Just a few questions...

I have decided that I want to be a foreign exchange student to Japan when I turn 17. I'm 15 now, and have been studying Japanese culture and language for 3 years. I am so excited since I found a program that looks like it would work for me! I just wanted to ask a few things though...

1. Should I send in an application and scholarship application now, or wait til I turn 16, at least a year before I plan to go?

2. I don't know very many kanji but I'm starting to learn now. Should I start from the elementary school kanji and work my way up to my grade level(9th)? Or should I just learn the majorily important ones first?

3. Do any foreign exchange students or anyone who lives in Japan have anything to warn me about that I should know ahead of time before I leave? (Besides the culture shock :))

1. You should follow the process suggested by the program that you plan to go with. Send the application in when they say you should. If they don't say, ask them directly as they know their own requirements.

2. Basically the important kanji are taught at elementary level. I recommend going with the order that Japanese people learn them in.

Assuming your intending to go to a college or university, not a high school (as getting into a Japanese HS as a foreigner would be impossible), in regards to your questions you should know the following:

1) File your scholarships and applications the year before, when your chosen academy opens enrollment for the school year.

2) In terms of Kanji, basic kanji like numbers, months, etc. Your main focus should be Hiragana, Katakana, and building a vocabulary.

3) It is very cash intensive (a lot of gift exchanges), extremely formal (no first names, no personal pronouns like "you")

I did plan to go as a high school student. I have done a lot of research on it and it doesnt look impossible. I see and read everyday about people going to high school as a foreign exchange student in Japan.

Yes, bergeron is incorrect- there are plenty of programs offering places to high school students and there have been for decades. I assume he or she is talking about trying to go to a Japanese high school independently, which we often get posts about here.

Since you will be going through a program, as above, follow the instructions of the programs you are interested in for the application process.