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Dear visitor, if you know the answer to this question, please post it. Thank you!

Note that this thread has not been updated in a long time, and its content might not be up-to-date anymore.

Updated/recent information on MEXT 2017/10/30 08:31
*THIS IS ALL IN REGARDS TO THE UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP OFFERED BY MEXT*

I have been looking into the MEXT scholarship a lot lately and have final came to realize that it is much, much more competitive than I allowed myself to believe in the past. It has been quite difficult to find any updated information (as of 2016, 2015, 2014) about the scholarship and the reason could be that I am not doing enough research. I have emailed the closest Japanese embassy to me (North America) in regards to when the application would be released for 2018. I did get a reply and the email was helpful but I do not want to ruin any chance of getting the scholarship by bombarding the embassy with my unimportant questions as they could "easily" be found online.

So here I am, asking for anyone willing to help!

I am sure that if I dedicated an entire day to just researching about MEXT that I could find a lot of basic, general yet important information. But, unfortunately I do not have the time and my researching skills are... not the best. But then again, I have heard from a few others too, that finding information about MEXT is pretty hard.

TO GET TO THE POINT, I would like to know a lot of what goes into the application process and what are some general requirements for someone wanting to receive the MEXT scholarship. I would love to have the opportunity to study as an undergraduate in Japan, particularly Kansai.

(Off topic but..)
Another thread I found on here was about someone deciding whether or not they should apply for MEXT to try and get into Kyoto University or whether they should just accept the offer they had already gotten from Waseda University. I too have, or I should day HAD, an interest in Kyoto University thinking that foreigners have a higher chance of getting in; particularly thinking that maybe they would have a different entrance exam than the standard one for Japanese students, maybe their results of MEXT's exams (Japanese, English, and Math) would be taken in rather than having to take an entrance exam, whatever it may be, I know now that it is not true and that no matter who you are and even if you receive MEXT, you must still take the same entrance exam as any other student. It did bum me out when I thought about it, but, I should have known that it would not be that easy to get into Japan's second best public university. If what I heard was wrong, It would be nice to get a heads up on what actually goes on, which is why I am posting here in the first place.

MY GENERAL QUESTIONS (Since I like to blab on about nothing, here's what's important)
All of my questions pertain to the undergraduate scholarship offered.

- What MEXT and Japan's government is looking for in a student
(general requirements and things that're hidden between the lines, like what you did not know until you began applying or after you had your interview, things that automatically disqualify a student from the scholarship etc.)

- Brief overview of the application and entire process (What goes after sending in your basic application and what comes next, etc)

- What level of Japanese, English, and Math exams are given to those applying for MEXT (I heard that the Japanese exam can be compared with one of the levels of the JLPT and that the math exam is about Calc. level and above)

- What to be careful about when applying (aka do's and don't's)

I know that once you make it to a certain point within the process, you have got to start deciding on universities that you are interested and must pick a minimum of 3, so,
- How does getting accepted into a university work and do foreigners take a different entrance exam

- If accepted, can your first year in Japan (in which students will intensively study Japanese only) be shortened or can a student be placed at a higher level of studying if they are at a different level than others? How exactly does this first year work out?

This is all I can think of right now, but I will add more if I can not find any further information. Please share your experience because I would love to hear about it and learn from it. If you are currently living in Japan and going to a university through this program, please, feel free to mention anything you believe is worth mentioning. I need as much information that I can get and others will benefit from this thread as well.
This is a very competitive scholarship program and I would like to know if I am even eligible before I go in and waste mine and everyone else's time. At the moment, I do feel that I could be qualified to apply. There are a few things that are questionable, but with extra effort, tutoring, and knowledge, I believe that I may possibly hold what MEXT, Japan, and Japan's tax payers would want in a student coming to study in their country.
I am asking everyone and anyone who could help because no one around me has any information about MEXT and my assumption about my skill could be very off, meaning that I might not even be eligible and thus making it worthless to apply.

SIDE NOTE: If anyone also happens to have any information about Bekka programs, I would love to hear about it as well, as applying for a Bekka program would be my next option if I am not cut out for MEXT.

Sorry for being too wordy and sorry for continuously dragging on the subject. Thank you to those of you who are willing to take your time and reply to me.

(Random but useful information: Senior in high school and has been studying Japanese for almost 4 years, lives in the United States)

yuukoito
by yuukoito (guest)  

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