G30 Japanese uni (science/engineering)

Hello i am currently a high school senior going to a national high school in Korea. My sat scores are 2130 and Sat2(Mc2,Physics,Chem) are 2190 atm. i also have 110 on Tofel. i was wondering what my chances were on being accepted to japanese uni's such as waseda,keio,kyushu,sophia,nagoya,osaka,tohoku, tskuba, ritsumeikan etc (applying for the ones who have engineering/science related schools). I think my sat scores are decent but my gpa is only 3.1 and that makes me extremely nervous.. I have contacted all colleges i wanted to apply and they said they cant provide me with any information about gpa, and i was just wondering what other people think my chances are getting accepted. to be honest i just really don't care which uni i go into if any "one"of them pick me.

You should contact some professor that you are interested by email first. Maybe they quite busy so they will reply you late.
They will ask you to be a research student. If you are research student, everything will easy them to evaluate you.

I just graduated from the university in your wishlist, but be careful!
Many advisers in famous universities do not have so much to talk with you. They work and they teach at the same time. It could make your thesis ruin. I also found that many Japanese students do not patience and cant do complicate things. They do part time job and study together, so if they cant manage the time, when we have group work , they will leave you and int'student do it. It mean you cant exchange any idea much.

That is my experience. (some Int' students in my university feel the same) If you want to study here, pls check everything, not only university rank. You can check University environmental ,Lab culture, people lifestyle....

Well, moodevil is talking about graduate school, and you are clearly talking about undergraduate, so probably their advice is not so relevant.


All these universities have multiple applications per place. Grades alone cannot guarantee acceptance. I work at one of the G30 universities, and I am actually an entrance examiner for one of the universities.

Basically, I would probably not accept you to my program. You do not seem to know what you want to do, and that's the deal breaker. I want to accept students which are passionate about the subject. Everything else is secondary. If you don't care about the subject, then you are someone with a high SAT and a low GPA. I read that as "bright but probably lazy". I have no time for lazy.

@Daninichi Heater
I think there has been an misunderstanding. With all my heart I care about which subject I will be studying. But as long as its related with science/ engineering the name of the university does not matter to me. and about the GPA, this might sound like an excuse but my high school is a very good school in Seoul and to be able to get a GPA of 3.6 or over would mean that i would have to be around top 15% in my school and I just don't believe I have the ability to do so(especially since I have only lived in Korea for the past 3 years). My point being, just because my GPA is low does not at all mean that i am lazy.

Science and engineering at different subjects. Science is a big subject. Engineering is a big subject. Science is physics, chemistry, biology. Everything from molecular biology to cosmology. Engineering is everything from structural engineering or materials sciences through to mechanical engineering. From a ball pen to the space station. You need to decide on one thing. As for the choice of university, it can certainly be driven by the subject you have selected, but you should be able to define why you chose university X rather than university Y. You should definitely know about all the universities which offer programs in your selected subject.

You should explain about your school as part of your personal statement. The examiners will definitely read that. If you don't tell them, they won't know. If they don't know, then they will make an assumption just as I did. I can tell you how these people think, because I am one of these people. You need to be very clear in communicating about that.

I get applications all the time from people who have good grades in one section, and weak grades in another section. In nearly a decade of experience, I have learned to trust the weak grades over the strong ones - they are almost always more representative of the candidate. If you feel these grades don't represent your potential, then you should explain why. Examiners are rarely unfair, and they will give you a fair shake. However, not mind-readers, and need you to guide them.

thanks for the constructive criticism. I will definitely keep that in mind. I'm also convinced know that I should choose a more specific area of interest for the university's i would apply to.

@Danichi Heater
I was also considering on retaking Sat's (since I have some time left). Do you recommend me taking the newSAT's optional Essays?? I called most of the schools and they told me it wasn't "a must do" but would it in some way make my application look better?

Applications procedures and standards vary by department, let alone university. I doubt any know about the SAT essay thing, but some may require or desire it. I think it's difficult to give any general advice.

Overall, "anything is OK" will hurt you, because it makes you look like you have no passion or direction. Choose a direction and pursue it with everything you've got.