MEXT Scholarship for Postgraduate 2011: General Discussions.

[akaitsume1]

Reading your post really reassures me alot. Thanks . If that's the case, then it means that we are assure to get the scholarship once we get the LOAs?. Then why do they have to make us go through all the uncertainties about it, and wait till January next year for the final confirmation? Would have prefer that they tell us right away after we passed the interview

Yeah, nyfa already said what I was going to say, hahaha. Once in a blue moon, they turn somebody down, but nobody seems to ever know why. I really don't think it had to do with their proposal or anything, though. They approve so many different types of projects that it's hard for them to take a look at just one out of hundreds and say it's not "worthy."

I wish they'd take less than 9 months to make up their minds, too. >_<

 

[PoopyPants]

Actually, there were some cases where despite having LoA, MEXT will reject a candidate. It happened with this year's batch in my country. One person with two LoAs, and MEXT didn't grant her the scholarship in the end. Embassy had no answer for her, cause it all comes back to MEXT for the final decision.
It's a rare case though.

This makes me nervous

How did you find out about this case? Did you personally know the person who got rejected?

 

[destiny2]

This makes me nervous
How did you find out about this case? Did you personally know the person who got rejected?

yup that made me nervous too..
Let's hope that "rare case" won't happen for 2011 applicant...

 

[nyfa]

This makes me nervous
How did you find out about this case? Did you personally know the person who got rejected?

Yes, I know her personally.. She told me about her not getting the scholarship in the end.

 

[PoopyPants]

yup that made me nervous too..
Let's hope that "rare case" won't happen for 2011 applicant...

Yea, I hope so.

@nyfa

Oh that sucks. I guess all i can do now is wait, and hope for the best

 

[nyfa]

Yea, I hope so.
@Nyfa
Oh that sucks. I guess all i can do now is wait, and hope for the best

Do not worry too much Yeah, it sucked for her since she has waited until January.. but like I said, it's a rare case.

 

[octagonx]

Hi. A prof in titech told me to ask other professors first because he already signed an LOA for another candidate and then inform him again if i unfortunately didnt get LOAs from them. The prof in Kyoto U already turned down my application and now I'm waiting for the one from Todai.

Do you think I should look for other professors besides the ones I indicated in my application form? I really didnt spent time on looking for other schools because those are the top three schools in Japan, at least in engineering.

 

[flidar]

In the end, I only put in one LOA for Keio, which is private, and it was fine. They make a fuss about it, but I haven't seen anyone run into trouble because they chose a private university. ^_^

I just wanted to add a new case here that is from a Australian student getting the MEXT research scholarship in April 2009. Her major is MBA related and she has handed in three loas with her first choice of Waseda and second choice of Kyoto U and a third choice that I can't remember now. And MEXT put her in her second choice of Kyoto U in the end.

 

[jophillia]

To all who are still in the process of getting LoAs, hang in there! I am also at this stage... and at least for me now, it doesn't seem very promising >_<

I do have two questions I hope you guys can help me with though =x

1) Is it alright if you change your research plan when requesting LoAs from the respective professors in the Universities? So far there are no formal rules by MEXT which state that this cannot be done =x

2) Also, if the professors from the universities of your choice (as indicated in the MEXT application form) do not reply and you end up getting a LoA from another university, would submitting the MEXT document to the other university work against you? After all, the university can see that you have not listed them as one of your choices.

Thank you so much for your assistance!

 

[seacrac]

To all who are still in the process of getting LoAs, hang in there! I am also at this stage... and at least for me now, it doesn't seem very promising >_<
I do have two questions I hope you guys can help me with though =x
1) Is it alright if you change your research plan when requesting LoAs from the respective professors in the Universities? So far there are no formal rules by MEXT which state that this cannot be done =x
2) Also, if the professors from the universities of your choice (as indicated in the MEXT application form) do not reply and you end up getting a LoA from another university, would submitting the MEXT document to the other university work against you? After all, the university can see that you have not listed them as one of your choices.
Thank you so much for your assistance!

1) I believe it is feasible for the following reasons:
- Unless you contacted the professor beforehand, there is a high likelihood that the professor would like you to change your proposal to be aligned to his research field. Thus it is kinda unavoidable to change your research proposal.
- I had heard of cases where previous scholars change their research topic and still got the scholarship.

2) Well, I believe that is the case with most of us >_<. I don't think they will fuse too much about it.

 

[PeterSimon]

1) I believe it is feasible for the following reasons:
- Unless you contacted the professor beforehand, there is a high likelihood that the professor would like you to change your proposal to be aligned to his research field. Thus it is kinda unavoidable to change your research proposal.

I would love if they offered to change my proposal, but so far I only get negative replies. >_<

 

[prettybunny]

@prettybunny No, you don't need to do anything else. Just submit the LOA to your embassy and sit back and wait for February. Lol.

Dear all, just to inform you all that maybe u will face the similar dilemma as me now..
I contacted a prof in tokyo medical and dental uni and he seems quite interested in taking me, and he asked me to send him the passing certificate and reference from my supervisor.

He told me the application of senkousei (research student) is much later from now, which is Jan or Feb 2011, so I do not need to be in hurry to apply for admission yet. But the office of admission emailed me to ask me send in all documents required for admission application before they are willing to issue a letter of acceptance for me.

And in the email, the admission office stated in quite an unhappy tone that I should actually email them first before I make any contact with the professor.

I am confused :S

 

[jophillia]

1) I believe it is feasible for the following reasons:
- Unless you contacted the professor beforehand, there is a high likelihood that the professor would like you to change your proposal to be aligned to his research field. Thus it is kinda unavoidable to change your research proposal.
- I had heard of cases where previous scholars change their research topic and still got the scholarship.
2) Well, I believe that is the case with most of us >_<. I don't think they will fuse too much about it.

Thanks so much for the reply =) I feel more settled now. Hope we all do get the LoAs.

@prettybunny: I also faced something like your situation but in my case, I mailed both the professors and the admission office. The school did not seem particular about which I mailed first. I think its just the tone they use which could seem unfriendly but I don't think they are upset.

 

[blurcheryl]

Anyone knows how long does it take for Todai (Grad Sch of Engineering, Dept of Bioengineering) to process a LOA? Roughly...anyone?

 

[nyfa]

Anyone knows how long does it take for Todai (Grad Sch of Engineering, Dept of Bioengineering) to process a LOA? Roughly...anyone?

What did the admin people told you? For my grad school, there was even a meeting between professors and grad school committee to discuss the number of MEXT scholars that they were going to take after all applicants submitted their documents to Toudai. So it took them some time before they finally released the final result and the LoA (they called it CoA in Toudai). I think mine was around early/mid September.

 

[blurcheryl]

What did the admin people told you? For my grad school, there was even a meeting between professors and grad school committee to discuss the number of MEXT scholars that they were going to take after all applicants submitted their documents to Toudai. So it took them some time before they finally released the final result and the LoA (they called it CoA in Toudai). I think mine was around early/mid September.

They just asked me to send all the documents (PDF files) which I sent to the embassy for application and passing certificate. That's it. No more news from them. They didn't even ask for hardcopies which I thought I need to post to them as told by my embassy here. Along with those PDF files, I attached the correspondence e-mail between me and my prof as a proof of acceptance. And my prof didn't reply my e-mail ever since I told him I passed the interview. I'm worried sick that he might change his mind bout taking me

 

[nyfa]

They just asked me to send all the documents (PDF files) which I sent to the embassy for application and passing certificate. That's it. No more news from them. They didn't even ask for hardcopies which I thought I need to post to them as told by my embassy here.

It was the same with me. Toudai only required the PDF files. But I suggest you to ask the admin what is going to happen next. My grad school admin clearly stated last year when they were going to have the meeting and when (roughly) they were going to release the result. No harm in asking

And my prof didn't reply my e-mail ever since I told him I passed the interview. I'm worried sick that he might change his mind bout taking me

And this one, I think it's because it's still summer vacation here in Japan. The professors are very busy people, that it might took them days to reply an email, and maybe more if it's a vacation period. But don't worry. Your business now is only with admin people. Your professor won't know the result either until admin people release the result to you.

 

[blurcheryl]

It was the same with me. Toudai only required the PDF files. But I suggest you to ask the admin what is going to happen next. My grad school admin clearly stated last year when they were going to have the meeting and when (roughly) they were going to release the result. No harm in asking


Yeah I think I'll e-mail the admin lady tomorrow. Thanks for the info.


And this one, I think it's because it's still summer vacation here in Japan. The professors are very busy people, that it might took them days to reply an email, and maybe more if it's a vacation period. But don't worry. Your business now is only with admin people. Your professor won't know the result either until admin people release the result to you.

Really? My professor wouldn't know the result either? That's surprising though. But I'm much relieved now cuz that explains why he is missing in action Anyways, thank you very much for your words of assurance. They sure helped

 

[prettybunny]

They just asked me to send all the documents (PDF files) which I sent to the embassy for application and passing certificate. That's it. No more news from them. They didn't even ask for hardcopies which I thought I need to post to them as told by my embassy here. Along with those PDF files, I attached the correspondence e-mail between me and my prof as a proof of acceptance. And my prof didn't reply my e-mail ever since I told him I passed the interview. I'm worried sick that he might change his mind bout taking me

hmm, i also sent my cv to todai's professor and no reply at all. I thought they are not interested in accepting me so I did not contact admin office of Todai. Sounds like i should also send my documents directly to the admission office of Todai...

fortunately i joined this forum! or else i really don't know where can I find guidelines or experienced people to resolve my queries!

Arigatou, minna!!!

 

[blurcheryl]

hmm, i also sent my cv to todai's professor and no reply at all. I thought they are not interested in accepting me so I did not contact admin office of Todai. Sounds like i should also send my documents directly to the admission office of Todai...
fortunately i joined this forum! or else i really don't know where can I find guidelines or experienced people to resolve my queries!
Arigatou, minna!!!

The professor has actually agreed to accept me earlier before I had my interview with the condition that I secure the scholarship. But there was no response from him when I told him that I've passed the interview and I need him to issue the LOA. Therefore, I had to send my documents directly to the office of international students (OIS) to apply for the LOA. Nevertheless, I would say yes, contact the office if the professor is not responding. I saw on the website of OIS that we can send the documents to them first and they'll help to contact the professors on our behalf.

 

[nyfa]

Really? My professor wouldn't know the result either? That's surprising though. But I'm much relieved now cuz that explains why he is missing in action Anyways, thank you very much for your words of assurance. They sure helped

Yes . After we sent all our documents to Toudai, all of our businesses with MEXT are going to be done through admin people.

I was surprised too when I asked my professor about the final result last January, and he said he didn't know yet. Then a few days later, the admin lady emailed me letting me know the final result. It seemed like at Toudai, admin people will notify the professors and us around the same time.

You're welcome. Good luck, hope to see you here next year .

 

[seacrac]

Does anybody knows, in the case that we obtained multiple LoAs, a way for us to indicate our preference of which supervisor we want to be with?

In my case, I have the potential to obtain 2 LoAs. However, there is only one I am really interested with. The other one serves as backup. However, is it possible for me to submit it as a backup without it backfiring on me, in the case that MEXT decided to choose it over my preferred one?

 

[ekoy]

Does anybody knows, in the case that we obtained multiple LoAs, a way for us to indicate our preference of which supervisor we want to be with?
In my case, I have the potential to obtain 2 LoAs. However, there is only one I am really interested with. The other one serves as backup. However, is it possible for me to submit it as a backup without it backfiring on me, in the case that MEXT decided to choose it over my preferred one?

Usually MEXT would place you in the university of your first choice. However, there are some rare cases where this does not happen.

 

[ekoy]

To all who are still in the process of getting LoAs, hang in there! I am also at this stage... and at least for me now, it doesn't seem very promising >_<
I do have two questions I hope you guys can help me with though =x
1) Is it alright if you change your research plan when requesting LoAs from the respective professors in the Universities? So far there are no formal rules by MEXT which state that this cannot be done =x
2) Also, if the professors from the universities of your choice (as indicated in the MEXT application form) do not reply and you end up getting a LoA from another university, would submitting the MEXT document to the other university work against you? After all, the university can see that you have not listed them as one of your choices.
Thank you so much for your assistance!

If I may put my 2 cents in:

1) If there are small details that you are planning to change, then I don't think that would be much of a problem as I did change a few points in my research plan last year.

2) Well, in M'sia we get to change that and submit an updated list of our preferred universities. I left mine blank on the application form (the one before the interview).

 

[seacrac]

If I may put my 2 cents in:
2) Well, in M'sia we get to change that and submit an updated list of our preferred universities. I left mine blank on the application form (the one before the interview).

I wasn't aware we can do that.

I filled up all 3 preferences of university in the application form (before the interview). However, I did state that I haven't contacted those professors yet. If this is the case, then should I contact the embassy and tell them that I want to change my university preferences?