I really have no idea how the uni is going to screen us since we haven't send in anything to them.
And i'm stupid for not keeping a copy of the set of documents sent to Embassy. Perhaps we can send in the same things, 1 set to the uni including medical report.

Vyen

Aug 1, 2008, 16:39

tomayto

Aug 1, 2008, 18:18

32 students passed the interview

cravy

Aug 1, 2008, 20:30

unfortunately, i m the 33th person...lol
anyway, wish u all gd luck....cheers..
* Very busy working now...

Vyen

Aug 1, 2008, 20:47

32 students passed the interview

i see..last year they sent 31 ppl...then it means we still got hope...lots of hope...

cravy,
i m sure you will success next year...ganbare..

ooilingfan

Aug 2, 2008, 01:20

Anyone know how many person passed the interview? miss yin told anyone?
clockworkorange,
my research topic also very specific and I m still searching for more suitable professor. i thought we just have to submit the health cert b4 22nd august and not including letter of acceptance from japan university. Am i right? i think most of us can't get it before 22nd.

yeah i think you're right
then it's not pretty much that we can do now...
i think the critical part is universities, it's recommendation could be the key for Tokyo and Embassy's consideration. So we should be keeping close contact with supervisors and our respective grad schools.

ooilingfan

Aug 2, 2008, 02:01

i see..last year they sent 31 ppl...then it means we still got hope...lots of hope...
cravy,
i m sure you will success next year...ganbare..

just curious, any idea they send 31 out of how many who passed the interview?

Nall-ohki

Aug 2, 2008, 05:05

Yay! I got accepted by the University of Tokyo! (Sounds like for both regular enrollment as well as MEXT enrollment!)

Working on the details now, but I might have a secondary plan this time (that is, taking out a loan)!

Anyway, figured I'd give you guys updates. Hope everyone is doing well.

menrui

Aug 2, 2008, 05:31

^I'm jealous now. My desired Prof. at Tokyo U. isnt replying to me, so I think I'm going to give up on Tokyo. Plus, the application deadline is Aug31... and my interview is on Aug7. There might not be enough time for me to mail the app in on time. Oh well

On the other hand, I got a prof from Osaka and one from Kobe that said they would accept me. Osaka wants me in his research group instead of doing independence research... I think that would be a great opportunity haha and now I really prefer him. So my top choice is Osaka now.

Keep working on your supervisor search guys!

ooilingfan

Aug 2, 2008, 16:14

ooilingfan

Aug 2, 2008, 16:23

c0ok1e

Aug 2, 2008, 18:54

Does anyone have the application forms we sent to the embassy for the interview in softcopy?? I emailed a universiti in japan and they asked me to send the documents over and emailed him a softcopy.. I dont have the softcopy so anyone who have please send over to me as soon as possible..

thank you..

And i dont think I will be able to get the letter of acceptance before 22nd and i hope that the embassy will not require us to send before 22nd..

menrui

Aug 2, 2008, 19:54

My embassys applications can be downloaded online... but im not sure if our applications are the same. Have a look anyways:

http://www.houston.us.emb-japan.go.jp/en/culture/page11-2.htm

MatsuyamaHime

Aug 2, 2008, 21:37

*still exhausted* But it's over!

Now I understand what the email meant by "intense". I met some lovely, intelligent and creative post-grads at the ATL consulate with interesting proposals.

ooilingfan

Aug 3, 2008, 00:10

Does anyone have the application forms we sent to the embassy for the interview in softcopy?? I emailed a universiti in japan and they asked me to send the documents over and emailed him a softcopy.. I dont have the softcopy so anyone who have please send over to me as soon as possible..
thank you..
And i dont think I will be able to get the letter of acceptance before 22nd and i hope that the embassy will not require us to send before 22nd..

I have. your email please?

c0ok1e

Aug 3, 2008, 00:26

I tried download forms from menrui but it is in pdf and i cant fill in anything.. can u please send it to me lingfan?? my email is C0kaCoLa@yahoo.co.uk

thanks..

dblbstrd

Aug 3, 2008, 23:06

c0ok1e

Aug 4, 2008, 00:43

Did anyone ask if we are able to send the letter of acceptance after 22nd August?

ooilingfan

Aug 4, 2008, 00:55

Did anyone ask if we are able to send the letter of acceptance after 22nd August?

I'm still waiting for the recommendation letter from embassy before able to apply for Letter of acceptance.

Anyone got the mail already?

menrui

Aug 4, 2008, 07:19

I went to go buy a suit today... and here is how it went:
-Enters store-
me: (o.O).oO(I have no idea what the eff im doing!)
employee: (^.^) <(Can I assist you in anyway?)
me: (O.o).oO(....)
employee: (^.^) <(Follow me, we'll get you into something nice)
me: (-_-) <(Thanks...)

Yeah, i dont have any fashion sense...

clockworkorange

Aug 4, 2008, 10:22

Anyone pursuing a masters degree in engineering?

Anyone at all?

And no, i haven gotten any mail from the embassy although ms. yin said that she'd sent out the letters last week.

kshoo

Aug 4, 2008, 10:38

ooilingfan

Aug 4, 2008, 10:45

ooilingfan, i know that Ms. Yin sent it out last Friday. I went to see her on that day to get my documents, as all the universities that I'm applying to, not only requires a copy of all the documents submitted to the embassy (incl. medical reports), but also the embassy certification for all documents. Had to make a trip down there to get it from her personally.

Thank you for clarifying that. I'm just worried that it's lost in transit. you know our pos malaysia.

Btw, the uni has already requested the documents so soon? So you make an extra copy in the embassy on the spot and they certify for you?

kshoo

Aug 4, 2008, 11:18

kshoo

Aug 4, 2008, 11:34

Hi good people,

I have received a couple of emails back from universities. All the universities that I'm applying to are off for one week for BON holidays (!!!!!!). That means it will be a challenge for them to send back anything to us by Aug 22 as it typically takes 2-3 weeks for them to process and obtain the professors' for us.

Anyone else facing the same issue as moi?

clockworkorange

Aug 4, 2008, 12:23

Ooh....i guess i'm in trouble then....i just sent off emails to professors yesterday.
kshoo, which universities did u apply to?

I applied to tokyo and hokkaido universities. I'll probably be having the same problem.

c0ok1e

Aug 4, 2008, 14:03

That is why i asked earlier if anyone knows if we can send in our letter of acceptance after 22nd august. Now you realise why I asked that question.

Vyen

Aug 4, 2008, 15:40

i just came back from the embassy. miss yin said we need to inform her via email if we can not get the letter of acceptance before 22nd August.:relief:

c0ok1e

Aug 4, 2008, 16:16

oh..cool $hit Vyen.. so i think better mail her early and say i cant get the letter before 22nd august... her email is the j something email right?? cant remmebr the email but i think it start with j

Vyen

Aug 4, 2008, 16:25

oh..cool $hit Vyen.. so i think better mail her early and say i cant get the letter before 22nd august... her email is the j something email right?? cant remmebr the email but i think it start with j

yes, her email address was mentioned in the previous post. You need to explain why you can't get it before the deadline.

menrui

Aug 4, 2008, 16:44

^Oh yeah, I forgot about the Bon holidays... talk about bad timing...

ooilingfan

Aug 4, 2008, 18:55

I have an extra copy on hand, but the embassy is able to return to me two copies.
One note - we can only send in one set of Letter of Acceptance. IE. say you apply to three universities, we must make sure they do not know we are applying to multiple places. While each of them can accept us, ultimately we can only choose one to submit to the embassy.

"Ultimately we can only choose one to submit to the embassy"
THank you for the clarification. I think this clears up a lot of things
Which means that those of us who already secured a guaranteed one, there's no need to look for other unis as it won't help us anyway.
thanks

menrui

Aug 4, 2008, 19:07

^That being said, I really think the Letter of Acceptance insures our place in the university. The rest is up to our embassy to give us the scholarship, but that is another decision. So I definitely think I am going to apply to only 1 university.

Charles Barkley

Aug 4, 2008, 21:17

menrui

Aug 4, 2008, 21:45

^yeah i meant to say submit 1 letter of acceptance. As of now, I plan to apply to 2 univ.

I feel kind of bad applying to more than 1 univ though. When i contacted the prof, I gave the impression that I would definitely like to join his/her group if I receive the scholarship. In the end I have to choose 1 and politely reject the others(probably by never contacting them again). But im really thankful they even took the time to reply(2 for 10 so far) and consider me.

kouki

Aug 4, 2008, 22:14

>clockworkorange
Engineering student here!!! :-)

I heard there are a number of students from Engineering Campus, USM. Anyone here? Maybe we can meet up and have some discussions.

Could anyone of you who has received the package from the embassy what we will have to do? Running out of time... My university requires certified documents from the embassy. Anything else other than the medical checkup form?

Nall-ohki

Aug 5, 2008, 02:46

menrui-- apply to as many as you want. Just only submit one acceptance letter to your consulate if you receive more than one and are worried for some reason.
My consulate told me to go ahead and forward them all the acceptance letters I received. I decided not to, and have simply stored the second one I received in case I need in later. I really want to go to the school of the first letter I send in, so I want to provide MEXT as little reason as possible not to send me there.

A valid strategy, but there's also the possibility that MEXT won't send you anywhere, then. MEXT has limits on how many students they'll send to each university (budget concerns at the university, and a desire to spread people around - this scholarship is supposed to bring value to Japanese universities by your presence).

Remember, not everyone who got a recommendation gets a scholarship (I'm living proof of that), If you picked somewhere popular, it's entirely possible you'll get pushed out.

Not saying you shouldn't do that, but it's something to consider.

Charles Barkley

Aug 5, 2008, 09:14

Well, my situation is a bit different perhaps. I not only had already received the embassy nomination, I had also been selected by Tokyo as a MEXT scholar by that point. Everything about the timing of the process was topsy turvy during the special JET selection round, and even should I not have been able to secure a place at a Uni, one would have been found for me....

kshoo

Aug 5, 2008, 09:51

Another thought - remember that in the Appendix of the application form, we need to fill in up to a max of 3 unis and professors? Do we need to forward this along as well? Not sure if i want each of the universities and I'm applying know about this list...
What are you guys' thoughts on this?

kimberleylhj

Aug 5, 2008, 10:03

I believe that all universities want a copy of every documents submitted to the embassy. So yeah, that would need to be sent along as well.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure the universities understand if we are not applying to just one university. After all, we are trying to gain admission and putting all hopes on just one university is too much of a risk especially since the time frame given to us is so short.

Just probably if you would apply to a university that wasn't in that list of 3 universities of your choice, maybe they will ask why are you applying to them now when you didn't list. But well, just reason out with them if that's really the case. We did have our constraints then.

Vyen

Aug 5, 2008, 10:13

in my opinion, i think that the form is just an attachment. They separated it out from the main application form for a reason. so, i think we just need to send the main application form and keep the attachment form. that one might just for mext reference purpose.

kshoo

Aug 5, 2008, 10:21

Good points, Kimberly and Vyen. The reason i'm posing this question is that i'm trying to look from the university's point of view - if i find myself somewhere lower down the pecking order in the form, I would automatically assume that I'm not the preferred choice, and I may drag / decline to give the letter, even though ultimately it might still be a desirable choice for the candidate.
Just trying not to give the wrong impression. Might I have been overly-cautious?

kimberleylhj

Aug 5, 2008, 10:35

The universities I applied to told me specifically to submit ALL documents that was submitted to the embassy.

Well, it's not that I didn't have the same thought with you at first kshoo. Thinking that the university will feel that I'm just putting them as a third choice and all. But then again, at that point of time, I haven't made any contact and am not familiar myself with the universities I wrote. Merely from the simple search I made via their websites and due to the time constraint during that time (to have all documents ready before the interview), I'm sure universities will understand that we may have put it in that way for a reason.

But anyway, it's not wrong to be overly-cautious. After all, we are all afraid that a small mistake may cause us losing the scholarship.

menrui

Aug 5, 2008, 10:44

haha, i have already email 3 professors with my application(most of it, including the attachment form with 3 desired prof/univ) and i so forget about that list! How embarassing... The profs i emailed it to werent in my top 3 list either... argh

clockworkorange

Aug 5, 2008, 12:38

Hey guys,

I tend to agree with vyen. I understand what kimberly is saying ..the submitting of all documents but i'm also wondering what information the university could possibly need from that particular attachment.....i dun actually remember the contents of that attachment besides the fact that it asks the applicants to name which universities they wish to go/apply to.

And kouki!!!! I'm so glad to find another engineering student!!! I had a huge argument with my parents the other day. They both thought that the duration for me to get a masters in Japan would be 2 years....i told them it could take 3 to 4 years (research student + masters). My parents (and a lot of ppl i have found out) seem to think that this is a waste of time since careers in engineering typically value working experience over higher academic qualifications. Some friends also pointed out that I could earn a doctorate elsewhere in the same amount of time. Needless to say the lack of encouragement has seriously demotivated me.

But, neway, glad to meet u!!!

menrui

Aug 5, 2008, 12:46

ooilingfan

Aug 5, 2008, 14:14

hey guys,
i believe going to japan is more than getting a degree and a waste of time.
Which is why we chose japan over other countries.
It's the experience we're looking for. So, all the best with your application! Just move forward, no regrets. you're doing the right thing.
We must have strong faith.

Btw, i just dropped by the Embassy moments ago. Collected a copy of certified documents. Apparently for the attachment, we only need to submit the FIRST page as the 2nd page which contains the choices of universities have been left out.

If we aren't able to send in the letter of acceptance on time. We need to write a formal letter, stating the reasons, and attach our correspondences with the prof (showing that he/she agreed to take us in and the letter of acceptance is in process).

The universities I applied to told me specifically to submit ALL documents that was submitted to the embassy.
Well, it's not that I didn't have the same thought with you at first kshoo. Thinking that the university will feel that I'm just putting them as a third choice and all. But then again, at that point of time, I haven't made any contact and am not familiar myself with the universities I wrote. Merely from the simple search I made via their websites and due to the time constraint during that time (to have all documents ready before the interview), I'm sure universities will understand that we may have put it in that way for a reason.
But anyway, it's not wrong to be overly-cautious. After all, we are all afraid that a small mistake may cause us losing the scholarship.

It has been confirmed that the embassy will only accept ONE letter of acceptance.
So if we send in more than one, i'm not sure what's going to happen.
However we can still keep the extra letter of acceptance just in case the one we sent in got rejected. But i doubt the backup one will still be valid as by the time we knew we got rejected, it would be some time next February i suppose..

clockworkorange

Aug 5, 2008, 14:30

^hehe, and that problem only occurs to engineering majors? My parents would freak out if I get the scholarship(they dont know im applying..). They probably think going to japan for 2 years and NOT getting a degree is a big waste of time... but im doing it any ways.

haha...the thing is lots of engineers (my colleagues and university mates) seem to regard doing ur masters as a waste of time..i dunno about other countries but in malaysia, having a masters in engineering doesn't really up ur salary or get u a better position when u start work. hence my parents worry.
They like to point out i'm not getting any younger. :okashii:

but what an opportunity i'd miss if i get it and dun go!!! i've wanted to experience japan all my life!!

btw, ooilingfan, what certified documents are we supposed to collect from the embassy? does that mean we have to collect back the application forms we submitted to them? Can't we just submit photocopied ones? Coz i made photocopies.

Thanks for the clarification!!!

ooilingfan

Aug 5, 2008, 16:07

but what an opportunity i'd miss if i get it and dun go!!! i've wanted to experience japan all my life!!
btw, ooilingfan, what certified documents are we supposed to collect from the embassy? does that mean we have to collect back the application forms we submitted to them? Can't we just submit photocopied ones? Coz i made photocopies.
Thanks for the clarification!!!

Yea, the japan experience is what motivates me as well. The hardworking, responsible, perfectionsim culture intrigues me.

Anyway, i certified the documents because my uni requires so. You can check with yours to see whether it's necessary.

kouki

Aug 5, 2008, 21:28

>clockworkorange

Well, to think of that, 3-4 years would not do you any bad... you are gaining more, as you are working on world-class projects and you are competing with world-class student. Perhaps what you should do is to affirm your parents that your prospects of being able to study masters in Japan - working in Japanese companies... By large, engineering students in Japan are taking their masters right after their degree.

About the experience thing, yes, master does make a different. At least your pay would not be at the same level with undergraduates, especially for those multi-national company. Nowadays, they are looking for master and ph.Ds, rather than undergraduates. Don't just look in Malaysia, look further, mate! Your future is bright, by studying in Japan. They have loads of patented products, and you should see how they managed to do that.

ooilingfan

Aug 6, 2008, 11:48

Hi all,
just a bit of clarification for my previous posts on the TOEFL issue.
As japanese language training is part of our program, our research student/grad student course will be conducted fully in Japanese. Hence we do not need TOEFL.
The official 1st semester of japanese university is in Spring, April 2009, where they might take in students for english based programs.
But ours are generally in Japanese.

kshoo

Aug 6, 2008, 11:55

I think this will really depend on the courses undertaken. For my universities they need proof of English (either TOEFL/IELTS), or that i have done my undergraduate in English. So it really depends again...

kimberleylhj

Aug 6, 2008, 13:17

Yeah, it depends on the university and course that you are planning to attend.

ooilingfan

Aug 6, 2008, 15:02

Yeah, it depends on the university and course that you are planning to attend.

but we're not pressed to submit the results now right?

Vyen

Aug 6, 2008, 17:51

I think toefl test can take later since we are applying as research student.
anyone got any luck for letter of acceptance? my result is 1 rejected and 5 no reply.:(

panic and frustrated...

menrui

Aug 6, 2008, 18:20

^keep trying vyen! im sure this is a very common problem. my first 5 emails never recieved replies. as of now, i have 2 yes(i think... it seems that way haha) and 8 no replies.

also, if you can, try to contact the international office of your school/departmen, if they have one. maybe they will help you.

kshoo

Aug 6, 2008, 19:05

So fast they gave replies already? Was it done verbally/via email/ official rejection letter :O
I just sent my documents, and universities have informed me it will take 2-3 weeks before they can give me an indication....

menrui

Aug 6, 2008, 19:09

oh crap, you know what, i thought he was talking about finding a supervisor...

I just noticed some thing... if the prof says yes, this doesnt mean the univ will say yes too... this kind of worries me.

kimberleylhj

Aug 6, 2008, 19:47

but we're not pressed to submit the results now right?

Yeap, not in a hurry. For now to get the LOA, mostly they will want to have a look at the documents submitted to the embassy, the passing certificate of the first screening and research proposal.

One of the university that I've contacted said that it's impossible for me to get a LOA by 22nd August because of the BON holidays and asked me to ask the embassy for an extended due date. That also, no promises I will actually get a LOA from them.

What a risk..

ooilingfan

Aug 6, 2008, 20:09

I think toefl test can take later since we are applying as research student.
anyone got any luck for letter of acceptance? my result is 1 rejected and 5 no reply.:(
panic and frustrated...

they rejected you so fast?
how did they reject you?
you sent in your documents to them for review already?

c0ok1e

Aug 6, 2008, 20:52

I approach 3 universities and 3 of also asked me to send the documents and everything over to them by mail. I have sent all over to them and now i dont have anymore letter of acceptance to send. WHat if all reject my applications then im doom..

kimberleylhj

Aug 6, 2008, 21:07

Too much uncertainties...

Vyen

Aug 6, 2008, 21:51

they rejected you so fast?
how did they reject you?
you sent in your documents to them for review already?

oh, the professor just replied through email and said that he already got enough research student.
now i need to send to more professor within this week. hopefully got one professor who is kind enough to supervise me..:relief:

ooilingfan

Aug 7, 2008, 21:00

oh, the professor just replied through email and said that he already got enough research student.
now i need to send to more professor within this week. hopefully got one professor who is kind enough to supervise me..:relief:

So profs from other universities have no issue that your proposal is too specific (for the first supervisor that you approached) and that what they do is not relevant to it?

Vyen

Aug 7, 2008, 21:48

I think they are enjoying their holiday now..:relief:
now I don't put much hope in getting the letter before 22nd.I only can find some professor from the database and most of them is not directly related to my research field..haiz...
for kobe, iuj, Hitotsubashi, and Nagoya, they wan the documents to be sent by post and only notify the result in september or october...:(

menrui

Aug 8, 2008, 08:55

OMG guys! I just came back from my interview. I really think I nailed it! They were sooo nice to me. I'm going to write about my experience now.

The test were fine. the jpn test was only 1 part that lasted 1 hour, it got progressively harder. The eng is just like the sample test.

My interview~~ My panel consisted of a technology professor from univ, a japanese guy(i dont know what he does...), and our embassys MEXT cordinator. First they asked me some questions from my application, about my japanese studies, my short trip to japan, etc. simple. Then, the very knowledgable professor asked my some basic questions about my research, what is it about etc. typical at first. Then she started asking me more detailed question. I knew my research very well, so i was able to answer easily. She seemed very interested(eyes wide and nodding) with every answer i gave. then i think she tried to "me off balance." questions like, why is it important, why japan, how will people benifit from this, can you insure that other will reference your research in the future. Already knew the answers to these so i didnt hesitate to answer.

Afterwards, the interview got alot more casual. i was very relax. they asked some question about japan, some in japanese. I actually told them a story(in jpn) about how my friends and I went to a hanabi, and we got lonely, so we tried to flirt with some girls, and they all said no. The panel was laughing really hard. I even told them i liked anime! and they asked me what kind of anime do i watch. I wasnt able to answer all the japanese questions... there was one that i couldnt answer so i paused for a really long time, then the prof told me to say it in english haha.

they were sooo nice to me. especially the professor. most of the interview came from her, she even gave me some advice. i was very attracted to her b/c of her kindness even though shes like 10-15 years older than me haha(eww right?). i've been to plenty of interview and this one is my best performance BY FAR. even if i dont get the scholarship, this was such a great experience for me.

From my experience, here are my tips to anyone else who is still waiting for an interview: why japan?; KNOW your research; above all, be passionate!

kimberleylhj

Aug 8, 2008, 09:34

Great job menrui!! Am glad you feel good after your interview.

menrui

Aug 8, 2008, 13:15

Oh i forget,

I just wanted to thank everyone on the message board for their advise and sharing their experiences. Without you guys, I sure I wouldn't have done as well as I did.

clockworkorange

Aug 8, 2008, 13:20

menrui, u sound like u had a really good time!!!!!!

I really hope u get it (i think u will though....from what u described, it seems to me like a sure thing). grin.

And frankly i dun think being attracted to the professor is eww at all. :P....I've gotten attracted to older men a few times. I mean they really listen to what u have to say.......

neway, attractions aside.....i got a reply from the Tokyo university professor!!!!!!! I'm really really happy...

His words:

"I would like to accept being your supervisor."

I'm smiling like an idiot in the office.

I only applied to 2 universities so far. i was planning to apply to more this weekend since I know its really hard to get a professor. So I know this is something to be extremely thankful about. Thanks guys for all ur help in everything!! I hope u guys get replies soon too. Then at least we all could celebrate or something together.

ooilingfan

Aug 8, 2008, 15:21

neway, attractions aside.....i got a reply from the Tokyo university professor!!!!!!! I'm really really happy...
His words:
"I would like to accept being your supervisor."
I'm smiling like an idiot in the office.
I only applied to 2 universities so far. i was planning to apply to more this weekend since I know its really hard to get a professor. So I know this is something to be extremely thankful about. Thanks guys for all ur help in everything!! I hope u guys get replies soon too. Then at least we all could celebrate or something together.

Congrats clockworkorange.
We can celebrate after we submitted everything or when we got our replies in Feb =) hopefully all of us got it
the we'll join menrui in japan

i'm still waiting for my one and only prof to reply..... no news since i sent him the documents

MatsuyamaHime

Aug 9, 2008, 15:31

Nicely done. I wish my panel asked more questions specifically about my research. The oddest one was

MEXT coordinator: "What do you think about kogals?"
Me: "That's so 1992!"

menrui

Aug 9, 2008, 18:27

clockwork,
wow, tokyo U! good job!

oiling,
teah its definitely fustrating. maybe he/she is on bon vacation? anycase, keep trying and dont give up. you've already come this far.

I didn't have any really weird question. but, the most interesting that happened was, when i was leaving the room, the female professor said, "bai bai~". hehe i thought it was really cute.

clockworkorange

Aug 12, 2008, 14:58

Hi guys,

Thanks ooilingfan and menrui for the congratulations. i shud remember it doesn;t mean i get the scholarship though.

I actually would like to ask a question. I know the Malaysian candidates for the scholarship got a package from the embassy. The package contained pur certificate saying we passed the 1st round and a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) form that had to be completed by the university. My question is where do u guys send this LoA form to? I know its mentioned in the form that u send it to the admissions office but some universities have different offices based on the graduate school and some have offices specially dealing with international students. at least thats the case with the University of Tokyo. I have emailed the admissions office, the international office and the professor. but none have replied except the international office. the international office said that the professor has accepted me and they will send me a letter of acceptance but didn't mention anything regarding the form that the embassy has sent us.

Does anybody know anything about this? If u have any experience, especially those in Tokyo uni, i would appreciate the help. Thanks.

kshoo

Aug 12, 2008, 16:00

Re: Clockworkorange - again, it depends on universities.
My universities specify exactly where to forward my documents to - normallly a specific department which handles all MEXT applicants (e.g. Waseda) or specific graduate schools (e.g. Hitotsubashi). My thought is universities nowadays would have posted up a link to all MEXT scholars on their websites where to send all the documents, since they do know we are all working on a tight schedule. The ones that i have sent to will liaise with the professors on my behalf, and they have all committed to get back to me within the next 2-3 weeks.

ooilingfan

Aug 12, 2008, 16:01

Hi guys,
I actually would like to ask a question. I know the Malaysian candidates for the scholarship got a package from the embassy. The package contained pur certificate saying we passed the 1st round and a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) form that had to be completed by the university. My question is where do u guys send this LoA form to? I know its mentioned in the form that u send it to the admissions office but some universities have different offices based on the graduate school and some have offices specially dealing with international students. at least thats the case with the University of Tokyo. I have emailed the admissions office, the international office and the professor. but none have replied except the international office. the international office said that the professor has accepted me and they will send me a letter of acceptance but didn't mention anything regarding the form that the embassy has sent us.
Does anybody know anything about this? If u have any experience, especially those in Tokyo uni, i would appreciate the help. Thanks.

Hi,
I have been notified by my supervisor that the Dean has issued the LoA for me!! yay! hope i'll receive it this week.....

Ok, i'm not sure about Tokyo Uni, but for your reference. I did the below for Osaka Uni:
1. I get 'verbal' confirmation (by email) from my supervisor that they are working on the LoA.
2. I send in a copy of the application documents + passing cert + form for LoA by international mail to my supervisor
3. I scan in the exact same sets of documents in PDF file and email it to my supervisor.

the form for LoA will be attached together with the LoA issued by the Dean/Admission office. So you'll need to send them, softcopy or hardcopy.
I actually sent the original certified copy of documents to my supervisor but he say he already made a copy and will send it back to me just in case i need it. So i suppose they only need it as a reference.

Hope it helps. Btw, have you contacted your potential supervisor in person yet? I think you need to deal directly with him/her. It's faster and safer than just going through the admission office as all the decisions need direct advise from the Dean/supervisor.

clockworkorange

Aug 12, 2008, 18:49

Hey guys,

Thanks for ur answers. I guess it does depend on the uni. I received an email saying that my LoA is already in the mail. Apparently they sent it by EMS - Express Mail Service. so now i have to send the form that the embassy gave me and ask the office to send it back again. i feel really bad doing this. But i did ask them about it, they just totally never answered me.

I did ask my professor. but he did not get back to me. The only person that did was someone from the Office for international students and she just ignored the question and said.."i sent ur LoA via EMS. U'll get in a week."

I think i will email them a softcopy of the LoA which the embassy gave us. Seems to me like the only option.

Thanks for all ur help.

kimberleylhj

Aug 12, 2008, 21:48

Congratulations to both clockworkorange and ooilingfan for getting the LOA before 22nd August. Although it's not a sure thing.. at least the chances will be way higher for you two as you all manage to get it before the tight dateline.

Sigh... the universities I applied to just ask me to wait. So here I am waiting...

menrui

Aug 13, 2008, 09:10

*explosion!

Guys, guess what! I received the embassy recommendation in the mail today! woot~! Kind of weird because I only took the interview like 5 days ago on thursday. But whatever, I'll take it! I'm so excited! now, to get a letter of acceptance...

For reference, my embassys deadline is Sept. 26.

kimberleyhj,
I really hope you get a reply. dont give up just yet! we've gone such a long way.

kshoo

Aug 13, 2008, 10:16

Hi guys,

I recently double-clarified on the LOA items. It seems that actually submit all three sets, but will need to let them know our preferences. This is Ms. Yin's reply, which I will post below:

The Japanese officer, Mr Fukabori has clarified that all nominees can send in all Letters of Acceptance that the nominees received from the universities in Japan. Nominees must mark/indicate which university is their first, second, third (etc) choice.

Example, Ms X has got 3 Letters of Acceptance at different dates.
Let Letter 1 be the first letter, Letter 2 be the second letter and Letter 3 be the third letter to arrive.

Letter 1: University A (2nd choice)
Letter 2: University B (3rd choice)
------------------------------------------22 August dateline
Letter 3: University C (1st choice)
------------------------------------------30 September dateline

For the above case, Mr X received Letter 1 and Letter 2 before the 22 August dateline, so she can send in the Letter 1 and Letter 2 to the embassy by 22 August 2008, while indicate in writing that:-

"Letter 1 from University A is my 2nd choice, where Letter 2 from University B is my 3rd choice. Currently I am still waiting for the Letter 3 from University C, which is my 1st choice.

I will inform the embassy, by email or by phone call, as soon as I get any reply from University C, which will be expected during ____(date) September 2008 to ____ (date) September 2008."

Mr X can send in Letter 3 by fax (attn: Yin) as soon as she got hold of the letter, and then send the original document to the Embassy of Japan as soon as possible (must be before 1st October 2008).

Hope this clears up more cobwebs.

kimberleylhj

Aug 13, 2008, 20:47

Wow.. thanks kshoo. This helps a lot!!

menrui

Aug 13, 2008, 22:56

Hmmm i have a question. are we suppose to leave the Letter of Acceptance(2 pages) completely blank(besides our name and nationality) and then send it to our univ/prof?

ooilingfan

Aug 14, 2008, 12:11

Hmmm i have a question. are we suppose to leave the Letter of Acceptance(2 pages) completely blank(besides our name and nationality) and then send it to our univ/prof?

Yes.
I suppose it's not their first time filling that so they should know what to do with the form. (my prof actually asked for that form even before we recieve the package).

Vyen

Aug 14, 2008, 12:18

just got only one week and I have not receive any LOA yet...:(
nearly give up...don't know what the embassy will do if I can't get one...

MatsuyamaHime

Aug 14, 2008, 12:38

Lightning fast, Menrui~! Great news!

How many were competing in your jurisdiction?

Charles Barkley

Aug 14, 2008, 13:34

How many showed up in Atlanta Hime? I imagine you guys will be hearing soon.

I still havent heard anything final about where I am going and I could be leaving as early as 2 and a half weeks from now. Craazy.

menrui

Aug 14, 2008, 14:00

vyen,
I'm really sorry to hear that. In the case that you can't a LoA, I was told that if the embassy really wants you, they will do their best to assign you to a univ/prof. But keep trying, maybe your embassy will let you reach the sept. 30th deadline. If not, there is still hope.

Matsuhime,
I wanted to know that too, but i thought it would be rude to ask, so i dont really know. At my test/interview, there was only 1 other applicant there. seems low. also, "i think" i saw a list of applicants, and there was about 8 people on it.

fulhamerica

Aug 15, 2008, 10:07

I know what you are saying C. Barkley, I still haven't heard 100% either. Were you given any idea of a time frame? We are approaching the, 'too close for comfort' zone.

MatsuyamaHime

Aug 15, 2008, 13:37

11 for post grad research
4 undergrad

Don't think there was another category present.

And supposedly they'll choose ~3/11 and I dunno how many out of undergrad. Cork said "end of August", so here's hoping they're mullin' over me but good. Thing is, while I do act as though I've got all my eggs in this basket, I'm not opposed to going about the scholarship another route or...uh... doing a working holiday in Australia. :wave:

Bwahaha! Two people testing?! No wonder they were so thrilled to have you. (Cork was lookin a bit sqinty near the end of the day.) Menrui, where were you? Alaska? :blush:

menrui

Aug 15, 2008, 14:19

I'm in Houston, Texas haha. I think 2 people were testing/interviewed for that one day. I'm not sure how many people were interviewed total.

But wow, 3 of 11 people are selected?... that makes me feel really lucky. My backup plan was to apply to graduate school in the US... but ever since I got the embassy recomendation, I was thinking of not applying at all. Bad idea maybe, because if i dont get the scholarship for some reason, im screwed for another year.

clockworkorange

Aug 15, 2008, 18:42

Wah, menrui, that was fast. Congrats!!!! Where do u plan to go? Which uni?

A question for u guys...u know our LoA? What exactly does the first page say? Coz i bugged my professor to fill it up for me and he went..."okok, i'll fill up page 2 and send it to u asap.".....i really dun wan to bug him again and say...."er, could u fill up page 1 as well?"

I never really occured to me that page 1 could be something i could fill up myself. I have no idea what it says. Any help, guys?

Thanks!!!

Btw, i hope vyen and kimberly are getting positive responses from the professors. Seems quiet lately.

menrui

Aug 15, 2008, 19:45

ooilingfan

Aug 15, 2008, 22:01

Hey Menrui, you applying to Osaka too?
Which graduate school are you applying to? I'm applying to grad school of science. We may be uni mates.

I just received the LoA from my supervisor in Osaka Uni. He also sent me the orientation handbook. OMG, i'm so excited yet so worried. Gonna be really disappointed if can't get through the last selection by Tokyo head office.

menrui

Aug 15, 2008, 22:34

ooilingfan

Aug 16, 2008, 00:08

^Oh cool! Yeah, im applying to the graduate school of science too, specifically the chemistry department. Which department are you entering? I think I remember you saying something about biology... I'm not sure.
I have a question for you~ do you know if we can send all our documents via email? I think the univ admissions webpage stated that we can but im not completely sure.
Yea, applying to the dept of biological sciences.
My prof actually asked for the PDF file at first, but i kinda 'kiasu' so i send the certified documents in hardcopy as well.
I think should be alright since we're applying to the same grad school.
According to my supervisor, I will have to (perhaps you too) enrol in the japanese language centre in the suita campus in April 2009 for the intensive jap course. So i suppose we will all be taking the course in respective Unis.

Charles Barkley

Aug 16, 2008, 04:14

I finally heard my consulate and it looks like I will be studying at Waseda's Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies come September.

You stress me out MEXT (first I was an alternative for JET before being moved up, then this long process) but you never let me down.

Nall-ohki

Aug 16, 2008, 04:37

But wow, 3 of 11 people are selected?... that makes me feel really lucky. My backup plan was to apply to graduate school in the US... but ever since I got the embassy recomendation, I was thinking of not applying at all. Bad idea maybe, because if i dont get the scholarship for some reason, im screwed for another year.

Don't feel lucky about ANYTHING until you have the scholarship in-hand.

I got screwed last year, and it cost me (yet another) year.

Do not go without a backup plan. You could be selected as an alternate.

AbdouKun

Aug 16, 2008, 20:20

Hy every one, I'm going to ask a noob question, I'm a little bit dazzled.
I got throught the preliminary screening, but I'm stuck with the letter of acceptance... I'm quite lost, many universities ask for the original of the certificate of screening, others require a direct contact with the teacher others do this others do that!!!
can one help me out, or show me threads that directly deal with this issue.
Doooomoooo arigato gozaimasu

menrui

Aug 16, 2008, 20:44

^you came to the right thread. You seem really lost. Each university has his own admissions process. But most of then of alike. I'm just going to give you the basic outline that goes with most universitiies.

1. First, you MUST contact a professor and obtain his/her consent to be your supervisor. This is usually the case.
2. Apply: you will most likely need to apply through your graduate school of interested. Mention the professor that you contacted. OR, i think some unversity only require you to apply through the professor, not very likely.

To apply, you will be sending the univ/prof your MEXT application, your certificate(original or not, it depends on the univ), a blank letter of acceptance form, and maybe a application for the univ.

3. wait.

Its best that you look at your desired univ website for admission process information.

AbdouKun

Aug 16, 2008, 21:00

I have tried to conatct professors but none answered me, I have contacted a dozen of admins but seems like they just copy/past what's being said on the FAQs. Anyway, I just hope to get an answer. and if any one is applying for economics or business management... we should try to figure out thing all together to make things smoother.

Thanks anyway.

menrui

Aug 16, 2008, 21:37

^a professor not replying is a very common problem for all of us. be sure to mention that you are a monbusho scholarship applicant and the you have passed preliminary screening. hopefully that will increase your chances.

You could also try to contact the international office of your univ or graduate school. they could help you get in contact with the prof

AbdouKun

Aug 16, 2008, 22:10

I don't think so, 90% of'em are on holidays and Japan is too far (and too sofisticated) for them lol. Algerians are lazy like mexicans (without offence).

menrui

Aug 16, 2008, 22:14

What I meant was, try to contact the international office of your DESIRED japanese univ/graduate school. NOT the univ that you are currently in.

ooilingfan

Aug 16, 2008, 22:17

Don't feel lucky about ANYTHING until you have the scholarship in-hand.
I got screwed last year, and it cost me (yet another) year.
Do not go without a backup plan. You could be selected as an alternate.

screwed? oh god, which stage did you got screwed?

ooilingfan

Aug 16, 2008, 22:35

I don't think so, 90% of'em are on holidays and Japan is too far (and too sofisticated) for them lol. Algerians are lazy like mexicans (without offence).

Don't stop trying.
securing a professor's consent is most important. I think i passed the interview mostly because of that email from my prof.

keep contacting more universities, you may want to scan all your documents (the exact same set sent to your embassy) in PDF and attach them in your email, once you got the "form for LoA" and "passing certificate", scan them into PDF as well and send them over.

If you have japanese language proficiency write in japanese.

AbdouKun

Aug 16, 2008, 23:47

menrui

Aug 16, 2008, 23:57

^ yes, you can ask for more certificates.

ooilingfan

Aug 17, 2008, 00:04

I did all that, though my japanese is not enough ACADEMIC, and I'm afraid that I would look like a dumbo rather than make good influence on the teachers. any way, I've got another question.... some universities require the original paper of the preliminary selection certificate... is it possible to ask for more from the embassy or just send a copy and give an aliby..?

how many copies did your embassy send?
Ours sent 3 original copies.
You only send when you've got the consent and i suppose it should be enough, unless you got consents from more than 3 profs

menrui

Aug 17, 2008, 00:07

i was only sent 1....

AbdouKun

Aug 17, 2008, 01:01

Ok then, I'll ask for 4 more copies. More Universities you contact, better chances you have....!
Good luck guys

clockworkorange

Aug 17, 2008, 21:16

Clockwork!
The first page requires an OFFICIAL SEAL from the professor. So you have no choice but to tell your prof. to fill in the first page too.
But if you do need to translate it, I have a word file(.doc) version of it(attached), you could copy and paste the kanji into a dictionary. I did this at first because I thought we were suppose to fill it out XD . Sorry to say, I didnt understand how to fill out the bottom part.
Which univ do I plan to go to? right now, my top choice is Osaka univ. Before the interview, I exchanged email with the professor and he seemed willing to accept me if I pass the preliminary. I will email him again next week to ask for a LoA. My next choices are Kobe U(emailed prof, he seemed willing) or Nagoya U(emailed international office, they sent my MEXT application to the prof. but i havent contacted him yet).

Menrui,

Thank you very much for your help. I recently started taking Japanese classes so I took the form to my Japanese teacher and she said more or less the same thing. There was no way I could fill the 1st page myself. So I've already emailed my professor and asked him to fill up both pages.

So ur aiming for Osaka as 1st choice? All the best!! Frankly, I hope we all get it so we all can meet up in Japan or something. Grin.

clockworkorange

Aug 17, 2008, 21:33

To the malaysian candidates, when u guys send in your health certificates and LoAs, do u guys label the envelope with Attn: Ms. Yin?

Just making sure. :P

abltmusician

Aug 17, 2008, 23:54

Hi everyone!
This is my first time here and I want to thank you all for sharing your experiences about applying for the Scholarship!

Right now, I'm a graduate student studying Computer Science in NY. I'm very interested in applying for the research student scholarship. I found out that applicants will need to take English and Japanese proficiency exams. Did anyone take the Japanese Exam? Were they similar to the sample question posted on this website? studyjapan?

In additional to exams, I see that it's hard to get a reply from the professors, especially if they don't know you. Did anyone successfully received replies from Japanese professors? Any suggestions on how to contact them and so forth?

Thank you so much for all of your help! Good luck to those who are preparing for the scholarship and starting their studies in Japan!!!!!

AbdouKun

Aug 18, 2008, 00:10

As for the exams at the embassy, I think that you as anative wouldn't find any real problem, except if there's competition between you and other candidates, thus I advise you to revise your grammar (I mean the tricky kinda grammar), and exercise your speed reading to keep a competitive advantage.
as for the japanese test, you should learn as much as you can, cuz more proficient you get, the better it is. JLPT 4 is a must to get a minimum satisfying result.

for the supervisor stuff, it's a little bit messy. You should look arround in every faculty or graduate school for teachers and try to get in touch with as much as you can.
that's it I think, anything else?

menrui

Aug 18, 2008, 00:55

abltmusician,
Its a good thing you are finding interest in this scholarship so early. As you can see from our experiences, it would really benefit you to start thinking about it.

You said that you are already a graduate student. I think most applicants are using the scholarship as a way to enter graduate school. I'm not sure how that will affect you but I think it will raise some questions.

We all took the Japanese exam. The test are in the exact same format as the ones on studyjapan. This year, and maybe from now on, they used a slightly different format. Instead of 3, one hour, test(A-C, easiest to hardest, i think similar to JLPT lvl 4, 3, & 2 skill level), they gave 1, one hour, test that got progressively harder. I think they eliminated the easiest of the 3 test, A, and started with questions from B and ended with reading from C.

Abdoukun has some good advise. Honestly, I didnt even read the reading. It was a bit long(and hard), and then you only answer 2-3 questions. So I just "tried" to read the first sentence of each paragraph. read the question, tried to find it in the reading, and then take a guess. I think it sort of worked... but I dont even know my score.

I think most of us have never met the professors that we are contacting. Yes, I think it is hard to get a reply from a professor. But with some persistant, I'm sure anyone can get a reply. The best way of doing so is email, it gives you time to write it, it gives them time to reply (and perhaps is the easiest way for them to reject by simply not replying). I personally sent out emails to about 10 professors, got a reply from 4 of them, and 1 of them rejected me. The other 3 expressed some interest.

c0ok1e

Aug 18, 2008, 19:30

I sent out documents to get 2 LoA but only 1 came back. Im afraid I cannot make it in time waiting for the others. If I only send 1 LoA will my chance be slimmer or should I wait for 2 of the LoA to come back and send them together to the embassy?

kimberleylhj

Aug 18, 2008, 21:51

I haven't gotten any.. :(
Looks like 22 August seems rather impossible for me now..
Unless some kind of miracle happens in within the next 2 days..

abltmusician

Aug 18, 2008, 22:58

AbdouKun and menrui
Thank you very much for your advises! They are very helpful!

Do you know what's considering passing for the Japanese language exam?

Oh yeah, how did you "craft" your emails when writing to the professors? For example, did you include a detailed proposal on your study plan? Or could it be a casual yet have a serious tone...like " hi, I'm interested in completing a research on blahh blahh and I was wondering if this is possible to be conducted under your supervision?"

Thanks for reading!

menrui

Aug 19, 2008, 06:17

cookie,
I hate to say it, but yes, sending in 1 LoA should give you a smaller chance compared to sending in 2(or more). The Aug. 22 deadline is drawing close so you might not have a choice. Did you read what Kshoo posted on the previous page(page37)? Maybe you could send the 2nd one in before the Sept deadline... Or, you could say that the one you have is your 2nd choice, and if you do receive the other before the sept deadline, you could say that one is your 1rst choice. Maybe this could work?

abltmusician,
I dont think there is a "passing" score. I hear some people just leave the japanese test blank and still are able to get an interview or pass the prelimary screening. My coordinator told me that I must "pass" either the english test or japanese test. But im really not sure what a passing score is for either.
You will most likely go through a series of email exchange with prof. so your first email doesnt have to be really detailed about your research proposal. What I did, I wrote a casual/serious tone email first: introduce myself, explain my situation, express interest, briefly state my proposal, etc. Then if he/she is interested, he/she will reply to you and ask questions or request documents(CV, transcript, MEXT application, etc). By the way, when do you plan to apply? next year right?

Kimberleylhj,
*sigh, I'm really sorry to hear that. there is still 2-3 business days left, so lets hope for the best. If not, maybe they will allow you to make the Sept deadline. If everything fails, remember, you still have a chance because the embassy will try to place you in a university.

kshoo

Aug 19, 2008, 11:03

Hi all,
With regards to Menrui's comments, the items that i posted was feedback from the officer handling the MEXT scholarships at the embassy of Japan in Malaysia. Not sure if it is applicable for other countries as well (e.g. US, Algeria), so the best thing is to double-check with the local country embassy on this.

Guys (C0ok1e, menrui, kimberleylhj), you're not the ones who are worried. At least you have gotten a reply from your professors. I haven't gotten any even (!!!) :( as all my communications thus far is through the specific international centers/coordinators. Am finishing up my letter to be sent to Ms. Yin at the embassy, informing her that both herself and I need to continue to wait. Ah...the waiting and the worry.....

Vyen

Aug 19, 2008, 11:38

kshoo,

i think we are facing the same problem...should we discuss this issue with the embassy and ask for their advices or help? ms yin keep telling that they will give the scholarship to others if we don't hav LOA. maybe they don't understand our situation..haiz..

ayumi.tt

Aug 19, 2008, 17:34

ooilingfan

Aug 19, 2008, 20:56

Hey frens, I wonder have any of u heard of this. Even if we get the LoA for all the three choices we listed out, we won't be guaranteed to study in these 3 uni if we passed the final round. There was a master student who had graduated under this scholarship. He was sent to another university which was not listed under his 3 choices. So, since, the japanese government will decide which uni we are going, why are they asking us to find the university and get an LoA? May be those who din get an LoA still has chance?<-- My main point :P

Yes, that is a very good point.
There is no guarantee in anything. The final decision is still at Tokyo's head office. Everybody who reached this point still has a shot before Feb 2009.
So guys, don't give up. Keep up your effort for the 21 Sept Deadline. Meanwhile, draft a letter to the embassy stating the LoA will come late due to holidays and delays in transit, with the emails bearing 'verbal' consent of supervisors attached.

ayumi.tt

Aug 19, 2008, 22:08

Yes, that is a very good point.
There is no guarantee in anything. The final decision is still at Tokyo's head office. Everybody who reached this point still has a shot before Feb 2009.
So guys, don't give up. Keep up your effort for the 21 Sept Deadline. Meanwhile, draft a letter to the embassy stating the LoA will come late due to holidays and delays in transit, with the emails bearing 'verbal' consent of supervisors attached.
According to Ms yin's email, the deadline is 30th september, isn't it? am i not notified by her? the embassy changed it to 21st?? this is making me panic

c0ok1e

Aug 19, 2008, 22:15

Hey I got the letter of acceptance already.. Now have to send back to the embassy im a bit nervous? What are we suppose to send back to the embassy together with the letter of acceptance?? If only send 2 piece of letter will look weird.. plez hlp me

ooilingfan

Aug 19, 2008, 23:17

According to Ms yin's email, the deadline is 30th september, isn't it? am i not notified by her? the embassy changed it to 21st?? this is making me panic

i'm sorry, my mistake. It's 30 Sept.

Hey I got the letter of acceptance already.. Now have to send back to the embassy im a bit nervous? What are we suppose to send back to the embassy together with the letter of acceptance?? If only send 2 piece of letter will look weird.. plez hlp me

don't forget to make 2 copies. I attached the email containing the consent of my supervisor.

c0ok1e

Aug 19, 2008, 23:27

oic.. so all together have to send health cert 3 copy and letter of acceptance 3 copy only??? right?? then have to send to which address?? attention who? im a n00b in this plz hlp

ooilingfan

Aug 19, 2008, 23:42

oic.. so all together have to send health cert 3 copy and letter of acceptance 3 copy only??? right?? then have to send to which address?? attention who? im a n00b in this plz hlp

calm down bro.
just send those above to the Japan Information Service. The exact same address on the envelop (top left hand corner) the Embassy sent us.
Attn: Ms Yin.

abltmusician

Aug 20, 2008, 01:14

My coordinator told me that I must "pass" either the english test or japanese test. By the way, when do you plan to apply? next year right?

menrui, thank you very much for your pointers because they are very helpful! I don't exactly have a coordinator because I'm doing it all alone. Can you kindly explain how we can find our coordinator? And yes, I'm applying for next year.

Thanks again!

Charles Barkley

Aug 20, 2008, 01:25

I don't know if this is the person to whom menrui is referring or not, but there should be a person in charge of MEXT scholarships at your local consulate. Go to the MEXT website and find out which consulate you will be applying to, then email the person there and start building a relationship. That person should be able to answer any questions you may have.

kouki

Aug 20, 2008, 01:43

I thought we are supposed to hand in 1 original of health certificate and 2 copies of it?

No other instructions stating that our letter of acceptance should do the same. Only if we are assuming that the letter of acceptance is the so-call 'standing documents'... But anyway, I will try send in 2 copies of that later... I am still waiting mine to arrive... Just got the certification of my copies of documents from the embassy last Saturday... I just sent them through this afternoon... I am terribly worried...

Anyway, has anyone got the idea on what are the 'standing documents' said in the letter? We are not informed whether there are any missing there... how should we know? I was thinking of calling Miss Yin AGAIN...

menrui

Aug 20, 2008, 02:53

abltmusician,
charlies is correct. I was talking about my MEXT coordinator at my local consulate. New York has one too:
http://www.ny.us.emb-japan.go.jp/en/h/03.html
Charlie also gave some good advice. It seems like the number of applicants at US consulates are rather few compared to say... malaysia. So i would suggest you take advantage of that and "build a relationship." If you're applying next year, I would really suggest you wait until current applications end. Its pretty hectic now as you can see, I dont think you should bother them with next years application just yet. Also, be sure to pay attention to the DEADLINES.

abltmusician

Aug 20, 2008, 11:27

Charles Barkley and menrui
Thanks so much for your suggestions! I'm going to contact and "build" relationship like you suggested :)

Best Regards!

Charles Barkley

Aug 20, 2008, 11:49

The one who must be stressed is Miss. Yin at the Malaysian Consulate. Judging by this thread, people posting on JREF alone could make her job hectic...

clockworkorange

Aug 20, 2008, 14:31

The one who must be stressed is Miss. Yin at the Malaysian Consulate. Judging by this thread, people posting on JREF alone could make her job hectic...

Well, frankly the instructions aren't exactly crystal clear, are they? We're just doing our best to make sure we're doing the correct thing. At least she knows we're taking it seriously.

And may I know what is this standing documents as well?

Rizaric

Aug 20, 2008, 15:08

Addressing someone's earlier comment, obvious reasons aside, I think part of the reason for the LoA is to measure your abillity to communicate with professors and administrators. The academic world is full of red tape and procedures. With any application into graduate school or further education, you will need these kinds of skills.

Personally, I was not of the opinion that things were so difficult to get in order- between the original guidelines given and the information provided to me by the embassy it was possible to figure out what to do. I sent everything by express mail and was able to have everything come in time. The university/professor will usually do so as well if you ask them and inform them about your deadlines. For some things, such as sending one letter or two at a time, and by express or not, my advice would just be to send them as fast as you get them if you are worried about the dates. Yes, it will cost you more, but you just have to suck it up if you want to get the scholarship.

clockworkorange

Aug 20, 2008, 19:05

Personally, I was not of the opinion that things were so difficult to get in order- between the original guidelines given and the information provided to me by the embassy it was possible to figure out what to do.

Well, I agree with you, Rizaric, to a certain extent. Some things need clarification..for example, what if we can't get the LoA in by the deadline? Can the deadline be extended?...That sort of thing. And when it comes to LoA, different universities require different documents or require certification by the embassy. Some universities don't really want to issue the LoA according to the embassy's prescribed format (University of Tokyo told me it was not their policy) so again, clarification is needed with the embassy on what to do.

But overall, yes, I do agree with you that the instructions they give are clear enough. Its just that sometimes, despite following instructions and information given, things dun go so smoothly. Thats when things aren't so crystal clear. So we try our best. Plus, in my opinion, the reason why I worry so much is because I'm kiasu. I dunno how to explain kiasu except to say that its just the fear of losing out. Very common in malaysia. grin.

kouki

Aug 20, 2008, 20:56

Oh! No!... the deadline is just around the corner... This Friday...

All my documents sent through Fedex have not come back to me yet...

One of the professor who used to reply my mails promptly still hasn't done so... I think he is on Bon Holiday... I heard some of the Japanese are going for Bon Holiday for about 2 weeks...

I am doubtful whether those LoA's can reach me by the said deadline...

By the way, Miss Yin still hasn't replied my e-mail (about the standing documents). I guess I have to call her. I think she will be sick hearing my voice too... :blush:

Another Question:

About the delay of the deadline: Are we supposed to send e-mail to Miss Yin telling her about our condition, and forward the mails to her? Or we are supposed to send in a hardcopy one?

Judging from the no-reply condition... I am doubtful on what should I be doing...

ooilingfan

Aug 20, 2008, 21:19

Oh! No!... the deadline is just around the corner... This Friday...
All my documents sent through Fedex have not come back to me yet...
One of the professor who used to reply my mails promptly still hasn't done so... I think he is on Bon Holiday... I heard some of the Japanese are going for Bon Holiday for about 2 weeks...
I am doubtful whether those LoA's can reach me by the said deadline...
By the way, Miss Yin still hasn't replied my e-mail (about the standing documents). I guess I have to call her. I think she will be sick hearing my voice too... :blush:

Another Question:
About the delay of the deadline: Are we supposed to send e-mail to Miss Yin telling her about our condition, and forward the mails to her? Or we are supposed to send in a hardcopy one?
Judging from the no-reply condition... I am doubtful on what should I be doing...

I think to be safe, you should write a formal letter stating your reasons for requesting an extended deadline and send in BOTH hardcopy (signed) and email. Together you should attach all correspondences with your supervisor as proof that your LoA is indeed in process.
Quickly get the above done and send by poslaju to the japan embassy asap while waiting for your LoA.

kimberleylhj

Aug 20, 2008, 22:01

I got my LOA today!!!!! I can't believe it. I seriously thought that there's no way I'll get it before the dateline and I have already prepared my formal letter to be submitted in. Gosh, I'm really blessed. I know this doesn't mean that I will get the scholarship for sure but I'm surely happy enough.. for now. Haha.. But I will only receive the original in a week's time. Still.. I'm really very happy right now!!!!!

ooilingfan

Aug 20, 2008, 22:22

menrui

Aug 20, 2008, 22:28

:cool: I am very happy to hear that! Such a relief...

This might sound weird, but does any know how to reject a professor politely... ? I'm trying to get 3 LoA(seems like too much) and my 3rd option prof/univ wants me to insure them that I am not applying to other univ/prof. I understand why they want that, but I still think its a bit of a turn off. I never mention that I was applying to other univ. I bought some time but the professor keeps clinging on to me... My only idea is to blame it on MEXT haha.

kimberleylhj

Aug 20, 2008, 23:12

ooilingfan, i applied to 3 universities (based on what i wrote in the application form). however, only two positive replies. so, now that i got 1.. i'm still waiting for another 1. but having 1 in hand surely feels way better than not having any. although it's 1, i'm still happy enough. haha..

menrui, thanks! i believe blaming it on MEXT is a good idea. beyond your control? haha..

MatsuyamaHime

Aug 20, 2008, 23:39

A correction to my previous post. At the ATL consulate this round....

There were 19 research applicants and they chose 2. (Sadly, not me!)

They chose no one out of the 4 undergrad applicants, which totally bites.

Charles Barkley

Aug 20, 2008, 23:43

Sorry to hear that hime. Good luck with whatever you opt to do instead!

Charles Barkley

Aug 20, 2008, 23:55

Menrui: Don't dissemble with the professors. Just tell him something like:

I know that you have said you would like me only to apply to your school, but in order to ensure myself the best chance possible of receiving the scholarship, it is necessary that I apply to multiple schools. I would not be writing to you if I did not have a sincere interest in studying at your school, and if you are willing to accept me as a research student I would strongly consider choosing to study there. I hope that you can understand my position and will allow me to apply to other schools along with your own. If, however, that is not possible, I would like to thank you for all of your assistance to this point but regretfully must withdraw my application. blah blah

Keep it professional. Remember: you could have this guy as a supervisor. If he is not willing to grant you even this little freedom, that could be an indication of more problems in the future...

Rizaric

Aug 21, 2008, 00:19

I agree completely with Chuck's advice. When I sent out my e-mails to begin with, I made sure that I said to the prof's that they were one of a few schools I was applying to. Then I made my decision for which school to list as my 'first choice' and then second and third. Months later, when I heard that I'd been selected as a recipient of the scholarship, I made sure to notify the other 2 profs about the end result. Both of them were very nice about it and obviously understood the situation. It's good not to burn any bridges since the prof's you contact are in your field- and there's a high likelihood you may come across them in your future academic career if you choose to pursue things in Japan.

menrui

Aug 21, 2008, 01:01

im usually in agreement with "the round mound of rebound" too. i should send him a fruits basket one day...

Anyways, I'll further detail how i got into this situation:
The prof agreed to allow me in his research group.
So i sent the office my MEXT application via email.
The office, along with the prof, said that their university was not in my list of prefered university.
I told them that the list was only my personal preference and whom I decide to receive a LoA from is my decision.
They said that they would only issue me an LoA if, and only if, I listed only their univ.
Tired and fustrated, I replied that I would see what i could do, then i went to sleep.
Woke up, found 3 emails from the prof saying that, if i really want to enter his group, i would select him and only him. He would insure that i would have a place in the university.

now i just feel like crap. but i know what i have to do. thanks for the advice guys.

Matsuyamahime,
*sigh, im really sad to hear that. seems like your consulate was really tough. but I wish you the best on whatever it is you plan to do.

Charles Barkley

Aug 21, 2008, 01:02

I made sure to notify the other 2 profs about the end result. Both of them were very nice about it and obviously understood the situation. It's good not to burn any bridges since the prof's you contact are in your field- and there's a high likelihood you may come across them in your future academic career if you choose to pursue things in Japan.

This is also very good advice. Immediately after writing my own post above, I remembered that I ought to contact the professor who agreed to supervise me at the school I was not selected to attend. It only took a few minutes to keep the bridge from burning down. And who knows--if its possible, I would like to take a class he is teaching while still studying at the other school...

Charles Barkley

Aug 21, 2008, 01:10

One thing to note:

I do not believe it is necessary to send the page of your application that has your school preferences listed to the universities. On the original applications that we submitted to the consulate, we had to submit 3(?) copies of the other documents, but only one copy of the page that listed our preferences. I interpreted that to mean that that page was for the consualte's use only (and when I received the set of documents that we are supposed to send to schools back from the consulate, I do not believe that page was included), so I did not forward it to either of the schools I applied for, even though they were my first and second choices.

Neither school commented about its absence, so in the future I would recommend not sending that form off to schools you are applying to, particularly if the schools are not listed among your top 3 choices.

menrui

Aug 21, 2008, 01:19

Rizaric

Aug 21, 2008, 02:08

If you keep your options open, there may be a chance for things such as collaborative research in the future, or you may be able to pursue a postdoc etc with that prof if you choose to go that route.

About that preferences page, there is no reason that you have to include it. Just make sure that the Universities/supervisors are aware that you have contacted multiple schools.

Menrui, about that prof, you should consider that you will be working in their group for the next few years at least. For everyone in the process of getting a Letter of Acceptance, one of the good things about the process is you can get a clue into how your profs operate- are they efficient, quick, considerate? One of the things that contributed greatly to my rankings on the order in which to list my choice of Universities was the personality of the supervisor who I'd been in contact with. I'm going to be doing a PhD to 4-5 years under someone who I don't agree with wouldn't be a desirable situation.

It may be a little late for some now, but one thing I did was ask the prof's for the contact of a student in their lab so I could get a sense of how things worked- this also helped me make my decision. If the prof has nothing to hide, they will gladly provide this information.

menrui

Aug 21, 2008, 04:39

^although i wouldnt go as far as emailing the students, i understand what you are saying.

"that" professor i mention earlier is really falling off my radar. the other 2 professor i contacted seem much more sincere. They even took the time ask me interview questions that reveals my character. After exchanging some emails, i feel very comfortable with these 2 professors. But it saddens me that i can only choose one of them.

ooilingfan

Aug 21, 2008, 09:21

^yeah, I wanted to think that way too. But, I was told to include that part(prefered list) on all 3 copies of my application. Also, the set of documents that i received back from the consulate included that part... So i didnt want to leave it out. But now im really considering pulling out the staple and removing it.

In my previous post, i've mention that that page with choices of unis should be left out. The embassy returned a set of certified documents without that page. So it's totally unnecessary to send to unis.
I did not send that at all and it's not a problem.
So guys, it's perfectly safe to leave that out. It's for MEXT's reference only.

fulhamerica

Aug 21, 2008, 09:27

VISA question, (perhaps this only pertains to Americans) for intended length of stay, what if I am undecided on the PhD etc.? It could be 2,3 years or as many as 5 years. Should I just write down 5 years?

menrui

Aug 21, 2008, 10:00

^no idea

ooilingfan,
yes i found that out the hard way....

clockworkorange

Aug 21, 2008, 10:23

kimberleylhj

Aug 21, 2008, 10:53

clockworkorange, i think it depends on the university. my process was almost the same as yours and i have received the softcopy of my LOA and it looks fine. i mean, it's exactly as what is needed by the embassy. so i think you do not need to worry.

menrui

Aug 21, 2008, 11:23

clockwork,
i think you are getting a bit confused from our post. anyways, i dont think you need to worry. maybe your professor just knows about the scholarship really well. I think its mostly my post that has been confusing you. First, my professors didnt really know how the scholarship worked. And not only are they supervising my research, they are putting me in their research group. Also, one of my prof told me he had really bad experiences from accepting foreign researchers too quickly. So yeah, I had to go through some email exchanges with them. reasonable

clockworkorange

Aug 21, 2008, 18:59

Ok, I see.

Thanks for the clarification, guys.

kouki

Aug 21, 2008, 19:36

I called Miss Yin this morning. Personally, I think that she prefers phone calls rather than e-mail, she seldom replies. Furthermore, she is the one asking us to call our professors in our universities. She is very helpful, so don't worry about calling up her again and again... though don't do that just for the sake of doing that:-)

So this is what I can conclude from our conversation:

1. Standing documents - you will have to call Miss Yin to confirm about that, since everyone is different.

2. Formal letter stating the delay of the date of submission for LoA - We will have to submit a formal letter (I guess should be a normal mail, anyway, I will go to the embassy directly tomorrow, since it is too late for me to go for Pos Laju, as the fastest it gets there will be next Monday). So what I will do is, send a softcopy today, and hand in the hardcopy tomorrow. In fact, I am expecting one of my LoA's to arrive tomorrow afternoon. Embassy opens until 4pm.

I think not many LoA's reached her. I heard her mumbling something like "Seemed most would not be arrive one time." :souka:Has anyone submitted that?

Good luck everyone!!!

ooilingfan

Aug 21, 2008, 20:12

I've been reading what u guys posted here and I have to ask if all of u had ur documents returned by the embassy. Especially the malaysian candidates. Or did u guys get ur documents certified because the university requested it?
I'm asking because I'm worried. Not that I'm complaining or anything but I seem to have gotten my LoA pretty easily. It hasn't arrived but i emailed the professor asking if he would like to be my supervisor. He said yes. So I scanned photostated copies of my MEXT applications forms, academic transcripts and so on and emailed it to him and the international students office. The next day, the office emailed me back to say that my LoA was on the way. So i really didn't have the need for any documents to be certified by the embassy.
The professor himself didn't ask me anything else. I've been reading what u guys posted about interviews or at least questions the professor asked u guys about ur research.....I had none of those. I dunno what to make of this.

Don't worry clockworkorange, I think as long as you get the original stamped LoA from them, it would be good enough. You can always send in to the embassy, and check with Ms Yin to see whether all your documents are in place and correct.
I send in 'certified' copies of the documents is because:
1. I didn't keep a copy myself, so i have to ask it from the embassy. Since they're making a copy for me i might as well ask for a certified one cause one of the uni i applied to asked for it (forgot it's nagoya or TUS).
2. I'm kiasu.

My prof sent the exact original copies back to me anyway. So the so called certified copies are with me now. So it's not really important unless your uni says so. They doubt you will cheat them by sending a different set of documents from those sent to the embassy. That is a silly risk to take.

In a nutshell, certified or not - only matters if your uni refuses to issue you the LoA without one.

so, chill k? :-)

goodluck to everyone,hope to meet up with you guys soon.

Nall-ohki

Aug 22, 2008, 04:44

Got my second acceptance letter. That makes Tokyo University and Hokkaido University. I'm still waiting on Waseda, so we'll see when they get things to me.

Gosh I'm tired - I went into the consulate and was barely coherent.

menrui

Aug 22, 2008, 05:06

^speaking of which, I called my coordinator today and asked for another certificate and he replied "you're applying to more than 1?" *stumped. He has to check with his supervisor about this. Make me wonder(again) if I should turn in more than 1 LoA and how the whole application process with the LoA works.

Rizaric

Aug 22, 2008, 05:20

Nall-ohki, congrats. We may be able to meet up depending on where you go.

Menrui- from the application guidelines

If a candidate grantee has received a letter of provisional acceptance from a university, first of all MEXT will request the university to receive the grantee, and place him/her there upon its approval. If a candidate wants to enter a public or private university, the grantee’s preference may not be met due to budgetary reasons concerning school fees, etc.
If a candidate has obtained neither admission nor a letter of provisional acceptance, MEXT will contact related universities and decide at which university to place the candidate in consideration of his/her preference. In this case, the candidate is not allowed to raise an objection to the decision. In a case where a candidate fails to obtain admission or a letter of acceptance and MEXT discusses the case with related universities, the candidate may not be accepted and therefore not definitively selected by MEXT, if his/her research program is vague or unclear, the content of his/her research is not substantial, or his/her desired major field presents difficulty from the perspective of research guidance.

From my consulate,

In the case that you receive a couple of “Letter of Acceptance,” MEXT will firstly contact your first choice university. If the university refuses to accept you (because of lack of budget etc), then MEXT will contact your second-choice university. Therefore, you need to clearly state your preferences in order at 7. iii) of the “Attachment.”

I think that the embassy and MEXT expect that some candidates will have received multiple LoA's, thus the space for 3 universities on the ranking sheet.

kimberleylhj

Aug 22, 2008, 10:06

Malaysian candidates were given three copies of the passing certificate (first screening) and the letter of acceptance. Three because they have allocated three choices for us in the attachment forms as well. I was told in the interview to make contact with all the universities I have listed there. So, I believe that they do expect us to apply to more than one university.

clockworkorange

Aug 22, 2008, 10:44

Hahaha, ooilingfan, thank you. All kiasus, unite!!!!

I only have one LoA. I applied to 2 universities but only one came back. which is Tokyo Uni. I dunno if having only 1 LoA actually affects ur chances at a scholarship but it has to be better than nothing.

Actually I wanted to ask Nall-ohki if they gave u any reason why u were chosen as an alternate before? I think u mentioned it before but I can't really remember. I'm sorry. Would you mind saying it again? Thank you.

kimberleylhj

Aug 22, 2008, 12:27

clockworkorange, i applied to 3 and until today also just 1 came back. but i'm happy enough. at this time i don't really wanna think if 1 LOA gonna reduce my chance. i think i've did my best and it's up to them now. haha..

kshoo

Aug 22, 2008, 12:46

ARRGGGHHHH>>>>....all the waiting is getting to me. I should have gone direct to the professors instead, but can't help it. Now that I've started going through the various centers, i guess i just have to tough it out. Anyway, i've sent out my mail to Ms. Yin already, stating that i'm still waiting for the unis.

Good job kimberlyljh, clockworkorange...

Charles Barkley

Aug 22, 2008, 13:24

You will have to be patient--you are unlikely to get the final word from Tokyo until 2009, so get ready to wait wait wait.

I could be leaving for Japan as early as September 1st and I STILL don't have a definitive date for my flight, nor have I received a single piece of direct correspondence from my supervisor.

menrui

Aug 22, 2008, 13:40

waiting for the final result is really going to suck....

Anyways I just wanted to say this:
remember that professor that asked me to select only him? well, he's really starting to scare me.
First he requested that i dont apply to other universities. Then he ensures me a position in his group up to a PhD degree. He constantly tells me to select his univ as my first choice. and now he trying to convince me how great his univ is....
Seriously, how many professors do you know actively try to convince applicants to "choose" them. It makes me think that the university isnt very good... Oh maybe its something else o.O

JapanDream

Aug 22, 2008, 15:32

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while since I posted anything here. Shibaraku desune. I, too, like most applicants in Malaysia, have been having a REAL hard time getting replies from professors and unis. The thing is it's quite common for prof's email addr not to be listed on the dept website, so what I had to do was go thru the dept office, usually students or academic service office, to get to the prof. This too would eat up a few days time. Good thing there was a prof that showed some interest. There was a few email exchanges here and there, but his average response time each time was 3 days. The silence between each of my email and his reponse was really making me nervous, since I think some prof might just ignore you if they feel they're not interested in you. Correct me if I am wrong though. Fortunately, after going back and forth for 2 weeks, he finally agreed on the LoA. :) I'm delighted at his decision. Anyways, I just thought I'd share my side of the story and I want to ensure you guys that WAITING is truly a big part of this scholarship, of course depending on the individual prof as well. You might have sleepless nights from time to time too. And of course, the coordinator at the Embassy is a very important person in making this whole experience as pleasant and as informative as possible. In Malaysia's case, kudos to our Miss Yin! You rock!

Hi Menrui,

You're facing a really interesting situation. Mind telling us which uni this prof is from? I think he's probably a little old-fashioned. From what I know, loyalty is something that most older Japanese put great emphasis on. Or maybe he's old school. If you think his style doesn't suit you, decline and focus on the other 2 profs. Hope you'll be able to find a way out. :)

kouki

Aug 22, 2008, 20:06

> Menrui,

Yeah, it is an interesting one. Mind telling us which university is the professor from? To be the fact, Japanese don't usually boast about their ability, therefore, I think to professor is a really good one. Can you find his webpages? How many Japanese students he is taking? If there are a lot, I think he is a very famous one there. And look through his bibliography too...

I suppose being able to say that you can choose him, and definitely will get into laboratory, he is a powerful people, who can convince the MEXT and the university to send you directly in. You might want to consider him to be your supervisor. Seldom are there professors who are willing to contact those who are interested in him. It is a rare case, Menrui! Try contacting him more... I am sure he is willing to tell you more.

Is he someone from the Imperial university, one of that seven old universities in Japan?

I have contacted a few professors thus far, none of them dealt that way... surely it is a good experience to share with us, haha... Looking forward to hearing that.

menrui

Aug 22, 2008, 22:43

japandream,
the time zone difference in the US its like +14hours. some times i stayed up till 4am just to exchange email.

Anyways, I think its better if i didnt reveal the university haha. but i will let you know that it is not one of the imperial universities. He says its one of the top10 univ in Japan. According to my research its not, and my other professor is from Osaka U(rank#3 i think).
He doesnt have a webpage, and he told me that he has alot of foreign students in his lab, so i should "fit in".
I am considering him... that is, after my first 2 options.
I dont need to contact him, he will contact me :) . This are my favorite 2 lines i say to him:
"Thank you, I will take it into consideration"
"The final decision of which univ i am place under is up to MEXT"

akward~~ maybe its a result of "rikei banare". science students are declining so the prof are forced to seek more students haha.