Shugaku Visa

Hi am am planning to go to a Japanese language school after high school and I need advice. I'm planning to go to Naganuma or Kyoto Computer Gakuin Kamogawa Campus Kyoto Japanese Training Center. If you can recommend any other good ones that would be great.

I am going into my Junior year and I need to know when would be a good time to apply for the Shugaku visa and apply to a Japanese language school. I want to go at least the fall after I graduate high school which is May 2010. By that time I will have enough money to pay for tuition but I will definately be applying for scholarships as well. Also I don't have to worry about grades because I get all A's.

I just really need help on going about doing this since I really want to do this and If I got into the language school after 1 or 2 years I will be efficient enough in Japanese to get into a good Japanese college. I will be studying Japanese for the next 2 years on my own and hopefully at a local community college if enough people join the class.

So I need to know when to do this to guarantee a spot and even how to go about doing this thanks. please help thanks.

I mean am I even able to apply right after I turn 18? And what are the possibilities of the visa being approved if i apply extra early? And please I want helpful answers. I'm gonna do this no matter what it takes so no saying it's not possible to get into a Japanese University. Language schools are proof enough that people from foreign countries do get into Japanese colleges. By the way I'm from the US.

Nice to see you again, DiTomasso. (I posted in your other topic)

I'm going to try my best to help you out from what I know on this since I want to do this as well. First off did they tell you, you are going to receive the Shuugaku visa?
I'm going to a Language school/IT school and they told me I was going to receive the Ryuugaku visa so maybe it differs a bit. As far as when to apply for the visa, I asked the same question to the school I want to attend and they told me this. Since I am applying/attending for the school in April of '09, they told me to apply between the end of October and the middle of November of'08. From my understanding as far as visas go, once you apply for the school and get all your paperwork turned in, the school actually does the immigration process for you and they go to the local embassy in that specific city and get your paperwork turned in. After a few months of waiting, you are supposed to receive "Certificate of Deposit" COE from the school. Once you receive that, then you apply for your visa with your local Japanese Embassy in the states (Los Angeles, maybe?). After you do that, once you apply and they see you have a COE, the process is a lot faster, and you should receive your visa in no more than a week. After that, I believe your ready to go to Japan.

I hope this helps and sorry if I seem a little sketchy when I explain, but like I said before, I'm trying to do this too and am still researching as best I can.

Another thing you should do is try to keep in contact with the school and ask them these type of questions. Even though it's a bit early but better safe than sorry.

Just curious, how did you find out about the school? Seems like a pretty good find.

COE stands for "Certificate of Eligibility"

huh? I said COE.

Yes, you did. But before you said COE, Alberto, you said "Certificate of Deposit", which I'm pretty sure you won't be able to get from Japan Immigration... ;-)

Ohh, oops, hehe, sorry about that. Didn't even notice that. Yeah, I'm sure you won't get that in Japan, heh. Thanks for the heads up, SHU and Sira =)

Official English translation for language school visa is "Pre-College Student Visa"

If I got into the language school after 1 or 2 years I will be efficient enough in Japanese to get into a good Japanese college.

1 year, probably not, 2 years probably.

Depends on what type of learner you are, I know Chinese people who still have problems with Japanese and they are better at Kanji then your average western learner.
Its usually enough to pass entrance examinations, but more study needs to be done in specific technical fields you might want to pursue. For example if you want to go into the medical field, you'll have to do extra study on medical jargon, engineering field, then engineering jargon. Language schools will usually only help with basic everyday Japanese.

As for scholarships or loans, goodluck finding any in the US that support language school study, almost non-existant, as for University studyabroad, scholarships are rare and so are loans so expect to take out a personal loan of 20K or so. In Japan scholarships are also rare for foreign students, some do exist, but again expect to take out large personal loans.

As for when to apply, check with whatever school that you want to go to, they should provide you all the information you need. Typically speaking it is about half a year before you want to go. So say someone wanted to go to Japan in August 2008, they would of had to apply way back in December/January. It takes a few months to process the paperwork which the school does the majority of the work.

As mentioned once all approved, they send you a "COE" Certificate of Eligibility, and you just take that to your local Japanese Consulate or Embassy, sometimes you might not live near one so its a matter of using somesort of courier service.

And what are the possibilities of the visa being approved if i apply extra early?

Approval has nothing to do with how early you apply. Approval depends on if all your documents and financial documents. Its not a matter of if you are willing, its just a matter of securing financing, which is really expensive, so save up.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I think I got almost all my questions cleared up. I knew I had to get the Shugaku or Ryugaku visa. I don't know which one cause the description is basically the same but I'm gonna ask the language school I choose to apply to. I'm gonna go to the language school from 1.5 to 2 years. I've read of cases where a westerner has gone from zero to master in that time range. I will also hopefully have a year or 2 of community college japanese prior to going to the language school. The language schools I want to apply to have university prep courses specifically for that cause that last 1.5 to 2 years. Are you sure there's no way i can get student loans for a language school? I can probably wing it but It might save me a lot of trouble if I can pay off a student loan later in life. I think I'll apply for that Japanese government scholarship.

I was just worried that there's a chance they might not approve my visa. Maybe I was thinking of Russia cause I know they disapproved some for some reason.

So I just contact my language school of choice, apply there, get the COE, apply for visa, then go?

I just researched and searched a lot over the internet to find the best language schools. I'm gonna go in either Kyoto, Sapporo, Kobe, or Tokyo. More feedback would be greatly appreciated.

The Monbukagakusho (Japanese Government) scholarship is extremely hard to get.

Considering you either need to be recommended for it by the Embassy in your home country, or a sponsoring Japanese University.

zero to master
Considering it takes Japanese people themselves years to become fluent in a language, I find it highly doubtful unless someone is a prodigy/genius to go from zero to master of a language (any language) in a span of 1.5-2 years. One can go from zero to proficient, eg its possible to pass JLPT 2 or 1 given, daily life language with much study, but mastering a language takes years and years.

Not discouraging, just saying don't expect to master Japanese in a short span of time. You'll be proficient in test taking for sure after studying for such a period of time, but a master or even fluency takes a lot of years.

Maybe not master but be proficient enough to get into a Japanese University?

In 2 years of very dedicated full time study in Japan, it would be possible for some people to reach that level, some people might need another year's study. I have usually heard 3 years full time study as the norm to pass JLPT 1, but these days there is another English exam for university entrance, so I'm not sure about that one.

Individual situations will vary a lot of course.

Well if your life is just learning and speaking Japanese for 2 years I think it's possible for me. I pick up things very quickly.

Do you think a year or 2 of Japanese study at a community college will help me pass the JLPT 4? Some language schools require that you pass that or have 150 hours class time with Japanese.

I always get this gut feeling that all of this will work out for me and I'm pretty excited. For now I have to focus on keeping above a 4.0 average in high school and hopefully if enough people enroll, the Japanese101 at my local community college. I'll start applying for Japanese language schools mid to end of my Junior year.

I would recommend bypassing JLPT 3 and 4. They might be useful if you just want something to tell your friends and relatives about, but truthfully, they don't hold much weight. JLPT 2 is business Japanese, and that can open a number of doors for working, and JLPT 1 is the creme de la creme. It holds a lot of weight on a resume, and universities would look for it. 3 and 4 barely get noticed.

My advice? Study hard and rock out the JLPT 2 or 1. If you're going to go to a Language school, I -highly- recommend Nihongo Center in Kyoto. I went there. Fantastic, and it's in an -amazing- location. Once your school day is out, you are a 2-3 minute walk from the glitzy/trendy/happening shopping area known as Kawaramachidori. Awesome place. They'll get you up to speed, and they'll do it quickly.

-C

I was looking at Nihongo Center? Was it hard to get some place to live? Do they help you? Do they prepare you for a Japanese University?

You do know, don't you that in Kyoto you will hear in the streets a different sounding version of Japanese that the one you will learn in the USA and in the Kanto. How many languages do you speak fluently right now? to be really fluent in a foreign language takes way more than 2 years,believe me! I have friends,born abroad, who learned the official language of my birth country (it is obviously not English) well enough to teach it in our public schools, yet, after so many years of speaking and teaching it there are many expressions, idioms etc, they still can't get right. That language is my second language too, but unlike my foreign friends, because I was immersed in it (outside my home)from the youngest age I have a fluency they will never have. All the same I don't master it as well as great writers..