Financial support, different situation.

Hey everybody!

EDIT: My apologies for the long post. I've now put the main questions in BOLD so that you don't have to read all of my blabber.

I'm new here, and I was hoping somebody can help me out a little as I'm lost. I have a little bit of a different situation going here. Please help guys!

My aim is to study in Japan in 2015 or 2016 (I would be taking courses in English + Japanese language classes), however... I'm 24, which probably means I'm not eligible for MEXT (I've read you have to be born no earlier than 1993), so here I am, trying to find any possible way to aid those $30,000-ish (USD) tuition costs for the 4 years of study. Any suggestions?

I'm an independent and working individual (Risk Analyst/Business admin here in Sherman Oaks, CA), and I have nobody else to help me with any money issues whatsoever. My main concern is the tuition costs. Personal expenses, housing, etc. I will be able to afford myself as I'm also a freelancer and work from home, so I'll be earning while studying.

I have 100% completed two (2) academic years of studies in a UK-based university, but dropped out before graduating. I was thinking, if I can possibly apply as a transfer student and then continue studying from the 3rd year onward, that would obviously cut the costs in half. But yet again: my previous degree was BA (with Honors) Acting, which might not work in majority of cases (although I'm not sure about this one), so everything is working against me, haha. I should've planned my life better a few years ago! Learn from my mistakes, you kids.

Not sure if this is relevant: I'm an EU citizen (Lithuania) but I'm living & working in the USA. I would obviously be applying from my home country, Lithuania.

That's about as much info as I can provide at the moment. I really hope somebody has more information than I do and can enlighten me as to how should I proceed further...

Thanks guys! I appreciate any kind of input!

Saw your post in japan-guide haha.

Scholarships are not totally impossible yet. MEXT is just one of the many scholarship providers. JASSO has scholarships for students who are broke and need help with funding too. The local governments from less mainstream prefectures also provide scholarships for international students. Not sure if you have read this. There are links inside to various scholarships for 2015.

And the other option is part-time work (arubaito). Students are permitted to work 28 hours a week so long you do a simple procedure at the immigration office. the minimum wage in Japan depends from place to place but it is generally around 8-900yen /hr.

If $ is an issue, I would advise you to choose a location other than Tokyo... or even Kyoto.

[MENTION=62907]mesolithic[/MENTION], yeah, that's me haha. As you can see, I'm desperate.

Thanks for your input, good info. I will check out that link now.

In terms of part-time work, I don't really feel it's necessary, as I can make more cash by working from home, therefore, I'm not worried about personal expenses and housing.

Generally, I can afford to live in Tokyo no problem. Plus, from what I've seen, Tokyo isn't much more expensive than LA, and it also has a great public transit system (LA's is the worst). What I can't afford is the $6000-$9000/year fees for studying (unless, maybe, one can pay them in installments or take out a government loan?), and that's what I need the scholarship for.

EDIT: Yeah, I've read through all the info in that link before, that's where I learned about MEXT. I was hoping to maybe be eligible for YLP scholarship on the account of my working experience in business field, but these apply to a very few of Japan's universities. Not sure if I'm eligible for anything else, either.

Hi True B

If you apply to a national university (this may apply for private ones as well, BUT I do not know), you would need to pay roughly Y30,000 application fee, then Y280,000 entrance fee up front. Then, you would pay for the first semester,Y270,000 BUT you can apply for a tuition discount of 50% (which means it would beY135,000) and perhaps more importantly, it would push back the date of payment until your application for the discount is approved or rejected (about 2 months). As a self-supporting student, you would likely get the discount.

So about:

Y310,000 for admission stuff
Y270,000 tuition per year- ABOUT Y 1,390,000 (less that 14,00USD) which makes this a very economical degree.

As far as transfer credits, it may be possible, but usually ONLY if you prospective university has an MOU/AOC with your UK university.

The biggest barrier if you have no money might be getting a student visa if you have no scholarship, because you would need to have enough funds to prove that you are cab able of paying for your education.

Hope that helps

[MENTION=62640]tomoni[/MENTION],

Thanks a lot. This helps immensely!

I have a follow-up question. Do you, or anybody else, know private individuals or possibly even companies/websites that can take care of this stuff on my behalf? I'd pay about $500 to somebody who knows what's going on and could help me with figuring out all the scholarship stuff and what I'm eligible for.

I don't mind paying for this kind of service, as I really need a lot of help - every time I get a new answer, it usually raises even more questions. I've emailed back and forth with SO many universities over the past 7 days, and I can't seem to find the best approach to this situation.

Additionally, maybe somebody knows some banks that would offer loans for studying abroad? I'm desperate for anything.

I'm not eligible for MEXT (too old), or JASSO (not an exchange student).

Even if the degree is 14,000 per year, this probably won't work for me, as when you add that up with living costs and all other personal expenses, it's quite a sum for someone who's going to be spending all day studying, and not working. Also, just like you said, then there's a problem with student visa, since I don't think I'll have 20,000 USD in my bank account all at once. *I've read that's the very least they want to see to make sure I can support myself.

Thanks for any tips here, guys! It means A LOT to me, since I find it extremely hard to find information relevant to my somewhat unique situation (and I consider myself a pro-Googler).

Hi True Blue

1st

The degree is 14,000 USD TOTAL (not per year) as I said, that is a good deal.

>Additionally, maybe somebody knows some banks that would offer loans for studying abroad? I'm desperate for anything.
You would have to check with your bank

Do you, or anybody else, know private individuals or possibly even companies/websites that can take care of this stuff on my behalf?
They cannot really help you, because they cannot walk you through the acceptance process very well and they "get their money from volume" and public universities will NOT generally work with a once of agent.

You need to get in touch with a professor at a school that you want to go to and have him/her help you though it. OR contact a university faculty (or international office ) (and many will not even respond) about the application procedure.

I do not think you will need 20K but probably 10K (because you are permitted to work up to 20-24 (??? can remember the exact number ) hours per week

ALSO MEXT is targeting increasing the number of international students (300,000 student plan by 2016)- right now there are about 144,000 if memory serves correct.

So the environment is good for you to ry, but you must take action on your own.

I thought they didn't allow prospective earnings from a part-time job to count toward the amount you have to show prior to coming. Has that changed? (I think it is still twenty hours per week, by the way).

I think the reason they allow part-time work at all is primarily to give students an opportunity for increased real-world exposure to Japanese people, language, etc outside the academic setting and not so much to provide them a way to earn necessary living expenses. That has always been the impression I got from the "show your dough at the door" policy on student visas.

ARRRRRRRRRGH!
I just lost my reply..... did not "post" for what ever reason/...ARRRRRRRRRGH!
OK, now that I have de-stressed a bit .
Hi Mike
Thanks for your reply/comment.

Mike Cash said:

I thought they didn't allow prospective earnings from a part-time job to count toward the amount you have to show prior to coming.

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In my experiences, the "full freight" has not been required (but this is an immigration office call, so it may differ from region to region). For a 4 year degree, at a public university , just tuition would be around 2.5 million, and living costs could easily be as much as 4 million yen. Some cash in the bank and an employed "guarantor" (usually parents) with enough money to cover the costs (assuming that they did not eat themselves) has been accepted. (it may be that they only require full fright for one year - for a one year student visa- deep speculation here as to the reasoning as I am not that deeply involved in this sort of thing.
With a min of 6.5 million yen upfront, it pretty ensures that MEXT will not meet the 300,000 student goal. I think that the school that the student is applying to MAY affect how immigration looks upon the application (one of the selected 30 international units, or a national uni, or a prefectural, private, junior college, etc - again speculation here).

Mike Cash said:

(I think it is still twenty hours per week, by the way).

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Thx, memory is not what is used to be
Cheers

Just to clarify... limit on working hours for students has been raised to 28 hours a week during school term and 8 hours a day during vacations.

Hey guys! Thank you all for your replies; every input is very much appreciated.

I just wanted to kindly ask you if we could stay on topic of scholarships, stipends and any other kind of financial aid since this is the information I desperately need, and I'm quickly running out of time.

I'll have about 10,000 USD in my bank account on arrival, but not more. However, I agree - 14,000 USD for all 4 years is definitely a good price, if I can get it (how would I go about it, exactly?) I wonder if it would be possible to also cut it in half if I transfer my credits to a university and start from the 3rd year...

I'm not eligible for MEXT or JASSO, so those two primary scholarship providers are out of the picture. I'm not going to be looking for part-time work, because I have a little income from my small-time entrepreneurial ventures that will be enough to cover housing & living expenses, but not tuition costs.

If anybody has ANY tips & advice on how can I get other scholarships, or stipends, or minimize the tuition costs in any possible way, please do share, help a brother out. 14,000 USD is a good price, but it's still a lot for a 24-year old. I don't have parents/guarantors, and I'm 100% on my own.

Thank you in advance, guys!!!

Hi TrueB

TrueB said:

I just wanted to kindly ask you if we could stay on topic of scholarships, stipends and any other kind of financial aid since this is the information I desperately need, and I'm quickly running out of time.

Click to expand...

OK, if you are not eligible for the scholarships that you have mentioned because of your age, there are other scholarships, but it is hard to identify what they are because: Many of these are offered from "local" groups: (some I have encountered are: the local Lions Club, the Rotary Club, the local Bar Association, Business groups, the Chinese association, local international groups, the city, the prefecture, and so on. As well, individual professors may have a line on other scholarships … . Most of these scholarships are available only AFTER you come to Japan. There are also scholarships that are open to current students or students that have been accepted. Basically the only way to get info on that is to visit individual university home pages (and much of the info is not available on line, so you really need DIRECT contact from a professor who is willing to do the leg work for you. In my experience, this kind of help usually only occurs if you have been introduced to the prof (such as an introduction from your home university prof who already has a working relationship with the prof, through an international group, etc)

SO basically, you need to dig, and finally, pick a university, roll the dice and hope and work for the best.

TrueB said:

I'll have about 10,000 USD in my bank account on arrival, but not more. However, I agree - 14,000 USD for all 4 years is definitely a good price, if I can get it (how would I go about it, exactly?) I wonder if it would be possible to also cut it in half if I transfer my credits to a university and start from the 3rd year...

Click to expand...

A bit off topic from scholarships, but as I mentioned above, your university will probably need to have a working agreement with your prospective university (it can take years to work out an agreement to accept credits- for joint degrees, double degrees, etc.) SO in short, I would say HIGHLY UNLIKELY. But you need to do the leg work and find out by contacting universities that you are interested in.

TrueB said:

If anybody has ANY tips & advice on how can I get other scholarships, or stipends, or minimize the tuition costs in any possible way, please do share, help a brother out. 14,000 USD is a good price, but it's still a lot for a 24-year old. I don't have parents/guarantors, and I'm 100% on my own.

Click to expand...

I am sorry, but that is basically all the help that I can give. There is not much more on offer (that I am aware of) unless you are IN japan.

[MENTION=62640]tomoni[/MENTION], thanks a lot for your response, I appreciate your help. A thousand apologies for a late reply - for some reason I didn't get the email notification, which I always do.

Unfortunately, I still can't find any scholarships or even student loans which cover the full tuition and for which I would be eligible. I'm so desperate I started posting ads, offering $200 to anybody who can find information on this that would apply to my case...