Foreign students taking entrance exams into Japanese universities.

Just want to know;

Has anyone out there taken the entrance exams into a japanese university as a foreign student?

What was your nationality?

Has anyone given a shot at Tokyo university , Kyoto university and the like?

What was the experience like?

Did you take the exam in your home country or in Japan?

How many hours did you sleep/study a day when preparing for this exam?

How many & which subjects did you have to take?

Does the entrance exam test you on material that you are definitely not going to study at the university? (That is, if you intend to study Pure Physics at a particular japanese university, you still have to take World/Japanese History as an entrance exam subject. )

Is it true that you are very likely to fail the exam if you sleep 5 hours a day?

Can you enroll into any Japanese universitiy (including Tokyo University) with A-Level or IB (International Baccalaureate) qualifications? Or do you still have to sit for the university's entrance exam?

Also, how difficult/easy is the EJU compared to entrance exams administered
by the japanese universities themselves?

Thanks.

Somebody answer this person! Because I want to know......if anyone can answer ALL of that in one post! XD

i don't think anybody is crazy enough. the only exception would be someone who was born in japan, then lived overseas with their japanese parents, and thinks their japanese is up to par.

I'm not a student and not a foreign national either, so I'll just give you the information I have, as a mother of two kids who went through the Japanese school system.

There are many different ways of getting into universities in Japan. There are those like ICU and Sophia you can get in with foreign scholastic aptitude tests (SAT) and high school grades and diploma. Some other Japanese universities accept foreign-national students under special programs. I think most of these are in the area of humanities (foreign languages, literature, etc.) or sociology (like cultural anthropology). You have to look into requirements of each university you're interested in. I don't know about the area of natural sciences. I only know that it is easier for foreigners to get into graduate-level programs, because I see more of them on that level than on the undergraduate level.

As for getting into undergraduate courses at public universities like University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, I don't think they have any special programs or quota for accepting foreign students on the undergraduate level (unless there have been changes in the past couple of years that I don't know of). To get in these universities, you have to undergo what is popularly known as ﾆ短ﾆ停?愴耽ﾂーﾅｽﾅｽﾅ陳ｱ (something like SAT in the US). The number of subjects you have to take depends on the university, but public ones require at least five (I actually think six or more) in both humanities and math/science. You need to score nearly perfect there. THEN, comes the entrance examinations for each university, which are also rigorous and on diverse subjects. You have to be good in subjects that you don't plan to pursue studies--that's why it's difficult to get into these universities.
Here again, getting into graduate school is different...

And, you do all these in Japanese only, and only at locations in Japan for the Center Tests and at the universities you wish to attend for the second round. That's about all that I can think of right now... ☝

My opinion: Get college education in your home country, come to Japan as exchange student if possible, and pursue graduate studies in Japan, if you are studying in an area in which the Japanese academic sector excels. (I know many students become exhausted from studying for the entrance examinations and enter a phase of "limbo"(?) in university--I don't know how to describe it. That's why I sent off my kids to colleges in the US. )

I've read my post again... Sorry if I scared off a lot of people.

There is something I remember now that should be included in my post.

The reforms introduced by Prime Minister Koizumi have touched into adminstration of Japan's state and public universities. It is highly likely that changes will be introduced in the years ahead, although I have no idea what they'll be.

If you really want to enter any of these universities, I recommend you check into the admission requirements for the academic year you wish to enter, since changes may be introduced each year. I wish good luck to those who try, because it is not impossible. In fact, there are people who breeze through these examinations. (Not my kids, though )

Entrance exam

Thanks for the info.

In fact, there are people who breeze through these examinations.

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If a student can breeze through Tokyo or Kyoto University's entrance exam, he/she is a 1 in 5,000,000 prodigy.

I took a look at an english translation of a previous Todai's entrance math test, & my eyes popped out.

I've never (or at best, rarely) seen so difficult questions in my A-level Maths!

If a student can breeze through Tokyo or Kyoto University's entrance exam, he/she is a 1 in 5,000,000 prodigy.

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Absolutely!!

I have a friend who wants to enter Todai, he has been studying for the task, relentlessly for about 5 years now. Came to Australia for an exchange, I met him a year later and his english is perfect, grammar is as good as mine. His mum is an English teacher and his dad a maths teacher, the kid is SET. Comes home and studies, goes to juku, comes home and studies then goes to bed. Very very intense....

Most universities offer 2 different things for foreigners. There is rather drall lessons taught in English on a variety of simpler subjects or you can go native, in which case you have to apply and pass in the same fashion as other Japanese students, in that regards I cant see any loopholes....

See, thats why I'm going to a reealy good university here in the united states, because it's so hard to get into a university in japan where as here, all I need is a 3.0 to transfer and I'm set. *3.39... so proud!*

Yeah, but it's harder to graduate from a US university than it is from a Japanese one. The entrance exam is the hardest part.

Yeah, but atleast you can study as you go instead of knowing everything before
Your chances of getting into a realy good college here is better if your from here

I don't know about that. I know I've seen a lot of international students in colleges here, and I know that they had to take ESL tests and they have to pay more, but I don't think it hurts their chances all that much. It's hard for me to compare, though, because I didn't have any problem getting in to colleges here, and I'm from here. I don't know too well what it's like for people from other countries.

I guess I'll have to take a look at the entrance examinations for Japanese universities to know exactly how hard it is to get in. I haven't seen any for myself; I've only read what others have said about them.

Oh, I was just talking about myself. I didnt mean that it was easy for an international student here. I'm looking at a college in south carolina where all I need is a 2.5 and a 3.0 for my major. You dont have to worry about fluency or anything... well for my major you do but not to that great of an extent. The college I'm looking at is ranked #1 in the nation for IB majors so i think that's better than what I'd get into if I were to go to japan. But I think I'm going a bit off topic.

Back to the topic:
My major does require me to go to japan and study for a semester so that would be one of the programs he was talking about earlier. I think it would also be easier to go to grad school there because if your comming from a good college in the US then your more established then if you were to come from highschool.

Glenn said:

I don't know about that. I know I've seen a lot of international students in colleges here, and I know that they had to take ESL tests and they have to pay more, but I don't think it hurts their chances all that much. It's hard for me to compare, though, because I didn't have any problem getting in to colleges here, and I'm from here. I don't know too well what it's like for people from other countries.

I guess I'll have to take a look at the entrance examinations for Japanese universities to know exactly how hard it is to get in. I haven't seen any for myself; I've only read what others have said about them.

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For many international (Japanese) students in the US, the only hurdles are English competence (i.e., TOEFL) and money, since Japanese high schools teach math and science at a much higher level than in the US (generally speaking, of course).

Just to satisfy your interest in university entrance exams, I'm posting a sample of the 2005 entrance exams for Waseda University's Faculty of Education (humanities--including Japanese language), which is known to be the top academic department in Japan for training educators. The exams for the national and public universities take place later this month and in March.
代々木ゼミナール（予備校） | ご案内

Click the subject name for sample questions in the respective areas.