College/University in Japan?

Well, first off I want to go to college in Japan but am unsure much about it. I've been told that College and University are different in Japan unlike how there is little difference in the US. And was also told that I should go to University instead of College. Is all your schooling really subsidized in Japan? Because one of my friends in Australia said it was. If it is that is a big plus and it means I can go there soon since its less money I will have to save first. Anyway any information anyone can give me about how things work in Japan I would greatly appretiate it.

Why do you want to do your schooling in Japan?

There are obviously scholarships (eg monbukagakusho scholarship) for foreign students but I'm pretty confident the Japanese government doesn't fully subsidize education, especially for foreigners. Why would the Japanese government want to pay for people who've never paid taxes or contributed to the country thus far? It makes absolutely no sense.

As for the college vs. university debate, I'm not sure if this is what you're referring to but there is no "transferring" from college to university in Japan. For students who don't get into their university of choice for example, they usually sit out a year and study their butts off to retake entrance exams. As for college in Japan, I'll just quote wikipedia (take it for what it's worth) and get straight to the point:

"More than 90% of the students in junior colleges are women, and higher education for women is still largely perceived as preparation for marriage or for a short-term career before marriage. Junior colleges provide many women with social credentials as well as education and some career opportunities."

I want to go to university in Japan because I plan to live/work there. Almost everything I like comes from Japan so it only makes sense I should go there. Also my dream job is for a company thats HQ is there. I guess I could work at the one in California but I'm not entirely sure what they do because all the games are made in Japan so I think they just translate them which isn't what I want.

Ariler,

Obviously you don't know..LOL... not all the games are made in Japan. Let me correct you.
Nintendo is in Redmond, Washington, USA.
Electronic Arts, Livermore, Ca, USA.
Capcom, San Mateo, Ca, USA.

Capcom is #1 and Nintendo is #2.... Companies are global...

Hi there. I'm from San Jose area and I decided to go to school at a university in Japan. Actually, the best schools if you need to take courses in English are private Universities (Keio, Waseda, Sophia, ICU, etc). I currently attend Sophia and it is not very expensive considering its a private university. I think per semester its about 8k US, and per year around 16.5-17k with the added fees for lab use, etc etc. Back home the University fees are more like 20k a semester, so I know what you mean about it being expensive, but its a bit different here. Also, the college experiance is supposed to be a little bit different for Japanese students because they did most of their studying before the entrance exam, and go in to the school at a relatively higher level than most Americans (this is just me speculating, but when you compare the amount they have to test into for the high leveled entrance exam, it blows me away at the level of english they need to know on top of the high leveled math that most learn for their GEd in the states). If you go to Sophia though, the program is very much like an American college, only that about 50% of the students are actually Japanese and speak English and Japanese fluently. It's nice because you can make many Japanese friends quickly. Other students on the campus who are still pretty good with their English tend to be shy and not try speaking English very much, but you can join clubs to talk to them. The campus is also really close to the big stops in Tokyo, and its only about 10-15 minutes away by train to Akihabara or Ikebukuro, which sounds like the kind of place you would like if you enjoy their games and anime, etc.

If you need any more information I can fill you in if you ask. Hope it works out for you! You need to apply to these universities early though!

@NNN
I know not all games are made in Japan. But games made by Square Enix are. This is the company I hope to work for even though odds are against me I can still try.

@Eimi
Thank your for this invaluable information. :D A lot of the schools websites are hard to read for me because I don't know kanji only romaji I would contact you but there is no way for me to do so.

I like this school but I am unable to read everything on the site most of it I just copied into google translator which doesn't work to well.

http://hal.ac.jp

If anyone can help me read this website I would appreciate it very much.

I got my Associates degree in the U.S.. I read that someone said " there is no "transferring" from college to university in Japan." Would that mean I cannot transfer my 60 units it took me to get my A.S? Even in an American (private) university. This is kinda worrisome. Please any input?
Thanks :)
Amos

amosfamous,
I am also looking into transferring with 60 credits from US college. Sophia has applications for transfer, and I wish to apply for that. I'm sure all schools are different and some credits may not be transferred(even in US) so you should be aware of that. From my research, schools that accept transfers from overseas is very limited. If it's an U.S. college in Japan like TUJ, than I'm sure its possible and perhaps easy to transfer.

Thanks nezumineko! Yeah it makes sense. I guess is more of a case by case.