Trying to go to Osaka U

With limited support from a skeptical father, but the full support of my step-father and my mother, my dream is to attend a Japanese University, I'm currently eyeing Osaka University, hoping to major in Computer Science feild (Trying to decide what I specifically want to go into) with a minor in teaching (secondary education level) with perhaps another minor in linguistics. I may move some of this around to double major or focus on one of my minors depending on how my career outlook changes. I plan to dive into the career of programming or software design for a video game production team or a business that deals heavily in computer tech. My fallback jobs would be a translator with multible lanaguages in my resume, specializing in computer terms, so I'd end up working for said companies anyway. My other fall back would be teaching English and other langauges in high school

I'm currently a Junior in high school, living in Massachusetts, et cetera. My GPA isn't the greatest thing in the world since I have two C's from my sophmore year (and then a C in my freshman year in a child development class), but as the year is still young, with enough resolve, I can work at increasing my GPA. My Japanese isn't good enough to pass the JLPT of the EJU, but I still have two years and a possible chance at spending a semester in Japan for my senior at high school to fix that.

My Father's main concern is letting me go live on my own in another country fresh out of high school, and he suggests going to an American school and just going to japan via foreign exchange, but that just doesn't appeal to me, i'm too idealistic to settle for a compromise.


More or less, I'm just looking for sound advice on taking the EJUs and attending a Japanese university, but also, I'd like to get some advice on making the move to japan, getting the means to manage without my parents help in a country they cannot reach me in, and also how to go to Japan just to take my EJU's, and not find myself lost and unable to manage while i'm waiting for results, or to find out that I failed and just be alone and helpless in a country where I don't know anyone

Advice desperately needed so I can make a sound plan that is solid enough so that I can make the flight to Japan in confidence

I've posted this in another site and received some of the most spiteful and critical responses. One person went as far as to tell me that my plan was idiotic and had a 100% margin for error and that Osaka university, as with other Japanese universities, are sub par compared to every american college in america, but from his perspective, I might as well aim for a community college and throw all my dreams away as I make future plans to mop floors in McDonalds. Apparently, the 100,000 international students currently studying in japan are just a lie.

I hope to hear more positive advice here, thank you

let's face it. if you are getting Cs at junior high school then how do you expect to succeed in a foreign country studying at university level in a language that you are not good at. people gave you harsh criticism for one of two reasons: either they are nasty people or they believe it to be the truth.

get those grades up now and start studying japanese hard, then we can talk about it again in 6 months

It's a good thing you are thinking ahead. University of Osaka is a well known school, I considered applying there before. But I realized that everything will be taught in Japanese, and the school is quite difficult to get in.

I'm not sure how exchange programs work, but I think considering those programs from Universities in your country is a better plan. You will have a little more time studying Japanese and being familiar with university courses before going over to Japan.

Try to look into the MEXT scholarships, there is some scholarships available for high school students who are about to graduate and are interested in going to college in Japan. Good luck.

The thing you and most people asking the same questions as you (you really should search this site before you post) need to understand is that the experience, educational philosophy, end goals at Japanese and American universities are quite different.

When people say you should go to a US college and visit Japan on an exchange program, what they are saying is:

- Regardless of where you end up working, as an American unless you are going into the fields of either Japanese literature or Robotics (and a few other research areas) your educational experience and post-college employment prospects are much better coming out of a US school. Going to a Japanese school would put you on the same track as most Japanese kids and you would be severely limiting yourself and your advantage as an international hire prospect.
- Japanese universities are notoriously difficult to get into. Japanese kids who spend 10+ years of prep (cram schools) regularly fail to pass the entrance exams to these major schools that you and others always want to attend. The reality is, how can you pass such a test with intermediate Japanese.
And no matter how much you think you know, self-taught or high school level Japanese classes are not going to make you "fluent".
- Japanese universities are not that much fun from the intellectual perspective. Unless you're going into hard sciences, pre-med, or a few other research areas, university in Japan won't provide nearly the intellectual growth that you'll experience in the US.
The professors and students don't really challenge each other, you'll struggle to find passion for the learning experience.
For many schools, and students, the spent at college is a necessity prior to getting a job.

If you want to become a foreign salaryman or company researcher, then sure Japanese university is not a bad idea. You still need to get in though.

It seems like a lot of people have this romanticized vision of university in Japan and I have to say from first hand experience it's just not want you think it will be.

As far as Osaka University, you have got absolutely no chance unfortunately. That school is for the cream of the cream of the crop in Japan (eg Tokyo University, Kyoto University).

I would also suggest you go the junior college route, transfer to a school with a good study abroad partnership in Japan, and take it from there. Just to add to what's already been said, you will have more opportunities to research and build connections in your field of study in the US rather than in Japan. Why do you think so many top scientists and researchers come to the US to further their work rather than stay in Japan?

Anyways, you're still relatively young. Sit back and don't be guided entirely by your fantasies. Go speak to somebody who's actually done it and see what their advice is.

How about taking a course in English at a Japanese affilitated American University?That way you can still enjoy the Japan experience. Temple University springs to mind.

We'll I certianly must look into some of the things pointed out in this thread

Thats interesting to say that Japanese universities are both understimulating and difficult to get into.

As far as the difficulty of passing the entrance exams, I'm a prospective MIT student in terms of ability and test results, however, my work ethic and lack of motivation is what slowed me down from being a clear shot away from MIT, and quite frankly, the school looks a bit to overstimulating for the simpler career plans I have worked out.

If I was going to be a major in groundbreaking science or a very dynamic field, I just may have championed an American college. Whether I spend a few years in a Japanese college by terms of exchange or a full transfer is up to how things work out in the neext few years or how my opinions may change.

But overall, I think if I can get into one of the top 3 schools in Japan, it would look better than any american college I go to unless I attend Harvard, MIT, Cal Tech, or the like.