Monbukagakusho Scholarship for Postgraduate!!

Anyway It's kinda OOT from the scholarship question but I stumbled upon the posts from the guy named lancetology. I had my laugh when menrui replied that "it will a steamboat for 1" for his post, did you remember this menrui ?

hehe yes i do remember that. He seemed like a smart, nice guy at first... but then his ego suddenly just blew up for no reason. I think he has a problem with girls.

I have no idea whether her applied or not, but I certainly would not like to meet him.
 
I'm going to quickly answer some questions that i missed.

From my experience, there are many universities that want you to only apply to them, or they just assume that you are already doing so. They might even reject your application if you dont.

Your japanese level really depends on your professor/graduate school.

statistically, the amount of scholarship given has risen every year since the early 1980. I posted some statistic links a long time ago between pages 1-99... So recessions and such had no effect. Did you guys hear, japan is out of the recession :) .

You can try calling your professor... but I think email is just more convenient for them. However, its not convenient for you of course.
 
Yeah, I heard about the recession being over, for now, in Japan.

It's good news for Japan, but not so impressive. Most of the growth has been "inflated" in every sense of the word. I wish I could expand on this subject, but I'm afraid to derail the thread.

Thanks for the quick reply Menrui. I guess I will try and call the want professor I am dying to work with. I tried and called him yesterday but he wasn't in. It was funny to speak japanese after being away from the language for over a year.

Anyway, who has gotten LoA's and from where?
 
recession over? really?........
are they going to raise our stipend back up to 170,000yen like it should've been.....? sigh =P
holiday season is killing us with tight budget...
 
I need your help guys. I am applying to 6 universities below.

From these following universities, which one offer MBA program taught in English?

Kyoto University
Tohoku University
Nagoya University
Waseda University
Ritsumeikan University
Kobe University

My Japanese skill is not adequate enough to study MBA in Japanese.

Thanks
 
Hello all!

I came accross this Forum a few hours ago and I was really impressed by the contents of this post! It has solved many of my doubts. I think this is the place to share my thoughts and gather information on many things I still ignore about the MEXT scholarship, formerly known (but still affectively regarded) as the Monbukagakusho Scholarship.

I got selected by the Japanese Embassy as a candidate for the MEXT Scholarship (that is, I passed the first screening... Yay!!) and last week I got an e-mail from the administrative staff at Todai's Department of ITS, saying that the professor I suggested to be my supervirsor has accepted me and that I should be receiving the CoA (It's certificate in Todai, not letter ;-) ) by mid september. So now you know more or less what's my current situation.

I would like to consult with you guys, what are the odds of getting in the Uni you selected as first choice? Todai is my first, Keio's my second, Kobe's third. And above all, what are the odds of actually getting the scholarship? :-D

Also, is there someone studying at Todai? are the lectures (for Grad Schools) in English?
It is my understanding that the japanese Government cut off some budget and the scholarship recipients now receive about 150kyen instead of 170kyen. Is this still enough to get by?

well... that's all for now, It would be really nice if someone could help me out with the questions :-) a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Have all a nice day! 🙂
 
soldier1st, judging from your description your situation (and odds of getting it) looks quite promising.
since everything is already in place, hopefully everything goes through smoothly, unless there are some unforseen circimstances (your supervisor resign, changed his mind, your documents got messed up halfway, earthquake that destroyed Todai, etc etc etc) , you'll be fine

I'll leave the English lecture question to Todai students (i'm in Handai).
But like all universities, English lectures/programmes aren't many or can i say, a luxury sometimes. But even if it's in Japanese, you should do fine as well since hundreds of foreigners have graduated every year.

Stipend question? Again this depends on your lifestyle.
150k yen is definitey enough for all students. I've heard of students who manage to save up half of that amount, and still living a decent life. Tokyo, though more expensive, it's still enough for sure unless you go clubbing every week. I've seen students who burn out their stipend within 2 weeks and get extra cash from parents. Things are expensive here so if you're not careful cash runs out fast. Just spend wisely and you'll live a very decent life without having to starve yourself.

Goodluck
 
150k yen is definitey enough for all students. I've heard of students who manage to save up half of that amount, and still living a decent life.

You're not talking about me are you? haha.
Yes 150k yen is more than enough to live a great school life. If you are like me, and you mostly travel back and forth from your lab, and just eat at the school cafeteria, you should be able to save half, if not more. I feel like buying a PS3... but I'm not...
 
You're not talking about me are you? haha.
Yes 150k yen is more than enough to live a great school life. If you are like me, and you mostly travel back and forth from your lab, and just eat at the school cafeteria, you should be able to save half, if not more. I feel like buying a PS3... but I'm not...

Hee ive been reading silently but you made me want to applaud you! It's too easy to give in to temptations to overspend there, in my personal opinions hee... but have you done some travelling around, since it can "enhance your understanding of Japan & its culture" =P Would be quite a waste if not...
 
You're not talking about me are you? haha.
Yes 150k yen is more than enough to live a great school life. If you are like me, and you mostly travel back and forth from your lab, and just eat at the school cafeteria, you should be able to save half, if not more. I feel like buying a PS3... but I'm not...

I was on student-exchange during my undergrad at TUFS (Tokyo Gaidai) and we only got 80,000 yen per month on the short-term student exchange scholarship and it was more than enough to survive on.

It all depends if you know how to manage money. There were some students who managed to spend 15,000 yen a month on cell phone bills because they insisted on using their Japan cell phone to call long distance instead of using something like skype instead...
 
I still give into temptation of course. For example, I bought some expensive shoes and socks last month. And I'm really considering buying a really expensive camera...

I've done "some" traveling... but not as much as ling fan over there. My lab days/hours really limits me. I've become a stranger at our dorm.
 
expensive socks, menrui?? why's the obsession with socks anyway, dude? =p

yea, if you're anti-social like menrui you can save a lot, he's probably the most cash rich among us all.

Money comes and goes very fast =p but if short term exchange students can live on 80,000yen (from there they still have to fork out for rent), 155,000yen is a comfortable stipend. Undergrads live on 120,000yen for years and still manage to save.
The real killer is actually Rent. If you're not careful, it'll cost you 200,000-300,000yen upon signing of contract, and 50,000-70,000yen monthly for a decent single room studio apartment. Usually dries up your savings upon moving into private housing... which is why saving is very important during your months in the dorm. Some lucky students "inherit" apartments from seniors who are moving out, saving them a fortune. Some opt for cheap accommodation or private dorms
 
I think I'm just a shoe person. I bought some nifty soles to go with those shoes too.

Hey~ I'm not anti social... just a bit busy that's all.

And I'm not rich. I'm just saving for a rainy day.
 
I think I'm just a shoe person. I bought some nifty soles to go with those shoes too.

Hey~ I'm not anti social... just a bit busy that's all.

And I'm not rich. I'm just saving for a rainy day.

Haha, i'm just pulling your leg man.
Don't take it seriously. =p
Goodluck in your lab work.
 
Wow... you're really quick to reply =P. You've already acquired japanese efficiency! I'm glad!! hehehe...
Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.
I would like to ask you now about the Master course topic. Is it difficult to enter a Master's course in the Uni? And how does all this "Research Student to Master's Course -Jedi- path" ;-) work?
I'm going in as a Research Student, but my plans are for getting a Master's degree. Does anyone know how this works? What are the odds (yeah, I'm a fan of probabilities :-) ) of getting in as a regular Student from the Research Student status?
Another important thing... work!! well, namely Internships... Is it possible to do an Internship while being a Research Student? I believe that I speak for all when I say that working in a japanese company will definitely make a difference both in professional experience and of course, the CV :P.
One final topic: 窶愿コ窶怒ナ津ェツ!ツ! :-S How big is the language barrier in the Uni? in daily situations (getting food, hitting on girls :P) ??. The MEXT Scholarship includes 6 months of intensive training, right? What do you have to say about it? I'm fluent in english and german (I don't believe german will help much though :-( ) is that enough to at least survive in the concrete jungle? :P
Don't get me wrong, one of the main reasons I applied for the scholarship was for the opportunity to learn japanese, but right now my japanese is quite basic... so I want to know how difficult is to live in japan with only a basic command of Japanese.
Well, I'll just wait for yer comments! Have a nice day!
 
Difficulty/odds and path really depends on your professor. Some professors will gladly accept you just because you are a scholarship student, and on the other end, some may seriously make you compete for slots. As for path, you might take some time for jpn classes, some research, then enter the masters course, or jump into the MC right away.

I dont know anything about internship

You might not even need to speak Japanese to get by graduate school. You dont really need Japanese to buy food. You could probably get a gf without knowing any Japanese either ha, but she might be using you just to learn English :( .

Some Japanese people can speak English, and many people will help you. You will do fine.
 
dilemma

Tomorrow I have interview in embassy, yes it's a bit late, and anyway, I have a question to ask. I decided to drop my 2nd and 3rd choice and apply only to the University of Tokyo. But, I still didn't get any definite reply from the professor. Is there any chance that when I send my document still be accepted, because I chose to go straight to master course. and what should I tell to the people in the embassy>?

or it is not adventage?
 
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yes there is a "chance", but I wouldnt take it. You dont have a "definite" decision from the professor and you are trying to apply to University of Tokyo, I would suggest that you have a 2nd option.

In the case that you do only apply to univ of tokyo, and they dont accept you, MEXT will choose a school/prof for you.
 
Tomorrow I have interview in embassy, yes it's a bit late, and anyway, I have a question to ask. I decided to drop my 2nd and 3rd choice and apply only to the University of Tokyo. But, I still didn't get any definite reply from the professor. Is there any chance that when I send my document still be accepted, because I chose to go straight to master course. and what should I tell to the people in the embassy>?

or it is not adventage?

like menrui said. risky
they won't offer you just because you have no other options. They might just not give you at all.
Todai is competitive and you should have a backup.
 
agreed! i'd keep in your 2nd and 3rd options. todai weren't insistent on exclusivity in my case - i doubt they'll be in yours either, unless you've seen it written on their web.

question:
are we actually allowed to have part time jobs when we're on scholarship? i hear you all say its enough to get by, i'm sure it is.. but i'm a material girl, what can i say.

aside:
gon apply to do JLPT 1 this december.. eeeek! but i have to do something useful between now and april, right? lawl.
xx
 
Well, actually, we can't work part time with the visa we get ("College Student" or something like that). However, we may have a permit from the Uni to "Engage other activities other than those stated on the visa" and we can work only if the money we get is insufficient to cover our expenses or if it's going to be spent right away, never to save money nor sending money overseas. At least, that's what I read in Todai's website.

I think the guys pointed it out well and we can live with the scholarship's money quite comfortably. The deal is, I would really like to do an Intership, working in my field of study in a japanese company. That way I get some job experience AND get extra money to live large in japan!😊

... dunno if it's possible though... :?
 
Well, actually, we can't work part time with the visa we get ("College Student" or something like that). However, we may have a permit from the Uni to "Engage other activities other than those stated on the visa" and we can work only if the money we get is insufficient to cover our expenses or if it's going to be spent right away, never to save money nor sending money overseas. At least, that's what I read in Todai's website.
I think the guys pointed it out well and we can live with the scholarship's money quite comfortably. The deal is, I would really like to do an Intership, working in my field of study in a japanese company. That way I get some job experience AND get extra money to live large in japan!😊
... dunno if it's possible though... :?

what you read about part time job is true.

and forget about internship if you're a science student. here everybody dedicates (or forced to dedicate) 110% of their time in the lab. Japanese students usually work 6 1/2 days in the lab. And working hours is usually 9am - 9pm. Time constraint alone will take 'part time job' off your mind, let alone exhaustion.
And if your supervisor is also another workaholic, good luck getting him to sign your permit for part time job =p
though theoretically allowed, technically it's impossible 99% of the time.
There is one feasible way to get extra cash though, after 1 year, you can sign up as a tutor, tutoring undergrads for your supervisor.
 
My chosen Prof. informed me that a LOA was sent to me end of last week. It hasn't reached me yet (feels like its taking forever..). And the Embassy has informed me that they are posting my application forms to Japan today. They assured me that I need not worry because they can send the LOA to Japan on its own as soon as I receive it - but I am worried. I have every reason to worry, don't I?
 
Hajime mashite

Minna san Douzo Yoroshiku.

I'm a newcomer from Indonesia and I am a candidate for MEXT Research Student 2010. I already got LOA from Nagoya Univ (Graduate School of Economics) and Kobe Univ.(Graduate Scholl of Business and Administration).

Waiting for your sharing. Thanks =)
 
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