ryugaku visa requirements...?

hello =^-^=
I am a US student planning to attend language school in Tokyo coming in 2010. I have applied for a ryugaku visa, but I became a bit confused in the information I have received. Does anyone know the general requirements that are checked from the applying student for this type of visa? I mean like what they mainly look at before deciding approval...?
...sorry if this is a dumb question, I am very new to being an abroad student and I just want to make sure that I don't make any mistake...

thank you to those who will take the time to read and answer my question, it is very much appreciated...

With a language school, the normal procedure I believe is that you select the school/course you want to attend (the type of course would determine if it will be "ryugaku" (student) or "shugaku" (pre-college) visa, or even a "temporary visitor" status if it is a short-term course, maybe), then you apply for admission into the school.

If/when you get accepted by the school, you pay in the tuition, then the school sends you the application form for visa and inform you what other documents you need to send in for visa application. The school, upon receipt of the documents/application form from you, will apply with Immigration on your behalf. They will send you the result when Immigration gets back to them.

I believe that the key areas they look at is (for language school) that you have completed high school education, paid in the tuition to the language school, and also have sufficient funds to support yourself during your studies.

if you're from the US they barely look at your application before accepting you as a student.

they'll check that you have around 10,000$ in funds, that you have a financial guarantor that will pay for your tuition plus 100,000yen per month in living expenses, and that you have finished high school or have a GED or have completed some university credits. it's very easy if you're from a western country.

if you're from an asian country it becomes much much more difficult.