ICU College Did you get accepted?

Hi I'll get straight to the point but recently, I've been thinking of applying to a university located in Japan.
I'm Japanese, but I've been basically living in the US my whole life. ( 14 years?)
Though I can speak japanese relatively well, (small conversations) I fail at writing and reading miserably.
I'm in my senior year now, and I'm thinking of applying to a university in Japan to develop my bilingual skills as well as to major in some kind of us-japan relation education.
What I was going to ask was how hard it is to get into ICU. I've heard really great things about it. I will probably be a regular student in September if I get accepted, but I can't really find any topics online that say what the admission scores are. (gpa, sat, act, etc) It would be great if someone who got accepted shared this.

I've read that the average act score was 25.( I have 31) But I haven't seen anything relating to GPA. Since my GPA is on the low side, I'm a little worried about getting in
Thanks a lot.

Basically your are an Japanese but an American having lived in Cal since 3 or 4 years old. Therefore I urge you to enroll in the community college if your present GPA is average and your ACT score is above average (What was your SAT scores?) Basically ICU will admit freshman foreign students on merits and need to have basis, as community colleges in U.S. does(entrance standard to SF State would be higher than any 4 colleges suggested on Stanford J-Guide for English native students).

I can't fault you for wanting to attend ICU or any other college in Japan , but let be realistic shall we. First, as you are aware in Cal all community colleges and 4 years colleges for the first 2 years have equivalent requirements toward fulfilling the minor course works, and your last 2 years are toward your major. Japan colleges are similar. Another words to start college in Japan as a freshman will not be advantage to you at all, nor will you have the time to improve your Japanese language.

Therefore, I urge you to start college here, then apply for the exchange program and study in Japan for one year,... and come back to Cal and get your degree. Simple BA degree from Japan is worthless in U.S. but the BA degree from U.S.at least will open future opportunities for you in both U.S. and Japan.

"Basically ICU will admit freshman foreign students on merits and need to have basis, as community colleges in U.S. does"
can you elaborate this part for me? so are you saying that the college take just the required quota international students only?

Also about the BA useless from Japan. Do you mean a Japanese Accredited BA from Japan? or from a prestige point of view? Since japan has BA's accredited for both countries.

Actually, ICU requires that September entry students take intensive Japanese through the advanced level during the first year. Japanese and English ability are important as classes are taught in both languages.

First most all courses you complete in Japan is acceptable in U.S.for the minor or AA degree, but for the major you have to complete the prerequisite courses specified for that degree. Let say you complete the upper division courses toward your major in Japan, however those courses may not meet the U.S. requirements.

Colleges in Japan that instruct in English is geared to the Japanese student (their English comprehension is about U.S. junior high school level). Moreover those college limit the availability in the career fields and student enrollments. Why don't you do the research:
http://jguide.stanford.edu/site/education_academia_14.html

I'm not sure what your plans are, but it sounds to me like you wish to complete at least your undergraduate studies in Japan. If you don't intend on going farther than a BA then Stanfordgal's last comment doesn't really apply to you.

However, I think you would be better off attending college in the US, possibly majoring in international relations, especially as you say that your reading and writing skills are subpar. Most Japanese colleges require at least JPLT 2, although if I recall, and I'm probably remembering this wrong, there was some sort of intensive classes you could take before enrolling in ICU. Either way, you will probably be served better by going to a US college and spending perhaps a year or two studying abroad in Japan.

Okay I've gotten great comments but just to clarify things i only mean to get a BA at ICU and then go to grad school in the us. ICU does offer american accredited BA's and teaches japanese over the course of two years.

I appreciate all the comments but they unfortunately haven't really answered my main question. What I wanted to ask was if it is difficult to get into.

thanks

If you were applying for Stanford or the U.C. system I can generalize your chance or give you an idea in getting in, or you are already enrolled in U.S. college. My best answer,ONLY the Admission Committee can answer your question.Why not email ICU and ask them questions? sept-adm@icu.ac.jp

Also you chance of acceptance by ICU will be based on which 1 of 4 enrollment status you will be applying: Regular, Transfer, One-Year-Regular and Kenkyusei.

PER ICU Web: "September Applicants are able to take college level courses in English ,,,September applicants undergo a documentary screening process including the submission of standardized test scores, such as the SAT, ACT, or IB,,,Those who succeed in the documentary screening process enter in September."

I, also, suggest as you will do in U.S. to apply to more than 1 college in Japan. Temple University is a international branch of U.S. Temple University and courses are taught in English, not 50/50 as at ICU.

hey i just got into icu, so maybe my scores will help you determine whether you'll get in or not.

my average gpa was 3.3 (a B+ pretty much) and i took mostly honors classes and two ap classes in my last year of high school.
out of 2400, i scored in the 1800s (sorry i really can't remember the exact score right now :/) on the sats. and i didn't take the acts so i can't help you with that.

i'm pretty sure that with most international japanese schools they require that you at least have a B+ average to get accepted. also i think that icu cares as much about your personal statement and teacher recommendations as they do about grades. as you can see i was pretty average when it came to grades, but i got really good recommendations from my teachers and my personal statement was pretty unique and good as well.

i hope this helps you! good luck!

Thanks for the help everyone!

I just got my acceptance letter so I probably will go in September.

I'm really excited about it.