Monbukagakusho Scholarship for Postgraduate!!

[skfer]

I've heard that the entrance exam is often held every Feb and Aug , that means in the two years duration of research student .. you can do 4 exams .. is that right ?

[silverPenciled]

I am not sure of this , but some people I know who got the scholarship and are already studying there, told me that they felt the entrance exams were "easy" , I know one of them who told me he felt the interview and the exams were like some sort of formality especially when they knew he was a MEXT scholar... Am not sure how accurate this is and of course it depends on the University itself and I don't think I should generalize this case or take it for granted... but let's all hope for the best ... personally Am happy to worry about getting the scholarship for now... shall worry about the entrance exams later .... best of luck to all of us ...
:cool:

[JapanDream]

Hi Everyone,

Before reading it in the forum, I wasn’t aware of the nomikai or konpa culture in Japan. Yea, I first thought too get together drinking was mostly for the working class people in Japan, not so much for those still in university (with professors involved). Now, I learned something from Menrui’s and Kimberley’s posts about the whole drinking thing. The question I have is do they promote other alternative types of social bonding activities that take place in a setting which does not revolve around drinking, such as going to a game, hanami, barbecue, teambuilding, etc? If they do and if you refrain from drinking but still join your group for those other activities, will you be considered anti-social?

[ooilingfan]

It will be hard for Muslims to join the "konpa" sessions ...because Islam forbides drinking alcohol or setting on the same table with someone who drinkes.
will that effect the study of the person who don't drink ?

Hi skfer,
I think it's ok for Muslims to join groups as long as they themselves don't drink.
I'm sure well practised muslims who withholds their faiths strong enough won't be swayed by non islamic practices. It is pathetic that in Malaysia, the authorities has little or absolutely no faith in our muslim counterparts. And they strongly belief that malaysian muslims are weak and easily influenced or swayed.
I don't think it will affect the studies of the person if you don't drink.
It is basic respect for one's religion.
Personally i think you can just join in and drink juice. I seldom drink during meal times due to gastric problems. Think they won't penalise me on that as well. :p

[kouki]

Well, it is inevitable to join the group (or should I say, you would feel you would like to) when you are in the group. That is to say that, for your labs, these people are the people you are going to hang out all year round (some labs takes about 12-14 hours of your time, 6-7 days, it is like your second home). So, their bonding is quite strong. Secluding yourself from that group will seem to be anti-social (or even being boycotted), but refraining yourselves of alcoholic drink would not seem to be anti-social, as you are just weak-to-alcohol (in Japanese), as I have read from several books, talking about the difference of culture of Japanese from us here.

As for alcohol, please make it a point that you may be excused from having alcohol, but remember to refuse them well. I think you will be learning that in the 6-month Japanese preparatory course. There are ways to refuse or reject offers. But just remember you should explain your conditions, I am sure they will understand you well.

Another point, about the entrance examination. I think you will be able to get the answer for the entrance examination. If possible, get several years' paper. The entrance examinations are easy in the sense that, there are usually a standard format, and standard scope for each of the subjects. If you are well prepared, then you can answer it well. But there are two main problems:

1. Time constraint - Japanese examination questions are well-known of their time-effectiveness. You can spare any time staring at the question without doing anything. The time is just enough for you to answer the questions.

2. Marking style - The marking style of the Japanese is very strict. It is strict to the sense that, if your final answer is incorrect, then you will not get any marks.

That's what I have heard from my friends and lecturers. Hope that it will be useful to share with you all.

[kouki]

For the number of times of entrance examination we can take:

If I am not mistaken, if you would like to sit for the second university's entrance examination, you will have to bear the cost on your own. However, I am not sure how many times of entrance examination we can take, being subsidized by MEXT. But I think it would be a good question to ask Miss Yin later on, wouldn't it?

[menrui]

japandream,
those are not exactly "drinking things". they are "get togethers" that people often drink at. getting together is the most important part, so you dont have to drink. im sure they just want you to be social and enjoy the party. no, you wont be considered anti social. hehe i guess many people just think that you need alcohol to "open up". i sure dont need it (^.^)v . also, i think they do plenty of hanami, hanabi, barbeque, and small parties too.

skfer,
wow, i didnt know that about islam. i have to say, not being about to be around someone that is drinking could limit your social activity a bit. people often drink a light beer even at a hanami. anyways, do whats best for you. in any case, you can always sit with me because i dont drink haha.

you have a good reason not to drink, they will understand. my reason for not drinkng is simply personal preference, which is probably the worst excuse because no one understands it. i cant stand alcohol and i dont understand why people drink it. its a depressant damn it! sorry for ranting.

[skfer]

thanks menrui, ok that's the plan ;).
I think it will be easier in hanami, because there is no tables , and it is forbidden to stay on the same table with someone who drinkes "while" he is drinking.
anyway..i'll try to handle that on it's approperiate time, let's care about more important matters.
if we passed the entrance exam. in general ..how's the master will be like .. I mean ..courses after that thesis or it differs from university to university ?

[kouki]

The master course in Japan will take 2 years. It is a research+study degree. You will have to complete 12-30 credits for the master course, depending on your university. At the same time, you will have to do your research.

Depending on labs, most labs will require their member to have group discussion at least once a week, which is known as 'zemi'. There will be a big presentation, which involves other students in the same faculty, possibly, once a semester. In your progress reports, professors and others will be attending to review your progress. (The progress report would be some sort of viva voce, where everyone of the floor have the right to ask questions, at least once or twice in you course? I think)

Some professors would require their students under supervision to arrange a meeting with him, once weekly, or fortnightly. So, in fact, it varies very much, depending on labs, even you are in the same university.

And there is a certain number of publication you will have to produce in order to complete your master course.

[ooilingfan]

from Osaka Uni's website, it is stated in the timeline that results of MEXT is expected Feb-July. Which means the earliest could be Feb for April intake.... :(

[Nall-ohki]

from Osaka Uni's website, it is stated in the timeline that results of MEXT is expected Feb-July. Which means the earliest could be Feb for April intake.... :(

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff said about this already in this thread.

Some people have already found out, but you're likely to find out the results sometime between Jan 1st and March for April enrollment.

[Nall-ohki]

I'm an alternate again.

I hate my life.

[kimberleylhj]

Nall-ohki, that's really sad to hear!!! Did they give you a reason this time?

[ooilingfan]

they informed you so soon? sorry to hear that.

[Nall-ohki]

Nah, they don't give reasons, or even likelihood of someone else dropping.

They just tell you :(

[skfer]

Oh, Nall-ohki .. I am very sorry about you..I hope that they change their minds..
when did they tell you ? .. you had been chosen as a candidate and after that they change you to alternate or what ?

[ooilingfan]

Have they hinted you in any way that you may be an alternate throughout the application? I thought you got Tokyo U's LoA this year? It doesn't help?

[menrui]

wow that really sucks. im not sure what else i can say, but im really sorry to hear that nall. honestly, some thing seems a bit fishy...

[Nall-ohki]

Have they hinted you in any way that you may be an alternate throughout the application? I thought you got Tokyo U's LoA this year? It doesn't help?

My consulate doesn't have any say in it, so they couldn't have told me anything anyway - the decision is made by MEXT.

I got Tokyo U, Hokkaido U, and Waseda's LoA both last year and this year. LoAs probably don't matter that much.

I frankly have no idea how they select except that they seem to favor less-developed nations.

[ooilingfan]

My consulate doesn't have any say in it, so they couldn't have told me anything anyway - the decision is made by MEXT.
I got Tokyo U, Hokkaido U, and Waseda's LoA both last year and this year. LoAs probably don't matter that much.
I frankly have no idea how they select except that they seem to favor less-developed nations.

Your statement is somehow true as I've read a summary of scholars around the world. Asia has the largest number, with China at no.1 and Malaysia at no.5.

[JapanDream]

My consulate doesn't have any say in it, so they couldn't have told me anything anyway - the decision is made by MEXT.
I got Tokyo U, Hokkaido U, and Waseda's LoA both last year and this year. LoAs probably don't matter that much.
I frankly have no idea how they select except that they seem to favor less-developed nations.

Hey Nall,

Really sorry to hear that. Did you find out from your consulate how many people made it? I don't know how the rules are in U.S. but in Malaysia only the Embassy in our captial takes care of the scholarship, which means all the applications go to 1 place, even though we have consulates in some other states.

[kawabanga]

I suggest contacting the Professor to clarify. It could be the case of he or she did not confirm with MEXT your acceptance into the university. That's my guess anyway.

[ooilingfan]

I agreed with Kawabanga.
Your supervisors may want you but there're some miscommunications between them and MEXT.

[clockworkorange]

Nall-ohki,

I have to echo everyone else's sentiments. I'm sorry. But it really is not right they don't tell you why you're not chosen for the scholarship proper. How then do you know you're not making the same mistakes each time you apply?

But being selected as an alternate does mean you're still under consideration right?
Its small comfort but its still something.

I'm really worried now. I haven't contacted my professor since the LoA. I don't know if MEXT has got in touch with him and if they have, what did he say? He's never mentioned anything about my research or what i'm going to do if i get there. Nor has he mentioned anything about the entrance exams. All he said was "i'd like for you to be in my lab". Crap. I'm having a minor panic attack.

[midorineko]

For those who were put on the alternate list I bear words of hope.
I did my interview in June and was informed within the week that I was accepted with alternate status. Today I received contact from my consulate that I have been accepted by Monbukagakusho for the scholarship and that they are contacting my chosen university for acceptance.

It definitely is possible for an alternate to be bumped to scholarship status. I am unclear on whether I am being offered the scholarship because the original recommendee is unable to accept it, or because of other reasons. I am now waiting anxiously for the results, but since I did arrange contact with a professor willing to guide me before I submitted the scholarship application I am hopeful that everything will go smoothly from here on out.

[skfer]

I had the same situation as midorineko, I was informed as beeing an alternate, but after that (in early Oct) I was informed that i've been chosen to be recommended to MEXT and they will chose a university for me, and since then, I've never heard anything from them..

[wes]

Hey Midorineko,

I'm a confused about exactly what you mean--are you in the same boat as the rest of us here, awaiting the final acceptance from MEXT in Japan, or did you just hear back from your Consulate as to your final acceptance? Which Consulate are you working with?

[Vyen]

Nall-ohki, sorry to hear that.
It seems that the procedure of choosing the candidates in US is different than Malaysia. I think all of us from Malaysia never been told about the alternate thing. Now I become more nervous after hearing about that.

[ooilingfan]

seems like the situation for moderineko and skfer is the reverse of nall-ohki's.
they seem to be informed of their alternate status so early in June then switch to full candidate later on.

[midorineko]

Ooilingfan,
That is correct. I was informed of alternate status in June, and have just been informed that Monbukagakusho has approved me for the scholarship.

Wes,
I was told that actually receiving the scholarship is contingent upon being accepted into a university in Japan, but I just got word from the university that a meeting was held yesterday and that official acceptance from the university for April 2009 should arrive soon. I am working with the Oregon consulate in the U.S.A.

[wes]

Midorineko,

Thanks for the info. I am surprised that people are finding out so early. Congratulations!

Curious where and what you'll be studying...

[midorineko]

I am planning on studying history in the department of comparative culture at ICU in Tokyo. My area of interest is the perspectives Americans and Japanese held of one another during the Edo and Meiji periods and how it influenced east/west relations.

[ooilingfan]

sounds very 'deep' :p

[silverPenciled]

Am really sorry to hear about your news Nall ... Hopefully they will reconsider ...
did anyone else hear any feedback from their consulates yet ?

[skfer]

what I am very anxious about is ..in which univeristy they will put me in..I hope it will be good one..
I am planning to study spintronics ...

[wes]

I am planning on studying history in the department of comparative culture at ICU in Tokyo. My area of interest is the perspectives Americans and Japanese held of one another during the Edo and Meiji periods and how it influenced east/west relations.

Midorineko,
Your research sound really interesting. Do you know whether other people from your Consulate have heard back??

[midorineko]

Wes,
Thanks, I am really looking forward to starting my project. Naturally my study plan is more detailed, but I get a little carried away trying to explain it so I was going for concise in the above description.

I have not heard from anyone else who applied from my embassy, so I do not know what the overall status is. I do know we had three applicants who interviewed this year.

[menrui]

wow, only 3 were interviewed? how many were chosen? i think my consulate interviewed 8 people (i "think" as in, i think i saw 8 names on a list). i have no idea how many were chosen. another consulate interviewed like, 19 people, and chose 2, i heard.

[midorineko]

Only 3 that I know about. I Suppose there may have been more interviews on another day... I have no idea how many spots are open. My coordinator said that usually the consulate can recommend only one or maybe 2 people a year.

[pilarika]

Hi everyone!!

Wow lots of things happening!... Nall-ohki, how sad, I thought it was a sure thing this year for you, like I said I was an alternate last year too but this year was selected.... I am really sorry.


Well, news have started coming earlier than last year!! I too just recieved today a call from the embassy and they told me I have been confirmed to go in April!!! :-)

And for those of you worring about LoA and MEXT's selection of unis, let me tell you something: MEXT RULES!! Some of you might remember by late September I had no been able to get any LoA. My first choice university (Tama Bijutsu a private uni) had sent a nice letter rejecting me because no professor was available to tutor me. I then struggled to find another university and finally by the end of October I managed to get a LoA from a national university. Then today when I got the call from the embassy, the first thing she says to me is "Congratulations, you have been accepted for the scholarship and will be entering Tama Bijutsu in April". So MEXT will do all in their power to get you to your first choice, at least that is what seems happened with me. Now I am stuck with the problem of telling the other university I won't be going there after all...

So, hopefully you will all hear from your embassies soon!!! Good luck to all!!!

[ooilingfan]

Hi everyone!!
Wow lots of things happening!... Nall-ohki, how sad, I thought it was a sure thing this year for you, like I said I was an alternate last year too but this year was selected.... I am really sorry.
Well, news have started coming earlier than last year!! I too just recieved today a call from the embassy and they told me I have been confirmed to go in April!!! :-)
And for those of you worring about LoA and MEXT's selection of unis, let me tell you something: MEXT RULES!! Some of you might remember by late September I had no been able to get any LoA. My first choice university (Tama Bijutsu a private uni) had sent a nice letter rejecting me because no professor was available to tutor me. I then struggled to find another university and finally by the end of October I managed to get a LoA from a national university. Then today when I got the call from the embassy, the first thing she says to me is "Congratulations, you have been accepted for the scholarship and will be entering Tama Bijutsu in April". So MEXT will do all in their power to get you to your first choice, at least that is what seems happened with me. Now I am stuck with the problem of telling the other university I won't be going there after all...
So, hopefully you will all hear from your embassies soon!!! Good luck to all!!!

OMG, pilarika.
a super duper big CONGRATULATIONS to you!! What a great christmas gift.
you are the first to come with "THE NEWS" here for 2009.
wow. It's so early this year. Is it always early for your country in previous years?
and MEXT rocks! can even get you back the uni that rejected you. I'm speechless. =)
Happy for you. Start packing then! Haha.

[menrui]

congratulations pilarika! i hope there will be a wave of good news from everybody soon. i will be charging my cell phone and keeping it with me at all time, as well as checking my email constantly from here on.

[JapanDream]

That is GREAT news Pilarika. Congratulations to you! Looks like news has gone out in the Western Hemisphere. I wonder when the rest of us will get the announcement...

[kawabanga]

Congratulations!

[silverPenciled]

Wow ! Pilarika ! CONGRATULATIONS !! I am so happy for you, This is abs great news!
:spray: :cracker:

[skfer]

Congratulations , pilarika , :cool:
おめでとうございます
very good news actually ,now I start panicking..:relief:

[Vyen]

Pilarika, congratulations~~~:cool:
Looks like we are going to receive the news from embassy soon...

[Lancetology]

But perhaps you should learn to phrase your words in a way that does not piss the crap out of ppl. Also, my dear lovely lancetology, perhaps it is time to learn some modesty too, neh?......
Hahahaha……I agreed with Mr.cookie, without voice tones & facial expressions, there is a great possibility that people might misunderstood what we meant. However, that is not the main idea, when you think it goes in such a way, then it goes in such a way, if you don’t, then it doesn’t.
Well…as we are Malaysian…we all know to which extend our level could be comparing to those outside..especially when you arrived at this developed country that you have always been dreaming for. It depends on your way of interpretation, I can’t blamed you as if this is the your interpretation, but comparing to those in CNN, BBC, world top ranking univ like Harvard, MIT & Stanford univ…corporation like Microsoft, Stanley Morgan….etc. My sentences are just nothing comparing to them.
You are going (somehow) to join a world class institutions (maybe), you might have to learn from your supervisor that could be far older than you (conservative), you might have to learn from your senior that are not much difference with you (might have potential to be your husband in future:blush:), you might have to deal with lots of staffs …with just one ultimate goal, to produce good quality of work. You might publish your research outcome , which will definitely receive a lot of condemns from various blocks of experts arnd the world. You might stand on the international platforms to deliver speeches/talks, which will definitely receive feedbacks, questions, comments, not only from those experts of the same field of yours, but also from institution’s/organization’s/corporation’s executive members, press reporters from BBC/CNN…..etc.
At that moment, why don’t you say the same phase (quoted) to your supervisor/senior? Why don’t you say the same phrase to those experts that condemns you research through commentaries articles? (you can submit those words above for publish as a reply for them):blush:. Why not you say the same phrase on the international platforms? Im currently doing a research together with a guest researcher from Max-Planck Institute, Germany (you can check out online if you duno what & how famous this institute is). If you were under him, Im sure you will weep out on the spot. :blush:Hahaha…..
Well, my dear lovely girl, as a fellow Malaysian, I am happy that you have a great ambitious & great dream (our country really need these people):-), and I believed that you can pass through those exams with flying colours. But all I want to say is, if you would really just want to listen & read those “nice words/sentences” (well, if you think its nice enough for you), sincerely, really really very sorry to say…those places where the world masterminded accumulates are not suitable for you.
Maybe you can try our gvrnmt position, they won’t allow ppl to condemn them as they will jailed them under ISA…so you dun have to worry that you will listen some sentences you dun like. :blush:

Anyway..hope you success on this application, hope you really become somebody when you come back,& not those weep out & walk out of the door when being condemn. :-)Do joined us during the steamboat fest later. :-)

Pilarika, congratulations~~~:cool:
Looks like we are going to receive the news from embassy soon...

Not necessary, just look at the application process only, its varies from countries to countries....what else the outcome, .don't hook too high first la...:blush:

[Nall-ohki]

Congratulations, and I hate you! :(

Nothing personal, of course. :-)

Have fun!

P.S. While I'm not not counting on getting the scholarship, I have a promising lead on plan F (plans B through E have come up short).

[skfer]

I wish you luck in your all plans Nall-ohki , you are nice helpful guy , and you deserve all nice things..

[ooilingfan]

Hi Nall, don't give up yet. There's still time to find out what went wrong. You deserve a reasonable explanation. Whether it's some stupid quota or whatever, at least you know whether the error is on your part or theirs and can move on with no regrets.
I wish you all the very best in lieu of all your efforts and commitments.

[kouki]

Nall,

Sorry for the late message. I am sorry about your case. Now to think of that, I am becoming more worried...

>Malaysians
The embassy is going to have holiday from 27 December 2008 to 5 January 2009. I am very nervous now...

[menrui]

Do joined us during the steamboat fest later. :-)

It will be a steamboat fest for 1.

[ooilingfan]

Nall,
Sorry for the late message. I am sorry about your case. Now to think of that, I am becoming more worried...
>Malaysians
The embassy is going to have holiday from 27 December 2008 to 5 January 2009. I am very nervous now...

I think that's usual for most countries. THen there's chinese new year in January. So lets hope it'll come out first week of February.

[Lancetology]

It will be a steamboat fest for 1.
hahahaha......:blush:..nevermind, its OK...when I posted such reply..judging from your level of mentality...this is expected...as I mentioned, its all depends on your way of interpretation. Whatever George W.Bush did, he might be a hatred for some group, but could be heroes as for others.
I really hope you can get the scholarship, so that you will have the chance to expose, while widening, sharpness your mindset. Hope your supervisor won't tell you:" If you don't like it to be in this way, then you may leave & go back." :blush:
well...looks like its time for me to leave this forum, as my initial intention is to gain some information...mission is accomplished...thank you very much for kindly providing such a precious info. All the best for the application (all of you). :wave:

[kawabanga]

Oh come on! No one is paying attention to my previous post about the various (good) sources to self-study the japanese language, but focus instead on such discussion?!?!

Now I feel hurt!!

I demand attention (preferably lots of them)!!

:giggle:

Signing out for the night, for another tomorrow...

[ooilingfan]

Congratulations, and I hate you! :(
Nothing personal, of course. :-)
Have fun!
P.S. While I'm not not counting on getting the scholarship, I have a promising lead on plan F (plans B through E have come up short).

Hey Nall,
sorry if my following question has been raised before.
But is it possible that they keep putting you as an alternate because you have received the MEXT scholarship once before?
I've heard of some scholarships which prefers to give opportunities to fresh applicants and have policies of not awarding the same person twice. Though i understand what you're applying is for different level of education. But still, it could be a somewhat weird policy that we cannot beat.

[ooilingfan]

and Lancetology,
I've been keeping my cool for quite a while now. I hate to say this. But dude, you seriously have an attitude problem.
What makes a decent person comes not only from brilliance, intelligence and ironman confidence, but also from a humble, noble character who knows how to balance their intelligence with emotional quotient and spiritual quotient.
Decency is what the society needs, not plain intelligence blended with sacarcism and arrogance.
The feel of superiority may provide you with confidence and sense of security. But a great leader knows the difference between confidence and arrogance. You are young, aggresive, impulsive, confident, successful, ambitious, brilliant, outspoken, courageous, fearless, it's good, but it doesn't grant you the right to be rude to others.
This thread has over 90,000 viewers from all over the world. And we are pretty positive that people from the scholarship authorities and embassy are monitoring our posts from time to time. It doesn't do you any good behaving like this.
While you're in the lab with your high profile supervisors and mentors, there are 2 more things you can learn from them: Respect and Manners.
Knowledge is precious, but respect is priceless. Earn it by first respecting others.

[menrui]

kawabanga,
haha, i was going to comment on your post, but something took my mind off of it...

"Japanese From Zero! 1" : this looks like a good book for those starting from nothing. it teaches pronounciation and hiragana(does it teach katakana?). it even has a work book, which is always good. the only thing bad about it is that it doesnt have an audio cd.

freejapaneselessons.com : free is good... but i think this website is a horrible way to learn. there are no example sentence, no sample dialogue, and no practice stuff. i would go crazy bored and just quit. i didnt look at the videos yet. if you are really serious, please buy a book or some thing.

Pimsleur- Japanese audio, youtube.com/watch?v=k0oFzx9ikoY&feature=channel_page : im not a big fan of the audio stuff. its a good way to jump start... but will fail you in the long run. it helps you pronounce words, but it hardly teaches grammar or verb conjugations. and there is no writing/reading practice.

in my opinion, stick with a japanese course base text book. if it has an audio cd, that would be great. my school used "yookoso!". i think you can get a used one for about 5USD these days. i downloaded the audio cds online.

in other note, i've been memorizing kanjis lately. im about half way through with the jlpt2 set of kanjis. gooo me!

[kimberleylhj]

Menrui, that's a very good move. My sensei told me that it's best for me to memorize about 2000 kanjis before I leave IF I get the scholarship especially since kanji is my weakest part in learning the language.

Pilarika, congratulations!!! Am now wondering when more of us can share the good news too.

Nall-ohki, good luck for your plan F.

[ooilingfan]

Hi menrui,
just curious, how do you learn kanji based on levels?
I know there are a set of kanjis for each level. But you learn them just on strokes + pronunciation or together with text and usage? The list of kanji can be obtained easily but i can't find the text the teaches kanji specifically in a systematic manner. Or is it we just learn the kanji whenever they pop up in the main text while we study everything chapter by chapter?

[menrui]

2000 kanjis before april would be impossible for me. i think i know about 500-600 right now. even so, i only know a few vocabulary(like 1 or 2) that goes with each kanji.

basically, first im learning the meaning of each kanji, then i learn the stroke, then i learn some useful jplt vocab they are associated with, as well as how those vocabs are used. i put the vocab/kanji into my flashcard program(anki) so i can review them periodically. thats my system for now thanks to www.jlpt-kanji.com

i understand what you mean ooilingfan. during my first 2 years of japanese courses, we were learning kanjis separately from the textbook and our text book didnt teach for the purpose of jlpt. hmm my advice, dont learn kanjis as they "pop up" in your text book because you might be learning kanjis in a higher grade and out of order. if your textbook advises you to learn certain kanjis for the chapter, follow that. otherwise try to learn kanjis by grade level or jplt level.

[Charles Barkley]

japandream,
-those are not exactly "drinking things". they are "get togethers" that people often drink at. getting together is the most important part, so you dont have to drink.

- also, i think they do plenty of hanami, hanabi, barbeque, and small parties too.

-people often drink a light beer even at a hanami.

Seriously, are you talking about Japan here?

-"a" "light" beer at hanami? Hanami, among young people anyway, has very little to do with flowers, and very much to do with alcohol. Note: this applies to older people as well. If "table" applies to a picnic blanket or mat, you will be very unlikely to find one that has japanese people and no alcohol on it.

-plenty of hanabi? More likely to find plenty of 鼻血 than 花火.

-nomikais are very much drinking things. You will easily be able to avoid drinking and not being thought strange for it if you are a woman. If you are a guy, there will be pressure. Konpa are also massive drinking things, especially for new members.


To sum up: In Japan there is pressure to drink, especially on guys. Obviously you don't have to. And obviously if you plan your own activities, meet certain friends, etc, it won't negatively impact your life. With that said, it is a very important part of Japanese male culture and to say otherwise would be misleading...

Nall Oki: What the hell man. I am really sorry to hear that. To be put through that not once but twice...

Are you done applying now?

[menrui]

*bows head in shame

yeah ok, you should probably listen to charles on this one. im just throwing guesses. in any case, you dont "have" to drink.

[ooilingfan]

so menrui, are you saying that there is a separate method and syllabus of learning kanji? i'm only picking up the kanji vocabularies now through textbooks. Whenever i encounter a new kanji i'll memorise the furigana and meaning. So it's kinda random. If i keep doing this i may not cover enough relevant kanjis for jlpt, should i be doing jlpt next time.

[kimberleylhj]

probably not enough for jlpt 2 and 1.

[abeeyo_q8]

in my opinion, stick with a japanese course base text book. if it has an audio cd, that would be great. my school used "yookoso!". i think you can get a used one for about 5USD these days. i downloaded the audio cds online.


for those of you looking for a good beginners textbook to start learning japanese from scratch i recommend the "nakama" and "genki" series

nakama comes with cd's but it's hard cover so it'll probably be more expensive

i know the "genki" series is available on sasugabooks.com (for those living in the US) i'm sure it's available from other websites. it's paperback so probably cheaper than "nakama"

[menrui]

there doesnt have to be a separate syllabus... but our textbook did not teach or even advise any kanjis. so we it was necessary for us to learn kanjis seperate.

i dont know what text book you are using, but if it uses alot of common low elementary grade kanjis, then your method isnt such a bad idea.

i just read some stuff about the "genki" series. it seems like a really good book. it has grammar/vocab, kanji practices, dialogues, exercises, and even a cd and workbook(sold separately). moreover, it has high ratings from amazon.com . i have the "intermediate" book of these series and i think its great, so the beginners book should be good too. i would highly recommend the "genki" series for anyone who is starting.

[ooilingfan]

i see.
well, i'm using the 'minna no nihongo' series. It's quite popular among language centres in Malaysia. It's quite simple, so i don't think i'm learning enough. Need to get my hands on more other references if got the time :p
Thanks for the advice guys.

[abeeyo_q8]

my university used to use the nakama series then it changed recently to the genki series...i've taken a look at the actual text. it's pretty good, i like that it doesn't use any romaji after they've taught all kana, which is something that really bothers me about other texts...cause this way you don't practice reading your kana as much

as for reference books and such...there is a set "grammar dictionaries"
there are 3, basic, intermediate, and advanced
it's just like a dictionary, but instead of alphabeticizing words it's grammar points
i have all 3...i think the basic and intermediate are the most helpful...the advanced is more a collection of words and examples of how they're used rather than actual grammar like the first two

the authors of the series are seiichi makino and michio tsutsui for those interested
those are also available at sasugabooks.com
they're small kinda like manga size, but run up to like 600-700 pages
i'd definitely recommend them as a side reference to those who have a taken a class or two

[kawabanga]

Dear all, I received a letter from the embassy today stating that I have been tentatively selected and that MEXT is currently considering my placement into a university. In spite of the tentativity, I am ecstatically exhilarated.

[silverPenciled]

Woohoooo ! Kawabanga ! Congratulations great news! THis is awesome !
:cheer: :disco:
Seems people are starting to get replies , well for me, I have received an Email from the Embassy as well telling me that I was officially selected by MEXT (they even wrote that in big bold letters) and was "tentatively" accepted by Tamabi, ... Yes they used the same exact word "Tentatively" ... They also told me to keep a copy of my passport ready at any time ...
When I asked about the "tentative" part ;they told me they will know for sure which University I may get placed at by February... I hope things work out because Tamabi is the only University I have applied for and I did this according to my consulate's advice ... but so far so good for knowing I have been selected ... I mean this is it for now right ?? :happy:
((other than the University's own Entrance exams )

[DaiUso]

Hello Everyone!!

Congratulations Kawabanga & SilverPenciled!!

I have been reading this forum for quite a while, it is very helpful.
Have gone through all the similar stages - got the embassy recommendation and LOA from two different univercities. But up to today i haven't been able to add anything useful.
This forum has helped me allot in coping with the long wait for the final reply (and all the stages before that) - seeing that i wasn't alone in it :)
And yesterday it payed off - received The Letter that I'm accepted to the scholarship, though the answer about the specific university will come later.

So to all those who are still waiting - hang in there! The answers may come any moment now!

*still waiting for the uni reply...*

[pilarika]

wow, this is amazing, silverPenciled!!! we might be going together to Tamabi if all works right for both of us. Its awesome! :happy:

Congratulations to you and kawabanga!!!.... It feels great knowing that we are all recieving good news so soon!! For my country anyway, calls from the embassy came around 2 weeks earlier than last year.

[menrui]

congrats guys.

oh and welcome to the club daiuso. i guess its more like a waiting room now haha.

i havent received any news from my embassy/consulate, university/prof., or MEXT... waiting is driving me crazy~. also, there will be a big holiday these next 2 weeks, so maybe i will have to wait till january to recieve anything.

[skfer]

Ooooh, Congratulations guys ... I am really happy for you:lol::cracker::win:
the moment of truth is approaching ... and I am really anxious...
does tentatively mean that the decision is not final .. and you should wait for the final decision ?..or it is final and you just should wait for the university placement ?

[kimberleylhj]

wow... didn't expect results to be out so early. hmm.. any other malaysians got the letter??

kawabanga, don't worry.. a friend of mine got the tentative letter too and did indeed secure the scholarship.

[silverPenciled]

Thanks everyone , I really hope you all get the great news soon ...

Pilarika , thank youuuuu I really hope I end up there as well :)
And Skfer like what kimberleylhj said, They confirmed us getting the scholarship , but they are not sure where MEXT would replace us finally and we shall be informed by February. That is why they said you were accepted "Tentatively" at X University .... I really hope you and everyone will get to hear the good news soon , Best of luck to all ....

[Vyen]

kawabanga, don't worry.. a friend of mine got the tentative letter too and did indeed secure the scholarship.

I also received the letter from embassy. Being "tentatively" selected means we still got 50/50 chances of securing the scholarship. guys, hang in there. the news will be out soon.:-)

[clockworkorange]

Hi everybody,

First of all, congratulations to pilarika who, i understand, have truly been selected for the scholarship and has a confirmed placement in the university of her choice.

Sorry my congratulations come so late.

To everybody else who have been tentatively selected, congratulations too. I received the letter as well and although i think it is extremely encouraging (I smiled a lot yesterday after receiving the letter), it doesn't really put us very much beyond where we were. We still have to wait for a proper confirmation.

One of the things that worries me is the university placement. I submitted only one LoA and I was actually under the impression that should I be lucky enough to receive the scholarship, i would automatically be placed in the university which gave me the LoA. I see now that that might not be the case. Anyway, I plan to clarify with the embassy and maybe ask if receiving the letter means we don't really have that long to wait for the confirmed results? We can only hope eh? If i have any news, i'll post it here.

At any rate, good luck to everyone: to those waiting, to those that have happily received the scholarship and to those who are about to embark on plan F.

[skfer]

Congratulations Vyne and Clockworkorgange ,I think all guys from Malaysia have recieved the acceptance ,
midorineko, have you heard anything yet ?..

[clockworkorange]

To lancetology who i understand has left the forum,

I'm still going to reply to your post because again, it highly annoyed me and I am not big enough to let it slide.

Your words are not reflective of a broad-minded, intelligent person who has worked with the best of minds. On the contrary, you come across as narrow-minded and ignorant.

You have told me, very rudely, that i should learn to accept other people's comments regardless of how harsh they are as it may do me some good.

You would do well to accept your own advice.

My comment that you should learn to be more modest is a highly valid one. If you do not believe me, conduct a tiny experiment and show your post to a group of ppl. Ask them what they think of the post.

If they do not think your post is condescending and arrogant, let me know and i'll apologize to you.

I agree that because forums like these do not allow for facial expressions and such, we cannot really know what the other person intends to convey when they post on the message board. It is for this reason that we choose our words carefully so that ppl do not misunderstand.

You do not seem able to grasp this concept.

Also, i merely asked you how you were able to skip the entrance exam and the research student period and you jumped to the conclusion that i was looking to take the easy way out. You were quick to judge without further clarifying my reasons for asking. This is surprising seeing how you come from a research background. I thought you are trained not to jump to conclusions, no?

There is a distinction between accepting criticism from a superior (a professor, or a senior) regarding the quality of one's work and accepting the quick judgement of someone with an inflated sense of self-importance.

You do not seem able to grasp this distinction.

You seem to have a very low opinion of Malaysians and the educational institutions here as well. This is sad. If there is anything lacking in our institutions, then it is up to us Malaysians to improve the standards. Someone like you, with your experience would be ideally suited to the job. Instead you look down your nose at your country and make sarcastic comments about working in the government. This is an international forum and I am embarassed that you are my fellow countryman.

You do not seem able to grasp the concept of respect.

You also do not seem to be able to grasp the concept of humility.

Given that you are unable to grasp very basic concepts, the fact that you presume you can give us advice is laughable.

You do not qualify.

I wish you the best of luck in life. Doubtless, with your attitude, you will need it.

skfer,

Thanks for your congratulatory wishes.

Congrats to you too. :)

Lets hope the proper confirmation is not too long away now.

[ooilingfan]

Congrats Kawabanga,vyen, clockworkorange and silverpenciled, and all those who received the letter!

omg, ****! i'm out of town and couldn't check my mail.
if i didn't receive anything these few days means i'm totally screwed.

Kawabanga, clockwork and vyen, you mean you received the letter without getting any calls from the embassy?

[ooilingfan]

wow... didn't expect results to be out so early. hmm.. any other malaysians got the letter??

kawabanga, don't worry.. a friend of mine got the tentative letter too and did indeed secure the scholarship.

kimberly, have you got any news yet?
i'm super anxious now.

[abeeyo_q8]

congratulations everyone that is one step further to their goal!!
you've gotta hang in there!!

[JapanDream]

Hi Guys,

I have also received the 'tentative' letter from the embassy. At first, I felt a little discouraged after looking at the thin envelope, coz mail that bears good news is usually bulkier. But what a relief I felt when I read the letter inside. :relief: Although not the final confirmation, it's good to know at least MEXT is now the one working hard to get us into our university of choice (we've all worked hard and long these past few months). The ball is now in their court and all we can do is pray and hope for the best. :-)

To Clockworkorange,

I can understand how you feel about the one LOA you have. I believe MEXT will do everything they can to get you in. Pilarika was able to be selected by her desired uni without an LoA, and I am confident that you will be, too. :cool:

To Ooilingfan,

For my case, I got the letter without any calls from the embassy. I'm not sure about the rest though. Any chance that you could ask your family / housemates to check the mail for you while you're out of town?

[skfer]

I've called the embassy ..they didn't recieve anything yet .. what should I do ?
should I bypass them and try to mail MEXT dirctly ? or I should wait ..

[kawabanga]

At first, I felt a little discouraged after looking at the thin envelope, coz mail that bears good news is usually bulkier.

That was exactly how I felt too!

Congrats Kawabanga,vyen, clockworkorange and silverpenciled, and all those who received the letter!
omg, ****! i'm out of town and couldn't check my mail.
if i didn't receive anything these few days means i'm totally screwed.
Kawabanga, clockwork and vyen, you mean you received the letter without getting any calls from the embassy?

Nope, just the letter.

[ooilingfan]

omg
i hope i will not go home to an empty mailbox! nobody's at home.
so the letter is directly from MEXT via international mail?

Clockwork,
You're not alone.
I am also holding to only 1 LoA. Hope we'll be fine.
If everything goes well you might be expecting the results slightly earlier this year.

[Vyen]

ooilingfan,

no worries..i think everyone should get the letter since it is just to inform us that mext is considering about our placement now. I didn't receive any call from them also.
Everything will be fine.:-)

[kimberleylhj]

i got no letter. =(

[ooilingfan]

my housemate called. I've got the letter. Woo hoo!
thanks for the encouragement guys. =)

kimberly,
hang in there. It's gonna be fine. we shall all go together!

[skfer]

ooilingfan...congratulations man.. is it tentitave ?
guys .. have you recieved a Post letter or e-mail ?

[ooilingfan]

ooilingfan...congratulations man.. is it tentitave ?
guys .. have you recieved a Post letter or e-mail ?

Thanks.
It's a letter. Paper with black ink (as charles pointed out), haha.
And yes. It's 'Tentative' alright, subjected to successful university placement.

can't wait to meet all of you here. I'm not sure whether we'll all be heading to the same destination first or straight to our respective Unis.
It'll be great if all fellow malaysians are taking the same flight, at least.

[DaiUso]

I got an email, and nothing more...i think at that stage it's quite enough :)

btw is anyone planning on taking the TOEFL before going to japan? Does it take any load off the entrance exams?

[midorineko]

Clockwork Orange,
I do not know if this will help you, but I also received word from my Uni that I will be skipping both the language training and research period. I have been (tentatively) accepted directly into their Master's Program. Apparently the language training and exams are given at the discretion of the school. I was informed that while I may continue to participate in the University's Japaneses training classes, they considered my work sufficient enough to begin regular classes right away.
Has everyone received a paper mail notice of their tentative acceptance? all I am getting so far are e-mails.

[c0ok1e]

After reading the post for 2 days Im happy that the waiting have already been answered for you guys but sad at the same time..

I did not get any letter.. I guess I wont be seeing any of you..It has been a fun year for me waiting and discussing in this forum.. Good luck to all your future journey... I guess life is like that and I have had quite a few of this experiences before so Ill be moving on with my life... C ya:wave:

[ooilingfan]

i think that is totally optional. And won't help on the entrance exams.
But personally if you haven't taken it before, it's good to have an international english qualification.
I am considering taking IELTS also before i leave.

[ooilingfan]

After reading the post for 2 days Im happy that the waiting have already been answered for you guys but sad at the same time..
I did not get any letter.. I guess I wont be seeing any of you..It has been a fun year for me waiting and discussing in this forum.. Good luck to all your future journey... I guess life is like that and I have had quite a few of this experiences before so Ill be moving on with my life... C ya:wave:

Cookie,
Don't give up yet.
It's only December and the official announcement has not been made.
There is this additional letter which is not mentioned in any of the posts in previous years. So i guess this positive news shows some optimism. Like the stats in the past, almost all malaysians who passed the interview made it.
The delay is probably because they are still working on confirming your university placement or plain late mail. =)

[menrui]

seriously cookie, dont give us a good bye just yet. there are still people here waiting for news from their embassy, and you're discouraging us! just stay with us for now.

just for references, my consulate contacted me through email once, for the interview, then sent me the embassy recommendation by post mail. i have no idea how they will inform me this time, but i've been keeping my phone close, and checking my email/post mail quite alot.

[DaiUso]

to Midorineko:
Congrats! That's great!
Is your level of Japanese high, for the uni considering you'll manage without the language course?

to Ooilingfan:
Maybe having international english qualification is good, but in the short time we have isn't it better to put the effort on studying japanese?
That's why i want to make sure taking the test now will be of good use...hehe :embarasse

[kimberleylhj]

daiuso, it depends, some uni do need toefl or ielts. so check with your uni and i would advice to take it before u leave if it's needed.

cookie, i too didn't receive the letter. =( and from what i know, in previous years, they did receive the tentative letter too, but of course all those who received the tentative letter did indeed got the final confirmation. so guys, congratulations!!

[kawabanga]

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if some of us did not receive the letter, not yet that is. Don't be discouraged. We don't live in the same area, do we? So it is quite possible that the postman hasn't been working more than he should. Wait for a couple more days! I am quite certain it will arrive!

[ooilingfan]

daiuso, it depends, some uni do need toefl or ielts. so check with your uni and i would advice to take it before u leave if it's needed.
cookie, i too didn't receive the letter. =( and from what i know, in previous years, they did receive the tentative letter too, but of course all those who received the tentative letter did indeed got the final confirmation. so guys, congratulations!!

kimberly, you haven't receive the letter YET. Just be patient for a while. Stay with us, you're gonna make it. They're sending to hundreds of candidates worldwide by post mail, it's normal that not all posts reach at the same time.

[kouki]

The letter is not from embassy? Is the letter from MEXT in Tokyo? International mail? Did they mentioned your university and your scholarship period? April or October intake?

>c0ok1e, kimberleylhj
I have not received my letter either.:(

>ooilingfan
As far as I know, most universities in Japan require either TOEFL or TOEIC. They are following American English standard. But do confirm with your university.

[kimberleylhj]

kouki, they just prefer toefl or toeic due to the american english. however, ielts is accepted as well.

[Vyen]

[QUOTE=kouki;610242]The letter is not from embassy? Is the letter from MEXT in Tokyo?[QUOTE]

Kouki,
The letter is from embassy, not from MEXT. Maybe you can call them to ask about the letter...

[JapanDream]

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if some of us did not receive the letter, not yet that is. Don't be discouraged. We don't live in the same area, do we? So it is quite possible that the postman hasn't been working more than he should. Wait for a couple more days! I am quite certain it will arrive!

That's quite true, especially if your mailing addr is outside the Klang Valley. The farther away you are from KL, the longer the regular mail will take. I would think if you're in East Malaysia, it will take the longest to arrive. Hang in there!

To Kouki and Ooilingfan,
I'm also thinking of taking the english test, but I'm undecided between TOEFL and IELTS. And then there's this other test TOEIC. What I know is TOEFL and IELTS cost RM500+ each, and TOEIC is only RM200+ I think. And the bad thing is all these test certs are only valid for 2 years. :p

[kouki]

Hi, just informed by my family that I have received the letter as mentioned by you all.

Just would like to confirm with you, whether they are including the university you are allocated into? Mine just mentioned that I have tentatively selected, but without the university name. They are still finding the university.

Is my content the same with yours?

>c0ok1e, kimberleylhj
My address is within Kuala Lumpur, but it takes more time than others. I am sure yours are on the way. Just be confident of yourselves. Ganbatte!:-)

[clockworkorange]

Hi, everybody.

Thanks, midorineko, for letting me know about how you don't have to be a research student first. I'm guessing that you have the necessary experience that qualifies you directly to their masters program. If you don;t mind me asking, did the decision depend strictly on your supervisor or are there exceptions made by the university? Are you fluent in Japanese then?

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

Also, thanks for the congratulatory wishes. Congrats to everyone here too. :) still not confirmed though. those of us who have been tentatively selected.

However, to those who haven't received a letter yet, especially kimberly, kouki and cookie, maybe u guys should just call the embassy like vyen said. Sure, patience is a virtue but if there is something that can be done to maybe shorten the wait, why not? Coz we all understand that the waiting process is an agonizing process. Or maybe email ms. yin if you're afraid of disturbing her by calling when she's busy.

At any rate, i don't think its time to give up yet. There could so many reasons no letter has come yet. You live far away, the letter got lost somewhere (not an impossibility given our post system), the address might have got typed wrongly, someone at the embassy might have missed out your name......

So make certain 1st eh?

Best of luck and let us know over here how it goes.

[JapanDream]

Hi, just informed by my family that I have received the letter as mentioned by you all.
Just would like to confirm with you, whether they are including the university you are allocated into? Mine just mentioned that I have tentatively selected, but without the university name. They are still finding the university.
Is my content the same with yours?
>c0ok1e, kimberleylhj
My address is within Kuala Lumpur, but it takes more time than others. I am sure yours are on the way. Just be confident of yourselves. Ganbatte!:-)

Kouki,

The letter I got doesn't specify the univeristy--it's just a simple one page letter. I think it has the same content as yours.

[kawabanga]

Hi, everybody.
Thanks, midorineko, for letting me know about how you don't have to be a research student first. I'm guessing that you have the necessary experience that qualifies you directly to their masters program. If you don;t mind me asking, did the decision depend strictly on your supervisor or are there exceptions made by the university? Are you fluent in Japanese then?
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.


Though not directed to me, I will answer it anyway. For my case, according to the professor, the faculty had a meeting and decided to enrol me as a Master student. Also, he was very kind to confirm with me a few weeks back that he has replied MEXT of my acceptance in the university and that the faculty is already arranging for my accommodation. Hence, I don't really know if the letter we received is the most up-to-date information. Nonetheless, I am still very delighted to be sure that at least the economic recession isn't affecting us as an applicant.

[ooilingfan]

I just got hold of the letter, yea it's from the Embassy. Which means the information may not be the latest.
As we know pilarika has been confirmed by MEXT on his university placement. I'm sure many things are happening at MEXT now, vigorously trying to secure our placements.
I suppose MEXT informed the embassy on those who passed MEXT's screening that's all. (from my understanding MEXT will screen our documents, interview results and everything else before embarking on uni placement).
Thus after the screening it's still tentative and subjected to university placement.
But it's a big step. Meaning our health screening, interview results, documents and embassy recommendation all have passed MEXT's approval.
Now is the final final hurdle, which is the confirmation from Unis.
Lets hang on for this final stage. Taking an english exam would be good now. We might be very busy after receiving the confirmation. I'm thinking of IELTS or TOEFL as they're more universal. But it's optional anyway. So, no worries la.

[midorineko]

ClockworkOrange,
I believe my case is the same as Kawabanga's. During the application process, when talking to my intended adviser, we assumed I would be taking the six month language training ending in the fall. After hearing from my embassy I contacted him to let him know the news and that mext would be contacting the Uni, and was told there had been a meeting about me the previous day. I then received an e-mail from the graduate school office at the Uni saying I was (unofficially) accepted directly into the graduate program with no language training.

I am not sure if this decision was made because of my monbusho application japanese test results. I did do a portion of my interview in Japanese. I am not fluent, but I did a double major in Japanese and History for my B.A. and spent 2006 on a Jasso scholarship doing an exchange program at a university in Tokyo, so I know my way around the language. I am pretty nervous, have not had much chance to speak Japanese over the past year and I do not know if I can keep up with a graduate level course with out a warm up period. I do plan to take advantage of my Universities Japanese language classes.

[ooilingfan]

Seems like they really take into consideration every detail and past record we have and make arrangements accordingly.

That's great, at least you are exempted from the entrance exam and able to complete your Master's in 2 years instead of 3. =)

[kouki]

>ooilingfan
I understand that some Japanese universities would require their postgraduate to sit for TOEIC (or marks converted from TOEFL). Would it be a lot more expensive if we are sitting the paper in Japan?

For me, I think I would take into consideration of the location of the test, the price and the availability of the test.

[ooilingfan]

>ooilingfan
I understand that some Japanese universities would require their postgraduate to sit for TOEIC (or marks converted from TOEFL). Would it be a lot more expensive if we are sitting the paper in Japan?
For me, I think I would take into consideration of the location of the test, the price and the availability of the test.

hmm.... if that's the case, i'd better check with my Grad School and ask for their advice.

[kshoo]

Hi all,

This might be relevant for those who are interested in applying to Japan's business schools, or am planning to sit for their GMAT exams.

I recently completed by GMAT exams in order to meet my requirements to the Japan business schools, and have no use for the various GMAT guides anymore. Anyone who is interested to take them off my hands, please drop me a line at kuangshanhoo@yahoo.co.uk. These books are quite new, used only by me for the exam about 2 months ago. They are all the 2008 edition.

Titles available:

1) Kaplan GMAT 2008 Premier Program (with CD ROM)
2) Kaplan 2008 Math Workbook
3) Mcgraw Hill 2008 GMAT (with CD ROM)
4) Official Guide 2008 - GMAT Verbal Review
5) Official Guide 2008 - GMAT Review

These books were purchased from Kinokuniya in Malaysia http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/indexohb.cgi?AREA=05, but i suppose you can also log in to Amazon to check out the prices in USD. Again drop me a line at my email, and we can take the discussion separate from the forum.

Thanks.

Hi all,

sorry for not posting for so long. Was away for work.

Congratulations to all who received their letters. I have also gotten the "tentative" reply, so I guess i will be seeing many of you very soon :)

Anyone has any idea when exactly tokyo will let us know its final decision? Am getting a bit jittery because 2 of my 3 choices wanted to me to reapply (again) directly to the school, once i have gotten my MEXT letter. And the dateline window is very short (one week, in Jan '09).

[ooilingfan]

kshoo, i think you better check with the Embassy.
In the past the final results (for Malaysia) will only be out around end of Jan.
Which will be quite late for you.

[kimberleylhj]

=) =) =) do i need to say more??

oh, and i forgot.. thanks everybody for the encouragement!!

[menrui]

congrats kimberleylhj!
im still wanting for a "tentative" selection. i checked my post mail today even though they will most likely contact me by email or phone haha. i read some previous post/threads, and it seems like most of the "tentative selections" occur around this time. seems like bad timing because its around the holidays. my embassy will mostly be closed for the next 2 weeks.

and some other stuff i dug up: ooilingfan brought this up a while ago, but remember our friend nall-ohki?(sorry for bringing this up) i think he said he received a MEXT scholarship before for "japanese language/culture". then i remembered reading this is our guidelines:
Scholarships will not be awarded in the following cases:
3: The Applicant was a grantee of a Japanese Government Scholarship in the past will not be selected unless he/she has had at
least three years of research or teaching experience after returning to his/her home country. This exclusion will not apply to
a research-student applicant, who (i) as a foreign student in Japan received training in the Japanese language and/or Japanese
culture at a university and graduated from it~~
maybe this is the reason he is becoming an alternate?

[kshoo]

No problem Ooilingfan. Of course, my backup plan will be to put in application to both, using the tentative letter and what not....then choose again once it is confirmed.

However, Ms. Yin sounded pretty confident that we should be getting replies early Jan. Fingers crossed.

On the TOEFL part, i agree that it is on a case by case basis. As my undergraduate studies are done in English, this was waived.

[kshoo]

On the part of laptops, a friend of mine recently returned from Japan. She remarked that the places normally only sell Japanese brands (e.g. Toshiba, Fujitsu, etc. ) and it will be tough to find anything else.

My own preference will be to buy a laptop here in MY, get an adaptor for the plug (no need convertor, since all the power cords automatically convert between 220V and 110V). I will also be paying extra to cover 3 years of international warranty, so that if anything goes wrong, supposedly the japanese technical team will still cover parts.

While I don't have anything definite yet, I am leaning more towards the Thinkpad T series, whom many have told me are very good. Either that, or the new Sony Viao CR series, which at least with a japanese brand name, should be easily recognizable and fixed in Japan (i hope).

[kawabanga]

However, Ms. Yin sounded pretty confident that we should be getting replies early Jan. Fingers crossed.


Woo Hoo! Ms. Yin rocks!

And by the way, why do we need IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, etc.? I don't remember it being one of the admission requirements in japan universities (for a science course).

[JapanDream]

Hi Menrui,
If you still haven't heard anyhing, I would suggest calling the consulate up, like what Vyen and Clockworkorange mentioned. Don't let long distance charges hold you back. :p Otherwise, you will most likely have to wait till early Jan before you get any update at all. Just curious though, all this while after the LoA, have you been contacted by your potential supervisor? Well, I haven't.

Hi Midorineko,
Your experience with the Japanese language and culture really paid off. You should be able to adapt in Japan in no time. :-)

Hi Kawabanga,
Wow, like Midorineko, you are ahead of the pack without having to go through the research student phase. Will you still be participating in the 6 month Japanese language training?

[kawabanga]

Hi Kawabanga,
Wow, like Midorineko, you are ahead of the pack without having to go through the research student phase. Will you still be participating in the 6 month Japanese language training?

I most certainly do hope so, unless I am assigned a 24/7 interpreter who doesn't mind me fussing all the time with unreasonable demands!

I am not ahead. Just lucky in that area. Anyway, I don't see any difference between going through the research phase or not. I don't mind and either way as long as I get to eat sushi every morning!

[ooilingfan]

Woo Hoo! Ms. Yin rocks!
And by the way, why do we need IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, etc.? I don't remember it being one of the admission requirements in japan universities (for a science course).

I don't think we really need. Again, just check with your supervisor or graduate school to make sure.

Yea, Ms Yin ROCKS!

[menrui]

japandream,
my consulate is closed for the holidays, so i will have to wait until jan. 5. i will call them then. oh, and i havent talked to my professor since asking him for a LoA.

[ooilingfan]

Hi all,
I know we've discussed the above topic many times.
But as i was running through all previous correspondence with my supervisor, I remembered that he had given me the answers.

Regarding Entrance exam:
“There are two entrance examinations in a year. The first one is around August and the second one is around February. If you earned the position in the lab and passed the entrance examination, then you can be a Master student.”

"Although MEXT scholarship students are not exempted from the entrance examination for the master program, admission into the master program is almost guaranteed."

Regarding TOEFL:
“TOEFL is not required, as all of the courses are conducted in Japanese.”

Well, perhaps this is only applicable for my grad school therefore it's for reference only. To confirm, kindly check with your respective grad schools.

[kimberleylhj]

Yeap, different grad schools have different requirements.
In the case of my first choice grad school, although the course is fully in Japanese, there is still an English test included in the entrance exam. However if you have TOEFL, you are exempted. This means TOEFL is not necessary but may be helpful.
In the case of my second choice grad school, course is fully in English and TOEFL is needed. You will only be exempted if your native language is English.
Therefore, check the requirements of your grad school and my opinion is to take the TOEFL before leaving IF you need it. Or else, save the money up. =)

[kawabanga]

Dear All,

Have a Merry Christmas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdsNtI_uXUs

[ooilingfan]

Dear Fellow Candidates and Scholarship Hopefuls,

WISH EVERYONE A MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009.
May God bless us all with a bright year ahead with MEXT scholarships 2009!!

[abeeyo_q8]

I then received an e-mail from the graduate school office at the Uni saying I was (unofficially) accepted directly into the graduate program with no language training.

I am not sure if this decision was made because of my monbusho application japanese test results. I did do a portion of my interview in Japanese. I am not fluent, but I did a double major in Japanese and History for my B.A. and spent 2006 on a Jasso scholarship doing an exchange program at a university in Tokyo, so I know my way around the language. I am pretty nervous, have not had much chance to speak Japanese over the past year and I do not know if I can keep up with a graduate level course with out a warm up period. I do plan to take advantage of my Universities Japanese language classes.

hey midorineko,

yeah i'm in the same situtation. my prof wants me to enter the biostudies program at kyoudai in april as soon as i get there without the 6 months language studies. i told him several times that i was worried my japanese wasn't sufficient enough. i've studied japanese for 4 years at a university level, but i've never done a study abroad there (lucky you). he just assured me that although the classes are in japanese, the coursework wasn't that intensive.

i was wondering if we can change our mind after like a week or so of classes and take the language courses if we feel the classes are too hard.

i know how you feel...i'm incredibly worried about studying biology in japanese

[skfer]

is it possible to take some undergraduate or graduate classes when you are in research student period ?

[midorineko]

abeeyo_q8
Congratulations on getting into Kyoudai. Make sure you see the monkeys while in Kyoto, they are the best.
As far as I know, there is no way to do the language training without the university's recommendation. I would talk to your coordinator and see if there is anything that can be done if you are really not comfortable jumping right into class. I am thinking of buying a digital voice recorder to take down the lectures with so I can go back and study anything I miss the first time.

Skfer,
I have been told that part of being a research student is having access to basic courses at the university, but I think what you will be allowed to take is up to your school.

[abeeyo_q8]

Yeah I already bought a digital recorder. It's made by olympus. You can get it from any best buy for about a $100. It holds about 255 hours and has a built in USB drive.

[midorineko]

Thank you for the recommendation.

To all,
Since I forgot to mention it.
I hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season.

[ooilingfan]

A digital dictionary (translator) would be handy. But it's advisable to buy it in Japan. It's cheaper. =)
Happy Holidays~

[midorineko]

I plan on buying on of the Jisho pda's from Japanese language tools, but I think I will order it before I leave and have it shipped from Japan so that I can accustom myself to it before arrival.
japaneselanguagetools.com

[menrui]

i thought about buying a pda and using it as midorineko^ described, but a pda is rather exspensive. however, it does seem like a great learning tool, plus, you get a hand held computer. i was thinking about buying those mini laptops for around 300-400$. seems popular these days.

hmmm, looks like i have to wait till at least after jan.5 to get any news from my consulate. i was really hoping for an early christmas this year too haha.

happy holidays everyone~!

[abeeyo_q8]

yeah I totaly recommend an electronic dictionary or a PDA. They're so useful. I have a canon electronic dict. Been using it since soph year of college. A bit pricey. About $200 but it's so useful. But a PDA has a lot more features. Like the stylus helps with writing kanji and you can add entries to your dictionary. Not all electronic dixt have those features.

Also for those with iPhones and itouches there several Japanese dictionary apps. Some cost but some are free. So that is def another option. But I don't know how they compare to PDAs and electronic dictionaries.

[ooilingfan]

you can get an Iphone in japan that comes together with the phone line subscription. I'm thinking of getting one next April as well.

[luckyme]

Hi everybody,
It seemed that many of you received acceptance from MEXT. I don't know how many of you still wait for a final result like me. Actually, I known about this forum some months ago, since July when I search through Internet to find some tips for the interview. You guys help me a lot and I really appreciated for that. I want to wait until receive final result to join in this Forum but today I received very bad new, I feel really sad and I want to have somebody in the same boat to encourage me.
I studied Japanese for 4 years in University and took more a year to study myself. I really want to have a chance to study Master in Japan but it seemed to be difficult because my major is Econonics. Then, I quit study Japanese and started to study English. Actually, together with applied for MEXT scholarship through the Embassy, I also applied for another program scholarship at Japan. Today, I received e-mail that I failed and I'm very sad. All of my hope is now MEXT scholarship only. I don't know what should I be if I fail? :(
I ever read about the case of one people in Argentina. She said that she even deny the wedding propose to be free to go to Japan. I'm nothing compare with her but I know how shocked I am if I failed.
Last year, we received result from our Embassy this time but now I so worried that I not have enough confidence to contact with them. I scare that the result will make me hurt. Waiting is making me crazy. But how my life could me if I was failed. In addtion, my country celebrates Luner New Year and we not have holiday in Christmas time.
I hope there is somebody ever in the same situation can understand me. I'm sorry because it's quite a sad story when you are celebrate Christmas.
@Nall-Oki: I know that you are fainful. Now I have the same feeling, really disappointed. I don't know what is your major. I know another way for apply MEXT scholarship, directly through University. There are a lot of another kind of scholarships like ADB, WB, however, almost of them are for enginering programs. Unfortunately, I am not qualify for this and some another course are conducted in English which is difficult for me because my English is not as good as Japanese.

[kouki]

>luckyme

I am sorry to hear that. But don't be despaired.

You can still apply for MEXT Scholarship once you have pass your entrance examination in the graduate school. I am not sure how much is the success rate, but I think you might want to try that.

Try contact some professors, which can support you through your post graduate course. However, I think life like that would be hard then, since you have to juggle between work and study.

Anyway, you might want to consider Malaysian universities, as currently, I am seeing a huge number of Vietnamese here, studying in my university, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Just believe that there are always hopes in your life. If you are determined to get to your target, you will reach it one way or another, with your will. 諦めちゃだめ、もうすくし自信を持ってください。信念があれば、夢が必ず叶えるんです。一緒にがんばってく ださい。

[gakudan]

hey everyone.

found this forum from a google search. i actually didn't get my results yet. no email, no letter in the mail, no call from the embassy, so i'm really nervous. i know i won't get anything in the mail today because it's christmas, but maybe i'll get something in an email. it's good to see that for a lot of people there's closure in this "will i be going?" question. congratulations to those who were accepted, even the tentative ones. for the people who weren't accepted (i only saw luckyme's post but there's possibly other people too) i'm sorry to hear that. but don't give up hope though because there's always an opportunity to go to japan. just need to have the persistence.

i'll post in here again when i finally do get my notice.

[abeeyo_q8]

luckyme,

you shouldn't be so discouraged :(
i have a friend in keio university in tokyo, he's a monbusho student and he's an economics major. so don't give up just cause you think your major isn't what they want or anything like that!

[menrui]

i think kouki might have read luckymes post wrong. she was rejected from the "other" scholarship, but is still waiting for the MEXT "tentative" results(and final results). correct? so that means she still has a chance of getting the MEXT scholarship, but she is just really worried about it.

luckyme,
im sure we all understand how you feel. im still waiting for the "tentative" results too. after receiving the recommendation, your chances of receiving the scholarship should be high, but not 100% of course. im surprised to hear the story about the argentinan girl rejecting a marriage proposal. for me, im not risking anything to get this scholarship(besides money)... but i have alot to gain by receiving it.

gakudan,
i havent received anything either. if your consulate is anything like mine, your consulate should be on a big holiday break until jan5. so maybe we shouldnt expect anything until then? actually, i think my consulate is open tomorrow(friday), but i will wait until jan5 to call.

anyways, just be pantient guys! the results will come out soon im sure.

[ooilingfan]

abeeyo is right, luckyme
don't give up just yet. You've come this far.
I've been rejected by scholarships, perhaps more than anyone else here. Just this year alone i have been rejected 4 times. This is also my last shot.
So hang in there girl. We're all in the same boat.
Lets pray for a great year ahead with MEXT!

[kouki]

>menrui,

You are right, I am sorry. I think I might have misunderstood what luckyme said... but anyway, I was trying to offer some plan B, C, D... to him...

[luckyme]

Hi guys,
Thank U all. I fell better now. At least, I'm not the one who is waiting for the final result. Let's pray!
I had just contact to my Consulate today. They still not have the result. May be early next year, I'll know it. Usually, in my country, we know the result right after Christmas. However, it seemed to be late this year. I'm so anxious now.
About the way to receive the result. I think it's quite different between many countries. I'm worried when some of you said that receive e-mail, phone call from your Consulate. In my country, actually, the official result is post on the website of Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). All of news from Consulate is not official and I remember that through many process from document review round to interview round, I never received any e-mail, call from both MOET and Consulate. It's all post all the website.So don't be worry if you still not receive anything. I fell better to have more people on the same boat.

[ooilingfan]

don't worry luckyme,
we're all in the same boat here. And we've all tried our best. If it doesn't turn out as expected, we can always try again next year. And life still offers a lot of options other than MEXT.
Btw, which Uni did you apply to? Didn't recall you mentioning that.

[gakudan]

gakudan,
i havent received anything either. if your consulate is anything like mine, your consulate should be on a big holiday break until jan5. so maybe we shouldnt expect anything until then? actually, i think my consulate is open tomorrow(friday), but i will wait until jan5 to call.

that's probably what's going on with the consulate here. i noticed your flag is american too and since your place's consulate is on break at the moment, maybe the consulate here is as well. thanks for the info, at least some of my stress is alleviated :)

anyways, i applied for the under 21 study abroad program (the special skills one? i think that's it) and i had to apply through a branch of school in my college's program, and i think that's the only one my school offers. so if i don't get it this time, i don't think i can apply for any more with MEXT. and i didn't apply to any university, i just had to take the exams, go through the interview, and do the official application after being nominated. maybe i'll choose it if i get selected, or maybe MEXT will. stress!
btw, how was everyone's grades in high school and college? because my grades were okay in high school (i was a B-average student), but good in college so i'm not sure if my grades will/did play a part in the selection process...

anyways, good luck everyone!

[Nall-ohki]

@Nall-Oki: I know that you are fainful. Now I have the same feeling, really disappointed. I don't know what is your major. I know another way for apply MEXT scholarship, directly through University. There are a lot of another kind of scholarships like ADB, WB, however, almost of them are for enginering programs. Unfortunately, I am not qualify for this and some another course are conducted in English which is difficult for me because my English is not as good as Japanese.

Yeah. My plan is basically to be on the waiting list and apply directly to Hokkaido University. Though I like the laboratory at Tokyo University best, I can't afford to go there on my own money. I'll keep trying for scholarships and probably apply to MEXT as a domestic student for next year, but I'm pretty doubtful as to whether or not I'll get it.

This is my 4th year in a row trying to go to school in Japan, and my 2nd applying for the MEXT scholarship, so I'm a bit jaded at this point, but determined that it will finally happen this year.

My major is Computational Linguistics, and that may or may not play a role in my non-recipience of the scholarship.

[dblbstrd]

Nall, that sucks man, I was hoping you'd get it this time around.. Hope you still can make it over, and if you do, drop me a line!

Midorineko: Oregon consulate huh? Small world, did you go to either UO or OSU by chance?

[midorineko]

dblbstrd
I graduated from the UO in 2007. I take it you are from my neck of the woods?

[dblbstrd]

I'll be damned, a fellow duck!
I graduated UO March 08, came to Japan April 1.
I probably don't know ya though, I had temporarily stopped studying Japanese after I transferred into UO...

[midorineko]

I was on a study abroad program for 2006 at JWU in Tokyo. I finished all the credits for my Japanese major while I was there, so when I came home in 2007 I took 2 terms of nothing but history to complete my history major and then graduated. Unless you really like history, our paths probably haven't crossed. Still, good to know that there are other ducks around.

[c0ok1e]

Hi everyone,

I have something that im worying about here and I hope that those who have the answer can help me. Im just wondering if the Japanese especially the scholarship and university side (professor, admin office) are conservative or open minded? Do they judge people by how they look? What do they think about guys who wear earring, coloured their hair in bright colours and have tattoos? Will someone like that be discriminated and they have prejudice against people like that? I have read in books that Japanese are conservative last time but im not sure about now.. Really hope they dont discriminate people like that and treat everyone equally...Please share.. Thanks :souka:

[dblbstrd]

Hi everyone,
I have something that im worying about here and I hope that those who have the answer can help me. Im just wondering if the Japanese especially the scholarship and university side (professor, admin office) are conservative or open minded? Do they judge people by how they look? What do they think about guys who wear earring, coloured their hair in bright colours and have tattoos? Will someone like that be discriminated and they have prejudice against people like that? I have read in books that Japanese are conservative last time but im not sure about now.. Really hope they dont discriminate people like that and treat everyone equally...Please share.. Thanks :souka:
Well, Japan tends to be pretty conservative about those sorts of things, yes, but it really depends on who you're dealing with. What I would say is, do your best to be prepared to make little adjustments if necessary to make it not stand out as much if you need to dress for a conference or anything of that sort, but overall, as both a student and foreigner I think you'll be expected less to conform to the conservative standards. I tend to make some appearance choices that are not in line with the conservative ways, and maybe people have a negative image of me as a result, but my professor doesn't seem to take issue with it.

midorineko, I had a buddy who was a history major but I never took any history myself...
Anyway, I hope that your study from here on out goes nicely! Very brave of you to pick Tokyo (I think that was where you're going right?), I'd get burned out pretty quickly if I was there... I did last time for sure.

By the way if any of you guys looking at the denshi-jisho stuff also like playing video games at all, a Nintendo DS could be a reasonable substitute for the denshi-jisho, as there is some dictionary software available for it. The hardware plus that software costs only a bit more than the cheapest electronic dictionaries (a lot less than the more spendy ones), but with that you get multi purpose, since you can play games on it too. There are also some nice kanji-training titles, like 200man-nin no kanken. I don't really use mine that much anymore but it can sure help you beef up your reading and writing if you make a habit of using it a lot.
The dictionary title's database is perhaps not the most extensive but it has a lot of what you'll need probably, and if nothing else it can help you figure out kanji that you don't know how to read, even if the definition you need isn't there.

[gakudan]

By the way if any of you guys looking at the denshi-jisho stuff also like playing video games at all, a Nintendo DS could be a reasonable substitute for the denshi-jisho, as there is some dictionary software available for it. The hardware plus that software costs only a bit more than the cheapest electronic dictionaries (a lot less than the more spendy ones), but with that you get multi purpose, since you can play games on it too. There are also some nice kanji-training titles, like 200man-nin no kanken. I don't really use mine that much anymore but it can sure help you beef up your reading and writing if you make a habit of using it a lot.
The dictionary title's database is perhaps not the most extensive but it has a lot of what you'll need probably, and if nothing else it can help you figure out kanji that you don't know how to read, even if the definition you need isn't there.

to add to your post (thanks for this idea btw) the nintendo ds also makes use of the touch pad so people using the dictionary can write the kanji. the newer denshi jisho have touch pads too but if you have a nintendo ds all ready then it's good to just get a dictionary game for it rather than buying another dictionary device.

btw i don't think anybody saw my question in my previous post, but to those that got picked for the scholarship all ready (and to everyone in general) how were your grades in high school and college? my grades were above average (good) but not 4.0 gpa average. so i know that all ready jeopardizes my chances of being picked.

[dblbstrd]

to add to your post (thanks for this idea btw) the nintendo ds also makes use of the touch pad so people using the dictionary can write the kanji. the newer denshi jisho have touch pads too but if you have a nintendo ds all ready then it's good to just get a dictionary game for it rather than buying another dictionary device.

btw i don't think anybody saw my question in my previous post, but to those that got picked for the scholarship all ready (and to everyone in general) how were your grades in high school and college? my grades were above average (good) but not 4.0 gpa average. so i know that all ready jeopardizes my chances of being picked.

You don't have to have a 4.0 to get picked... not by a long shot, I'd say.
If you're around 3.0 or up, I'd say you're probably in good enough shape in that department.

I think I read that you were applying for the special training college category. That being the case, the tests that you took might be somewhat important, and possibly whether or not there's a school that would like to take you. Beyond that, who knows how they make the decision, it's a complete mystery to most of us. In that category, the US applicants are not really favored, but they do still take a few people.
If you don't get it this time around, keep in mind the post grad research student program for after you finish college! It's quite competitive, but the slots are more plentiful than the training college and undergrad categories...

[abeeyo_q8]

gakudan,

i wouldn't be too worried about your high school grades. they only asked for a transcript from your college anyways...there's no way they'll even know if you got a 4.0 or a 2.0 in high school

and i agree with dblbstrd...i think as all as you're above a 3.0 (college) than it'll be fine

[gakudan]

You don't have to have a 4.0 to get picked... not by a long shot, I'd say.
If you're around 3.0 or up, I'd say you're probably in good enough shape in that department.
I think I read that you were applying for the special training college category. That being the case, the tests that you took might be somewhat important, and possibly whether or not there's a school that would like to take you. Beyond that, who knows how they make the decision, it's a complete mystery to most of us. In that category, the US applicants are not really favored, but they do still take a few people.
If you don't get it this time around, keep in mind the post grad research student program for after you finish college! It's quite competitive, but the slots are more plentiful than the training college and undergrad categories...

actually, just my luck i'm from hawai‘i :D and the amount of japanese people that love to come here is amazing. so maybe that could boost my chances. that won't boost my chances astoundingly high though, i'm sure of that. i'm trying hard not to get my hopes up. just going to be as neutral as possible. and yeah that's what i applied for, special training college student (forgot the name when i last posted, thanks for reminding me).

gakudan,
i wouldn't be too worried about your high school grades. they only asked for a transcript from your college anyways...there's no way they'll even know if you got a 4.0 or a 2.0 in high school
and i agree with dblbstrd...i think as all as you're above a 3.0 (college) than it'll be fine

thing is though for the special training college applicants (me) i was required to turn in my transcript from my last 3 years of school. at the time of applying (june of this year) i had completed my second year of college, meaning i needed 1 year of high school transcript + 2 years of college transcript to equal the last 3 years of school. because my high school doesn't give out transcripts by year (it's 1 transcript for all 4 years of high school only) i was worrying the judges would criticize me severely because of my lacking in grades in freshman year in high school. sorry if that's confusing, but that's basically why i was worrying :souka:

anyways thanks for the replies, i appreciate it :)

[kouki]

>c0ok1e
From my Japanese friends, their parents would be very angrying seeing their children piercing or tatooing. Maybe they are conservative to that point that, as a human being, they should appreciate and respect what the parents have given to them (not trying to insult - sorry if I sounded so. That's my Japanese friend's opinion).

[kouki]

>c0ok1e
From my Japanese friends, their parents would be very angrying seeing their children piercing or tatooing. Maybe they are conservative to that point that, as a human being, they should appreciate and respect what the parents have given to them (not trying to insult - sorry if I sounded so. That's my Japanese friend's opinion).

[ooilingfan]

well gakudan,
if you're doing well in your final high school years and college years, i don't think there's a problem. It shows that you've grown into a better student and improved tremendously in your academic achievements.
I got a friend, his position in our year was over 450 out of 500 students during lower secondary school. In 4th year of high school, he shot up to 18 out of 500, and was one of the top seeds in olympia physics competition.
He is now in Kyoto Uni on MEXT undergrad, next year he'll be in Tokyo Uni in collaboration with CERN.
His story always inspires me.
Your past is not important as long as you know what you're doing in the present. And if you can convince them, there's no reason they'll reject you.
All the best,mate!
Btw, i never been to Hawaii, hope to visit there these few years...heard it's spectacular.

[luckyme]

Hi guys, I wonder that is there any people receive news from their applied University (not from their Consulate). It is because I remember that someone in this forum said that they informed by their applied University before by the Consulate. I e-mailed to my University but didn't receive reply yet.
@Nall-Oki: In my experience by searching scholarship information learning in Japan through Internet, many Vietnamese students who major are computer received scholarship from Japanese government. Most of them are not applied through Embassy but applied through University. They contacted with proffessors and the professors recommend them to MEXT or other kind of scholarships such as ADB. Vietnamese students are not good at English as you, of course, but I think they are good at math and all of them are hard-working cause I know that learning computer mean that you have to say a long time at lab. So if you did fail as much as 3 times by applied through Embassy, I think you should try by a new method. That would be better than following the same way many times. I think that it will be the same as solving a math problem. If you can't solve by one way, you have to try another. It;s waste of time to do the same thing many times.
Just try your best and good luck!

[ooilingfan]

well luckyme's got a point.
nall,
have you checked with the consulate to find out whether having being a past recipient affects your future applications?

[abeeyo_q8]

Hi guys, I wonder that is there any people receive news from their applied University (not from their Consulate). It is because I remember that someone in this forum said that they informed by their applied University before by the Consulate. I e-mailed to my University but didn't receive reply yet.



yeah i was contacting my designated supervisor in japan first...then a few weeks later the embassy contacted me

but at some point or another your consulate/embassy should contact you cause MEXT deals with them to contact you

[Nall-ohki]

well luckyme's got a point.
nall,
have you checked with the consulate to find out whether having being a past recipient affects your future applications?

Yeah, and they unfortunately have no idea. MEXT has their own ways of deciding on these things, and they don't elaborate on them, so what are you going to do?

[ooilingfan]

Yeah, and they unfortunately have no idea. MEXT has their own ways of deciding on these things, and they don't elaborate on them, so what are you going to do?

that sucks man. hope you can make it eventually this round.

[rihoko]

Just wanted to check, the age limit of this is 35 right? I vaguely recall when I looked into this some years ago.
My junior got in pretty easy (albeit he went into economics, maybe it's easier there), he took the EJU to help boost his paper record too.

[kawabanga]

Hi all!

Wishing everybody a healthy and prosperous new year!

It is a beautiful day isn't it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rONm4__mViQ&feature=related (Sarah Brightman - It's a Beautiful Day)

[ooilingfan]

GoOd ByE 2008...

WelCoME 2009

HaPpY NeW YeAR EveryBoDy!!!!

[gakudan]

well gakudan,
if you're doing well in your final high school years and college years, i don't think there's a problem. It shows that you've grown into a better student and improved tremendously in your academic achievements.
I got a friend, his position in our year was over 450 out of 500 students during lower secondary school. In 4th year of high school, he shot up to 18 out of 500, and was one of the top seeds in olympia physics competition.
He is now in Kyoto Uni on MEXT undergrad, next year he'll be in Tokyo Uni in collaboration with CERN.
His story always inspires me.
Your past is not important as long as you know what you're doing in the present. And if you can convince them, there's no reason they'll reject you.
All the best,mate!
Btw, i never been to Hawaii, hope to visit there these few years...heard it's spectacular.

i'm actually in somewhat the same position as your friend. i graduated from high school in the lower part of the class but in college i'm maintaining a 3.41 gpa. i know i have the potential to do good and i tried to show as much as i could in the written statement that even though my grades lacked in high school (i didn't tell them my grades were bad but if they saw my transcript they would understand) i ended up gaining the determination to want to do better. it's just a matter of waiting for results now. thanks for the confidence boost. i'm glad i found this forum :D

ha ha it's all right here. i dunno why so many japanese tourists come here but it's good for me because it's beneficial japanese language practice. the other islands are fun but o‘ahu is too city-like all ready (basically not much "paradise" left in it). you should visit though, when the economy gets better :D

btw whoever mentioned calling the japanese consulate to find out if they received the results, thanks for suggesting doing that. i called the japanese consulate here and found out they are closed until january 4 so i'll just have to wait another 5 days or so.

[menrui]

rihoko,
yes the age limit is 35.

cookie,
i now have a mental image of you. btw, did you ever receive the tentative letter?

gakudan,
i dont think i was the one to tell you to call, but i was the one who told you to wait until jan5. im not sure about the "special training", but the research applicant usually get their results around christmas/new years. but since our consulate is on holidays, they might have the results just sitting in their office. im hoping for good news on jan5! good luck to you and me both~ and every one else that is waiting for results.

[rihoko]

thank you, menrui san :) i still have time then.

[skfer]

first post in the new year, happy new year every body..and I hope this year will be better than the pervious one..

[kshoo]

Hi all,

Wishing everyone a very Happy 2009! May the new year bring much joy and luck to all! Let's all hope that the new year will definitely bring more good news to all of us here.

[dblbstrd]

btw whoever mentioned calling the japanese consulate to find out if they received the results, thanks for suggesting doing that. i called the japanese consulate here and found out they are closed until january 4 so i'll just have to wait another 5 days or so.

I wouldn't worry about calling your Consulate. They'll probably let you know pretty much as soon as they get the scoop.
They're closed for the first few days of the new year in observance of the same holiday period as everything in Japan-- the Japanese government is closed down for the holiday as well.
So, just hang in there and be patient!

[ooilingfan]

I wouldn't worry about calling your Consulate. They'll probably let you know pretty much as soon as they get the scoop.
They're closed for the first few days of the new year in observance of the same holiday period as everything in Japan-- the Japanese government is closed down for the holiday as well.
So, just hang in there and be patient!

yea...
looking back, 2008 has been a long year. Now that 2009 is here, can't help it but all of us are SUPER ANXIOUS now! hehehe

[midorineko]

Happy New Year One and All.
To those who have received notice, may the new year bring much excitement.
To those still waiting, may you hear good news soon.
I hope everyone has a happy and healthy year.

[c0ok1e]

cookie,
i now have a mental image of you. btw, did you ever receive the tentative letter?



LOL..I hope its a good mental image...Im still hoping I will get the confirmation soon.. or maybe is it they spy on this forum and decided not to give me anything based on what I post here?:blush:

[menrui]

i really dont think "they" read this forum... but i cant really prove that.

anyways, there are still people waiting with you (like me). just keep in mind that they are evaluating thousands(?) of applications and sending results around the holidays. hang in there~

[gakudan]

gakudan,
i dont think i was the one to tell you to call, but i was the one who told you to wait until jan5. im not sure about the "special training", but the research applicant usually get their results around christmas/new years. but since our consulate is on holidays, they might have the results just sitting in their office. im hoping for good news on jan5! good luck to you and me both~ and every one else that is waiting for results.

that's what i'm thinking. my results are here but not "here" (in my possession) all ready. only have to wait a few more days for the consulate to open, so i'm anticipating that day i finally get a notice. i'm hoping for good news for everyone too :)

I wouldn't worry about calling your Consulate. They'll probably let you know pretty much as soon as they get the scoop.
They're closed for the first few days of the new year in observance of the same holiday period as everything in Japan-- the Japanese government is closed down for the holiday as well.
So, just hang in there and be patient!

i was mainly worrying because i saw a video on youtube of a girl that got her acceptance notice in the middle of december (december 18), so going by that date my acceptance/denial notice should have come in all ready. by december 23 i was thinking someone was stealing our mail ha ha. then i found out that the consulate would be closed during the end of 2008/beginning of 2009 so a little bit of reassurance came around.

good luck to everyone, even though the only thing we can do is wait. and happy 2009!

[menrui]

January 5! its almost here.

its pointless to check you post mail. i think everyone in the US will get confirmation by phone call, or maybe even email. even though i said that, i admit, i too have been checking my post every day for some odd reason...

i was curious so i searched for the youtube video too haha. seems like she was going crazy waiting too. i also prepared a video for that occasion too:

W8r559C51uE
(no the video isnt really mine, but it sums up how i would feel)

[ooilingfan]

Menrui and Gakudan!
you both are making us Xtra nervous!
any fellow malaysians who happens to hear that OUR results are HERE at the embassy of BOLEHLand already? (thought it was pretty cool to have a nickname to our country, though not as cool as the 'land of the rising sun')

[dblbstrd]

Just keep hangin' in there, guys, some people get their notices earlier but they have a lot of work to do so I'm sure it takes 'em some time to get around to everyone... probably pretty well through January.
If you do get in on the scholarship, you'll find that the communication is a little slow, too.. but in the end, it all comes together ;-)
And once you get to Japan, you don't really hear much of anything from MEXT except when your prof. has to submit papers to renew your research student status (every 6 months) or bump you up to full grad student.

[gakudan]

menrui:
at first i kept checking my mailbox because i thought she said she got a letter in her mailbox. then around christmas eve i watched the video i was talking about again and heard her say she got a message in her inbox (not her mailbox). so then i thought damn, well okay at least i don't have to worry about people stealing my mail ha ha. but yeah now i know that when the consulate opens, i'll find out.

btw if anyone else is curious, the video i saw on youtube of the girl talking about being accepted is called "Hellfire Burn Burn!" and she's wearing a green shirt. sorry forgot to mention that.

ooilingfan:
sorry :P ha ha. apparently we're all anxious about everyone getting their notices. that's cool though. we can only hope for the best.

[ooilingfan]

January 5! its almost here.

its pointless to check you post mail. i think everyone in the US will get confirmation by phone call, or maybe even email. even though i said that, i admit, i too have been checking my post every day for some odd reason...

i was curious so i searched for the youtube video too haha. seems like she was going crazy waiting too. i also prepared a video for that occasion too:

W8r559C51uE
(no the video isnt really mine, but it sums up how i would feel)

very good video to mark THAT day. =)
The day that changes your life forever.

[gakudan]

hopefully tomorrow!

[menrui]

gakudan!
keep your cell phone charged, or you home phone plugged in! i think im going to wait for them to call me... and if they dont, i will call them in the afternoon. ha.

[gakudan]

gakudan!
keep your cell phone charged, or you home phone plugged in! i think im going to wait for them to call me... and if they dont, i will call them in the afternoon. ha.

ha ha ha :D
cell phone = fully charged. but gonna leave it plugged in the charger anyways. actually i don't think the japanese consulate has my cell phone number but my advisor that helped me with the application has it.
computer = staying on. its usually on anyways.
email = all set up to display new emails automatically.

but i'm like you, if i don't receive anything in the morning i'm going to call them and see what's up. ahhhhhhh the stress :P hopefully we get good news!

[clockworkorange]

Hello everybody!!

A very happy new year to everyone!!! Sorry my greetings come so late.

Anyway, may this year bring blessings to everyone and lots of good news!!!
I really like coming here now (to the forum)...its finally january and i'm so excited about the results i feel like talking about it all the time. Most of my friends don't really care. i suppose that's understandable since its not their dreams at stake. But there seems to be an air of anticipation in the forum. I hope we all get it. I keep checking my phone/my email/my mailbox. :P

I hope the results come out soon. all this anticipation/nervousness will kill me.

[ooilingfan]

haha, yeah, I'm trying to resist calling our embassy. But i'm confident that our embassy will diffuse the news to us as soon as they get it, so calling them earlier doesn't really help.

Don't know how early is "Early January" according to our embassy? =)

[kouki]

Hopefully before 10 January? Since in Japanese, they are dividing the month into three portion, early, mid and late of the month(上旬、中旬、下旬). :cool:　Hopefully it is true. I am very nervous now.

[Vyen]

same situation here..very nervous..
Just tender my resignation letter to my manager although haven't receive the confirmation yet.:relief:
hope to get the news soon...

[ooilingfan]

first day passed.... no news.
Let's see whether it's tomorrow.

omg, Vyen
you are so confident. Kudos to you
i hope i have that kind of courage =p
my colleague just tendered his resignation, i was like, omg, somebody beat me to it, haha.
Well, my boss naturally let his share of workload fall on me, i pity the next guy in line when i tender mine. hehehe. Double the weight.

[ShayLee]

Hello!
Oh wow, I'm glad I can share my anxiety with someone, even though I applied for undergraduate. I was chosen as a spare candidate back in june, which is enough to make days in january one nervous nightmare >_<
Best of luck to everyone!!!

[luckyme]

Vyen, Ooilingfan,
As I see in your flag, two of you come from Malaysia. Sorry if I don't remember exactly but I think that you guys in Malaysia had results some weeks ago cause there are some post about tentatively selected very long time previously. So I don't understand why you are still waiting and nervous?

[ooilingfan]

Well, it's "tentative", and not confirmed.
I still need that confirmation letter, giving me all the details as a 'go ahead' for my resignation, visa and stuff. The last piece of the puzzle...
Nothing is for sure until i see the take off date printed in BOLD. =p

[menrui]

yes, and not ALL malaysians have received the tentative letter.

okay~ so i ended up calling my consulate today. my usual coordination wasnt there, and i was told he would be back next week :( . but, the person who answered the phone was willing to look around for me. he said he couldnt find any updates regarding the scholarships :( x2.

however, he gave me some reassurance, which is alot better than nothing. he told me, applicants who receive recommendation from the consulate for "research"(not you gakudan) will end up receiving it "98%" of the time.(i cant explain what happen to nall) . its really a matter of which school i will be placed in, so i shouldnt be worried. then, i told him i was worried because of the recession. he chuckled then replied, the quotas for this year are fixed. the recession should not affect this years' scholarship. if there is an affect, would only apply to next years applicants and so forth.(sorry next years applicants), so i shouldnt worry about that either, and should continue to wait patiently.

my hope are up a bit, just a little bit. im still very nervous.

[kimberleylhj]

i have faith in everyone!! =P

[clockworkorange]

Hey everyone!!

Sorry to hear you didn't get through to your usual coordinator, menrui. but at least you have some reassurance. It kinda reassured me as well though i don't know if whatever the person at the embassy said applies to us Malaysians. Though the bit about the recession should though.

Anyway, i remember someone posting that Ms. Yin said she thinks the results would be out in early Jan? I was going to call the embassy after receiving the letter about the tentative confirmation but I didn't since i read here somewhere that another person called the embassy and talked to Ms. Yin. I don't remember who it was though. I hope thats true. We'll see how today goes. Grin.

Plus, Vyen, you resigned already? Cool. But were you planning to resign anyway though? I don't have the courage to resign without a confirmation so i think what you did was pretty cool. I mean you have to just go for it, don't you? I'm not looking forward to tendering my resignation. I like my boss (despite the work) so i think it'd be hard to break the news. But i'll deal with that when i actually get a confirmation. :P

[Vyen]

I can't wait for the confirmation since no one knows the exact date. So, I have to tender my resignation letter earlier. My company required us to give 2 months notice and it is better to give it earlier for a smooth transition.:relief:

Good luck, everyone~~~

[ooilingfan]

however, he gave me some reassurance, which is alot better than nothing. he told me, applicants who receive recommendation from the consulate for "research"(not you gakudan) will end up receiving it "98%" of the time.(i cant explain what happen to nall) . its really a matter of which school i will be placed in, so i shouldnt be worried. then, i told him i was worried because of the recession. he chuckled then replied, the quotas for this year are fixed. the recession should not affect this years' scholarship. if there is an affect, would only apply to next years applicants and so forth.(sorry next years applicants), so i shouldnt worry about that either, and should continue to wait patiently.

my hope are up a bit, just a little bit. im still very nervous.

Wow, that's a very good reassurance and great news,menrui, second only to getting the confirmation =)
Hang in there man, i'm sure yours will come real soon now.
Happy to know we're not affected and chances are pretty good there.

And clockworkorange,
agreed with you, i like my job too, so i really can't bump up my courage and resign now. Though it'll be good for me to get more time off preparing for the departure. Hope the news doesn't come too late, it's bad to go off in a rush and dump all the work behind. I surely can't start the 'handover' now or signal my boss to look for replacement =p

[Nall-ohki]

yes, and not ALL malaysians have received the tentative letter.

however, he gave me some reassurance, which is alot better than nothing. he told me, applicants who receive recommendation from the consulate for "research"(not you gakudan) will end up receiving it "98%" of the time.(i cant explain what happen to nall).

I'm assuming you're in Malaysia, right?

The US doesn't have such assurances, from what I understand.

[ooilingfan]

yea it's kinda getting more and more stressed as the days go by.
Guess i'll have to pull the plug like Vyen after Jan 15 if still no news... risky..... I need to serve 2 months' notice as well.

menrui is from America, Nall

[gakudan]

he told me, applicants who receive recommendation from the consulate for "research"(not you gakudan) will end up receiving it "98%" of the time.

ha :( well hopefully things go well with you, especially with that extremely high percentage of success for research applicants. fill us in when you find out new things :)

as for me, here's where i stand:
i called the japanese consulate about 5 minutes ago because i wasn't told of any new information in an email or cell phone call. they ended up having the same recording as during the new years vacation, saying they were closed until january 4th and if it's an emergency call the emergency hotline or something. then the lady in the recording said the office is open from 8 to 12, then 1 to 3. it was 4:08 when i called >_> guess i gotta call back tomorrow. bummer.... i'm still clueless about everything. and school starts next week so i'm hoping i find out before school starts so i can cancel my tuition and get full refund if i do receive the study abroad program.

i agree with ooilingfan. the stress level is really high right now because i was hoping i would find out today at least.

btw just out of curiosity, what program did you guys/girls apply for? all i know is menrui applied for the research program and i applied for the special training college student program.

[menrui]

err, i think nall is being sarcastic. i too thought it was weird when i was told "dont worry"/"98%" because of nall's case. but right now, its good to hear anything positive.

[ooilingfan]

i suppose most of the Malaysians here applied for Research. That's what the scholarship is about "MEXT: postgraduate research student for 2009". Unless there are others who applied through a different channel and ended in the same "waiting chamber" now. =)
The chamber is getting stuffy and i'm restless. Gosh.... when will the door open.

[Nall-ohki]

err, i think nall is being sarcastic. i too thought it was weird when i was told "dont worry"/"98%" because of nall's case. but right now, its good to hear anything positive.

I actually wasn't. My consulate refuses to give me any information on likelihood of success.

Kinda depressing if the number is accurate.

[ooilingfan]

damn it really sucks man

[kimberleylhj]

Still feel that Nall-ohki's case should at least be justified....

[c0ok1e]

waiting everyday will drive u guys crazy especially when u anticipate it coming the next day and the next and the next... Im sure u guys are experienced in this feeling..just relax and calm down because i think the results wont be out so soon..shud b around end of january and im expecting after chinese new year because in the letter earlier it says final results is at end of january.. good luck guys

[Nall-ohki]

Most likely reason is that I received a scholarship previously from MEXT. It's the only real thing I can figure.

Still, if that were the case, I really wish they would have told me before I wasted two years applying.

[menrui]

i meant, i thought you were being sarcastic about my being from malaysia because i clearly have a US flag under my avatar.

anyways, i also think that your previous MEXT scholarship is the reason you are becoming an alternate. i posted this up a while back, but maybe everyone missed it. its from the guidelines:

Scholarships will not be awarded in the following cases:
~
3: The Applicant was a grantee of a Japanese Government Scholarship in the past will not be selected unless he/she has had at
least three years of research or teaching experience after returning to his/her home country. This exclusion will not apply to
a research-student applicant, who (i) as a foreign student in Japan received training in the Japanese language and/or Japanese
culture at a university and graduated from it
~~

[Nall-ohki]

Scholarships will not be awarded in the following cases:
~
3: The Applicant was a grantee of a Japanese Government Scholarship in the past will not be selected unless he/she has had at
least three years of research or teaching experience after returning to his/her home country. This exclusion will not apply to
a research-student applicant, who (i) as a foreign student in Japan received training in the Japanese language and/or Japanese
culture at a university and graduated from it

Menrui -
Yeah, I was confused - someone else on here that I regularly talk to uses a different flag than their actual nationality and I think I confused you with them. Sorry.

That is probably the factor, however, if you notice: I fit that exact exclusion: I received the MEXT scholarship for Japanese language study and successfully completed my period of study.

In all likelyhood, that subtlety is lost on whoever read my application at MEXT.

In any case, I'm pretty depressed at this point. Plan G looks very likely to work, but I'm still pretty down about this stuff happening. It's not entirely that I won't get the scholarship, it's the fact that I feel semi betrayed by the institution that had done me a good turn in the past.

Also, I feel like I've somehow "lost" in all of this. The scholarship was more than a prize for me - it was an opportunity to go to school where/how I wanted to, unlike my undergrad, where I had to choose a local school because neither I nor my family could afford it. It's really, really disappointing.

I will go to grad school, most likely at my 2nd choice for schools. The first one is too expensive for me to cover with my savings, unfortunately, and is no longer taking applicants for April - I'd have to wait for October, a short period, seemingly, but one far too long off for the me that has waited so long already.

[clockworkorange]

Nall-ohki,

For what its worth i'm really sorry they picked you as an alternate again. Although like you said, you could still get it.

But i kinda understand how you feel cause i couldn't really pick and choose where i wanted to go for my undergraduate studies - also because i couldn;t afford it. :P
Not that i didn't enjoy my time as an undergraduate but i felt and still feel like i should have been experiencing a lot more.

So i really hope plan G works or that you get the scholarship in the end.

All the best.

[ooilingfan]

Perhaps you can check with your consulate when you're sending in your application this march (if you're planning to re-apply), let them know clearly what is your status and mention to them THAT clause that menrui posted (the clause is what i thought might be your case as well). I don't know exactly what happen but just a speculation: Perhaps they overlooked the detail of your status, perhaps your case fell into a crack/loophole that they can't justify, or perhaps they just tightened the rules and rule out all previous reciepient to open up more seats for new applicants.
So maybe you can ask their advise on what you should do in this year's march application.

I know there are a lot of hidden clauses in scholarships. Some are even not stated due to "terms and conditions are subjected to change without prior notice" kinda things. I'm dealing with a lot with student scholarships in a local private university and frankly, i see disappointed faces more than joyous ones. It really sucks, but there's hardly anything we can do to fight the terms and conditions. What i do is try my best to look for loopholes to get students in for borderline cases. And pray that i won't end up like them. (Hope karma doesn't come on me =( )

I also ended up in a not-so-favoured-by-me university for my degree due to my poor financial background. I scored straight in my high school exam, i was denied scholarships after scholarships, and i truly understand what is it like to be treated unfairly.

Anyway i still hope they'll revise your alternate status and grant you the scholarship. If it's their mistake for overlooking your special status, they shouldn't put you through another year of hell.

[gakudan]

to Nall-ohki:
the best thing to do is to try to not get your hopes up. it's best to be neutral about situations so if things go great (you get selected) then your happiness will shoot sky high, but if this doesn't follow through for you then you hopefully won't feel as down as you would be if you're anticipating good results. sorry if that doesn't make sense, but keep us updated on things as they go along.

anyways, i called the japanese consulate/embassy here. got transferred to someone who knew more info and she was looking for the results but couldn't find them. so i gave her my name and phone number and now i'm waiting for her to call back. so that's where i stand right now.

[Nall-ohki]

to Nall-ohki:
the best thing to do is to try to not get your hopes up. it's best to be neutral about situations so if things go great (you get selected) then your happiness will shoot sky high, but if this doesn't follow through for you then you hopefully won't feel as down as you would be if you're anticipating good results.

Good advice. Believe me, I preach this gospel. I have had nothing but terrible luck with this sort of thing dating far back (this scholarship is only a small part).

My anger/depression is more or less because I feel like a bit of a fool for spending two years waiting on this, when I could have made alternate arrangements. Two years in which I didn't put down roots because of my plans to leave. Two years doing stuff I didn't enjoy when I had the option to go. Though my two years in wait haven't been horrible, and had good things come of them, they are two years where I suppressed what I wanted, for no reward at the end.

[gakudan]

i didn't get it

[ooilingfan]

what the?
is it cofirmed?

[gakudan]

yeah. this is part of what my advisor sent me in an email:

I regret to inform you that the selection was finalized by Monbukagakusho in Tokyo and unfortunately you were not selected to receive the scholarship for the 2009-2012 Monbukagakusho Scholarship.

It appears that the selection process was a particularly competitive this time around and only one person was selected from the entire United States. Besides this information, unfortunately Monbukagakusho has not disclosed any information regarding the selection.

one person being selected out of everyone in the u.s. is pretty rough. it's no problem though. i'm glad i was at least nominated for it. there's other programs i can go for here, i just wanted to do the monbukagakusho special skills one because i was able to make the age limit. its cool, i'll do a 1 year program instead and look for scholarships through that.

hopefully everyone else gets good news though :)

edit: this is a necessary edit. i applied for the special training skills program. sorry for getting everyone nervous about finding out their results :(

[ooilingfan]

i'm sorry to hear that.
But the competition is really rough in the U.S.

Wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

[gakudan]

thanks, yo. i remember sometime around when i joined this forum, someone in here was saying the competition in the u.s. is rough (maybe it was you, ooilingfan) but no bother. yeah i'll get there eventually. :) thanks for the encouragement; i really appreciate it.

oh yeah and my advisor sent me a link to study abroad programs that my university runs. i'm just going to go for them. a positive thing through all of this though is that i can at least graduate from my college i'm attending now. in the summer, right before school starts in october. so yeah, there's still other opportunities to study in japan.

[clockworkorange]

I'm really sorry about the news, gakudan.

All the best for the future. at least now you know the results you can concentrate on something else.

The news dampened my spirits a bit. If i were really honest, i was expecting most of us here to get it. Just goes to show that you really shouldn't pin everything on this.

Still, best of luck to everyone.

Plus someone posted that the results could be out by the end of January...

Maybe we (the ones in Malaysia at least) should look forward to the CNY holidays first... :P

[kimberleylhj]

gakudan, yeap.. there's certainly still other opportunities to study in japan. i'm sure you'll able to realise that somehow. all the best!!

[Nall-ohki]

.

I salute your attempt. It's sad you didn't get it, but take care of yourself. If you need to vent or anything, feel free to PM me. Believe me, I know how you feel.

I'm curious, though - where'd you get the information that there is only 1 recipient for the US?

If that's so, I'm a little suspicious.

[kouki]

>gakudan
I am sorry to hear that news too. Good luck for your studies and your plan!

[Vyen]

gakudan,

Sorry about the news.
But it is quite weird to hear that only 1 recipient in US. It is the economy in Japan become so bad and this is the outcome? I don't think they budgeted just for 1 person for 2009 in last year's budget.

[kouki]

I think gakudan did mention that he is applying for special training of Monbukagakusho. Maybe the number of receipient would be less for that category.

[menrui]

wow, im really sorry to hear that gakudan. this makes me a bit more nervous too.

the "special training" scholarship does seem really competitive. according to this: http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/toj0306e.html ,
110slots for 49 countries, thats like 2 per country. even more, its designated for "developing countries", which isnt the US.

good luck with those study abroad programs and enjoy the rest of your college life. and since you are graduating soon, have you thought about research/graduate school? if so, you should try applying for the "research" student scholarship, like most of us here. there are more slots available and you already have the experience of getting the recommendation for the special training scholarship. plus, im sure everyone here is willing to help you. think about it.

[Emoni]

yeah. this is part of what my advisor sent me in an email:



one person being selected out of everyone in the u.s. is pretty rough. it's no problem though. i'm glad i was at least nominated for it. there's other programs i can go for here, i just wanted to do the monbukagakusho special skills one because i was able to make the age limit. its cool, i'll do a 1 year program instead and look for scholarships through that.

hopefully everyone else gets good news though :)

I'm very sorry you didn't get the scholarship...

Although, how on earth can it be only ONE PERSON in the entire US that gets the mombushoscholarship? That doesn't make sense at all. More than just one person in the US has gotten a scholarship for Japan from Mombusho this year for sure. Charles is one, and how many else are from the US and have a confirmation?

[ooilingfan]

I'm very sorry you didn't get the scholarship...

Although, how on earth can it be only ONE PERSON in the entire US that gets the mombushoscholarship? That doesn't make sense at all. More than just one person in the US has gotten a scholarship for Japan from Mombusho this year for sure. Charles is one, and how many else are from the US and have a confirmation?

Gakudan's application is completely under a separate category hence don't be alarmed of the low success rate.
Kindly refer to the link Menrui posted. It is very clear that MEXT for research is offering 4030 slots to 168 countries Worldwide, whereas Special Training is only offering 110 slots for 49 DEVELOPING countries.

People, please do not panic. When comparing success rate and statistics, please make sure you are referring to the correct category. Whenever you come across a member posting some information, kindly take note of his/her status of application before comparing to your own to avoid sounding false alarm to other members.

For those who celebrate Chinese New Year, let us warmly welcome the festive season for we may miss it for several years if we're going to Japan.

Good luck to everyone!

Gakudan,
I hope you'll consider applying to other categories, such as the research student category. You can do it during your final year in college so you won't waste any time.

[midorineko]

I would like to second ooilingfan's above post.
Gakudan's post almost gave me a heart attack when I read only 1 US applicant was being awarded the scholarship. A little thought though and I remembered he is applying for a different type of scholarship than I, so that number wouldn't apply. I know everyone is really excited and anxious about the results, but you may be happier if you pause for a moment before having a conniption.

[ooilingfan]

Gakudan's post almost gave me a heart attack .

Glad you're still with us. =p

[Vyen]

Menrui and ooilingfan,
Thanks for the clarification. I am sorry that I didn't find out the category first. I think I was too nervous and panic when I heard about gakudan's news.

gakudan,
Maybe you can try to apply under the research student category this year. Wish you all the best.

[gakudan]

oh dang. i'm so sorry to anyone that was alarmed by what i posted!!!!!!! yeah i think that's why i asked in the previous page what program everyone applied for. i applied for the special training skills program (necessary to bold that). that's the only program that a school in my university branch offered to be applied through them. there's basically four reasons why i ended up applying for this program:

-me and my dad had surgeries so i knew applying for something of this magnitude (3 years studying in japan and pretty much all expenses covered) would greatly help my family financially.
-my friends pressured me.
-the 1 year program i considered at first was for middle of september 2008 to august 2009. being that i was still healing from my surgery (august 12 2008 was my surgery, september 23 2008 i was through with recovery) i wasn't able to attend school in japan due to me still recovering from surgery. i also have follow-up appointments i'm still going to, and so that gave me more of a reason to hold off on that program for now.
-i made the age limit (i turned 21 last december)

so yeah. this applying for the scholarship for me was completely spontaneous, so i had no idea about the undergraduate, japanese studies, or college of technology programs (which also have an age limit of 21). but the finances factor mixed with the length of study was what ultimately sold me on applying for the special training skills program. i was notified by the advisor that i was qualified for the program my school system had, so i just went ahead and applied. i had a feeling i wouldn't be chosen, because my math skills are really poor and i had the hardest time working on that math practice exam. that was one thing that made me doubt applying in the first place, but i did it anyway. the english practice and real exams were a breeze, and the japanese practice and real exams weren't so bad either, but i think because i did poor on my math exam (i have a feeling i did really bad), that swayed my chances of getting this program. but i was determined to get nominated at least, and the interviewers saw that in me. i think that's why i was nominated.

i'm planning on either doing the 1 year in japan through my school since by september of this year i'll be 100% healed from my surgery, then going for the research program after that. the 1 year in japan program is only learning japanese, but since i will have graduated from my college by then, at least i'll have a degree while i'm in japan. or i'll just go for the research program and apply through the japanese embassy. you guys gave me ideas of what paths i should take, so i'm really thankful for that and i truly do apologize to everyone that got surprised by what i said about 1 student in the u.s. being chosen. just remember i chose a different program but it was still through MEXT.

and thanks everyone for the support too. i've only been a member here for like 11 days but everyone feels bad about me not getting the program, so at least i feel a little bit better that i got support for my future goals :)

Nall-ohki:
that's what my advisor told me actually. i guess since the results were sent to him, maybe he also received the statistics of who was accepted.

menrui:
reading what everyone in here is posting, i've become more interested in this research program. it seems less competitive (thankfully) but how are the exams? i struggled in the special training skills math exam (as i said in my post earlier) but either way i've considered that as well. and you're right, that recommendation i have will look good for my application.

this forum is like a Godsend. i've learned a lot about the MEXT program because of the people in here, who have actually applied for a program through MEXT like me. talking to people that have experience is key for me to learn and succeed. thanks again to everyone that has contributed information about their program.

and again, best of luck to everyone :)

[ooilingfan]

If that's the case, i think it'll be good if you opt for the research program, which ensures you (provided you pass the entrance exam) a higher degree: Master's or higher.
Since it's so super competitive in U.S. for Japan scholarships, be it special training or research student, it's better you choose one which offers you a more significant outcome.
This being said that if you were granted the special training, and upon completion, they don't allow you to extend the scholarship, then you have to return to your home country, after 1-2 years.
Then after some time you decided to do your postgraduate and apply for the MEXT: postgraduate. It will be likely that you are rejected based on the fact that you HAVE received a japanese government scholarship in the past. Hence you will end up like Nall's case (sorry Nall for bringing this up again).
Anyway, it all depends on what you want in the end. If you're planning to do your Master's or PhD in Japan, then go for the MEXT for postgraduate. And if you DO get it for Master's in the near future, make sure you try your best to complete up to PhD level before you return as we know MEXT has the tendency to award the scholarship only ONCE to every individual. Hence, make good use of that one and only opportunity and use it to the MAX.
That's my 2 cents worth. =)

[menrui]

its might be less competitve... but keep in mind, its still no walk in the park. i think 2 are selected from each consulate and there are 20 or more applicants(depends on your location, hawaii would seem like a hotspot). you should definitely still give it a go.

the exams should be the least of your worries. there is a japanese and a english language test. you are required to pass at least 1 of these, though we do not know the passing score. the english test should be easy for any native speaker. i suck at the english subject, but i thought it was really easy. you can d/l some samples online. the jpn test is the equivalent of jlpt lvl 3 and 2.

the big deciding factor will be your research and the interview.

[kouki]

>gakudan
I think you should start prepare yourself for the postgraduate scholarship. Doing some background research of the universities and the research you would like to do.
The good news: You are in a really good timing. You are eligible for the scholarship at that time. Since for Master courses in Japan, you should be at least 22 years old. (I remember reading that you turned 21 last year, so in April 2010 you should be 22?)
Good luck! Do ask anyone of us here, should you have problems. I think everyone would be glad to answer your questions.
Oh, another good news: no mathematics tests! Just English and Japanese tests. But you might need to sit for the entrance examination. Maybe you should take that into consideration when you are applying for your master? But if you are in natural science field, it is difficult to run away from mathematics. But if you really need to sit for mathematics tests, you still have plenty of time to buck up! :)

[ooilingfan]

Worry about the mathematics entrance exam later.

Just focus your firepower on producing a good research proposal, which is the KEY to the postgrad scholarship. You may start contacting potential supervisors and ask them to advise you on your proposal.
Choose a field that is most related/relevant to your undergraduate to maximise your chances.
Practise on the past year questions of the preliminary English Test, in malaysia we need 80% and above to be shortlisted. I'm not sure about U.S.
After that focus fully on your interview preparation, you only got 10-20mins to convince them. I think you're quite familiar with the rest of the process.
=) good luck

[gakudan]

ooilingfan:
what you said actually makes a lot of sense. i all ready had a feeling that if i were to get this special skills program through MEXT and i applied for another program through MEXT that my chances of getting both would possibly deteriorate. and to be honest, up until i turned in my application for the special skills program i had no idea what the other qualifications were for the other programs. i was just so sold on getting the special skills program that i didn't consider any of the other programs that MEXT offered. and i think it's better if i do the research program anyways because i would be able to get a degree. in my special skills interview i was saying if i were selected for the program i would do my best to earn a degree, and one of the interviewers said "um you do know this is a vocational program right? so you'll just be earning experience" or something like that. from what it seems, people are earning degrees through the research program in a major they can declare. i would rather pursue that. thanks for the information, i really appreciate that :)

menrui:
for the special skills program, i lucked out because only 8 people (including myself) applied. if that amount of people here applies for the research program for 2010, that would make me feel better since my chances of being accepted will, at least how i see it, be high. and dang no math exam ha ha, that makes me feel better. probably me applying for the special skills program was a way for me to prepare for the research program. i know what i need to do (the recommendations, applications, medical form, and on and on) so that means i can edit everything i currently own (i still have my personal statements) and make everything better. the english exam will hopefully be easy. the japanese exam, well i have a while to study more. thankfully i talk to my friends in japan daily so being able to study grammar with them rather than only using a book to study has helped me a lot. thanks for your help, menrui.

kouki:
yup you're correct, i'll be 22 in april 2010. ahhhhh old :P ha ha just joking. but i will for sure be hanging out in this section of the forum even though i didn't receive the program. i'll be looking out for tips people have and will still ask questions. thanks for the support :D

i have a question to those that applied for the research program. when were your applications due? the applications before the exams, not the applications after being nominated. because mine for the special skills from what i can remember was due june 12. i think they were in june. summer school at my college is broken up in to two sessions, so if i can graduate in the first session that will hopefully be before the research application is due, since i need to be a post-graduate. if i can do the research program, i think that would be a lot better.

and menrui mentioning the jlpt reminds me of something. if you're a mac user (hopefully there are in this section), download the JEDict program for your computer. it's a japanese-english dictionary that's really good, but also has practice tests for all 4 levels of the jlpt. i used to look at the jlpt practice tests before i got busy with other things but that's a great way to learn kanji and vocabulary. i'm not sure if external links not dealing with the monbukagakusho scholarship can be placed in here, so just look up JEDict in google and it's the first result. it's free too btw.

[ooilingfan]

The deadline for application varies among countries. In malaysia it's around first week of April. Please check with your consulate in February when the application is open.

Please be prepared also that the quota for next year (MEXT 2010) might be affected due to the economy. But they will send someone eventually, just make sure your proposal and interview is so damn good that they will choose you over others. You got 5-6 months from now to prepare i suppose. From what i read so far, the competition is U.S. is more intense compared to developing countries. But nevertheless, there are over 400 applicants from all over M'sia in 2008. Perhaps having some basic japanese language background may give you an edge? i'm not sure.

Just stick around the forum. As new applicants join in the discussion, there will be new issues and new information on the scholarship this year.

I would strongly advise you not to assume that everything will be exactly the same as when you applied last year. This is a different year. A bad one, hence there may be changes. Take last year's experience as a guide and try to outdo yourself this year. Gambateh!

[kouki]

>gakudan

The application due differs from embassy/consulate to embassy/consulate. You will have to contact your consulate to know it. But the general trend would be before July. In Malaysia, it starts around February to March, due April.

Anyway, you CAN apply for the scholarship, as long as you are sure you can graduate before the date you are going to Japan. That's why there are two intakes, April and October. Any further updates, you can bring it up during your interview in July-August.

Getting supports from professors from several labs might help. If possible, get their letter of recommendation or letter of support.

[abeeyo_q8]

wow...i didn't log in for a day and so much happened!!

sorry to hear about you not getting it gakudan :(

btw does any know the difference between the special skills training program and the research one? aren't they both just experience?

and it seems all the other info i have to offer to the conversation has already been said so no need to just repeat what others worded so very well :D

can't believe it's jan already...time has flown by since apps were due

[gakudan]

thanks everyone for the input. i'm trying to read the application guidelines for the research program and at the same time read everyone's input in here and it's helping out a lot. one question i have though is that i'm interested in applying this year, but on the application guidelines (i don't have enough posts yet to put external links, sorry) it mentions this:
is or will be aged 22 or older and has taken an individual entrance qualification examination and has been judged by a graduate school as being equal or superior in academic ability to a university graduate (or 24 or older if he/she desires to enroll in a doctoral course in the field of medicine, dentistry or veterinary science, or pharmacy which is founded on a 6-year department or faculty).
my question is this: in everyone's opinion, would a community college graduate apply for this? i'm going to be 22 by the time i were to go (2010, like kouki mentioned) so i match that qualification. but i'm attending a community college which i plan to graduate from in the summer, which is why i'm interested in applying this year. i'm going to call the japanese embassy in a little bit but i figured i would just ask this question here so i have a feeling of what i would ask the embassy.
btw thanks abeeyo_q8 :) it's no problem. but to answer your question about having experience for both programs- if you look at the link menrui posted above, one thing i noticed is the "fields of study" section. for the research student section it has this:
Major in field of specialty at a graduate school
whereas the special training college student (what i applied for) has this:
Post secondary courses
so i guess it means i could receive a degree from a japanese university, if i were to be selected. i'm still sorting out the details/requirements.

[menrui]

oh, i was assuming you were a university student... forgive me, but i dont know too much about the community college scene. what degree will you be graduating with? after reading the guidelines again, i think the scholarship is intended for those with a 4year undergraduate degree. also, many students will use this scholarship in order to enter a masters course, which i think requires a bachelors degree. im not completely sure, so before jumping into conclusion, give us some more details please.