Taking a year of study in Japan...

[RotaryPower]

Hey guys, this is Tom. I haven't posted here in awhile, but due to some recent events I thought I would stop by to ask a few questions.

Here is my situation:

I just finished my first year of college at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, FL. I've lived in this area for the past 6 years, and I finally realized that I need to get out of this town. (I have my reasons...) At school, I'm majoring in computer animation, but I want to change my major. I've applied to transfer to USC in Los Angeles, where I would study Film Production. I should hear back about acceptance within the next week or two.

Anyway, the school I'm transferring from doesn't really require any sort of math class (it's an art school...), so I won't be transferring a math and a science credit to USC. I think this is going to be a problem...

There is a chance I may not be able to attend USC in the Fall because of the shortage of credits, so I am considering taking a year of study in Japan.

I found a few schools in the Tokyo area with good-looking foreign student programs, and they are almost as expensive as the school I'm at now (Ringling ends up costing almost $30k a year for everything...), but money really isn't the issue. The one I was looking at requires almost 20 hours of Japanese classes per week, along with other college level courses of the student’s choice.

I'm wondering, if anyone here is an English-speaking student in Japan. If so, I would like to ask a few questions, so please contact me on AIM or email.

I've been to Japan before, and have friends who live there full-time, but they are all Japanese and have lived there all of their lives. I really would like to chat with some non-Japanese residents if possible.

Here are a few questions off the bat:

+ Do you know of any schools that I may be interested in?

+ Is there any part-time employment for non-Japanese speaking students? (I know a little, but not that much! Hey, I want to move there to learn right?)

Thanks everyone!

Tom

( By the way, if you want to know about my background, interests, skills, hobbies, etc., check out my profile on MySpace: http://profile.myspace.com/users/1842931 )

[mad pierrot]

Try Kansai Gaidai

http://www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp/bekka/index.html