I am applying graduate programs in Japan. Any suggestions?

Hello!
I am recently planning to apply for the graduate program in Japan. I am currently studying economics at UCLA but not having an outstanding GPA. My GPA would be around 3.2 after this quarter, and I hope I could make it higher when I officially graduate. I had a pretty bad studying habit during my junior year, so my GPA dropped down. I have been asking my friends who are studying in Japan, and they said they could guarantee me to at least get into Waseda's English-speaking Econ Graduate Program since I am from a top-ranked collage, if I keep my GPA above 3.0. I don't really believe what they said, and I think it won't be an easy task to get into grad school in Japan due to its limitation of acceptances of English-speaking students. So I am asking for your help. Could you guys give me some suggestions on my applications, and do they really care about GPA if I have a very strong personal statement? Thank you so much! I am currently thinking about University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Keio University(these are hard, but I still wanna try), Waseda Univerity and Osaka University. I want to put more schools on my wishlist. Thank you so much!

I don't have any knowledge on this subject, but please delete your post in the 'All Things Japanese' forum. This is the more appropriate forum on this site, and cross-posting within the site is not allowed.

SomeCallMeChris said:

I don't have any knowledge on this subject, but please delete your post in the 'All Things Japanese' forum. This is the more appropriate forum on this site, and cross-posting within the site is not allowed.

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Umm... I don't really know how to delete post. It's just my first post.

Hrmmmm. Actually, I don't know either, and maybe it's not possible, I was just trying to save you from the mods getting mad at you but in any case, when they notice they can fix it.

Edit: Or else you figured it out, or else they already did, because the other post doesn't seem to exist anymore.

I don't know about the requirements for specific programs. But I do know of a couple of people who got into English-taught graduate programs in Keio and Waseda without having great grades or motivational statements (they weren't studying at very well-known universities either).

If you really want an answer the best thing is to contact the universities' admissions departments directly and ask what the requirements for the courses are because they will know a lot better than anyone here. But honestly I think you should just go ahead and apply. I have the impression that the places on the English-taught courses aren't very difficult to get at all, it's funding that's difficult to get. If you're able to self-fund I don't think you'll have a problem going to one of the universities you've listed.

madphysicist said:

I don't know about the requirements for specific programs. But I do know of a couple of people who got into English-taught graduate programs in Keio and Waseda without having great grades or motivational statements (they weren't studying at very well-known universities either).

If you really want an answer the best thing is to contact the universities' admissions departments directly and ask what the requirements for the courses are because they will know a lot better than anyone here. But honestly I think you should just go ahead and apply. I have the impression that the places on the English-taught courses aren't very difficult to get at all, it's funding that's difficult to get. If you're able to self-fund I don't think you'll have a problem going to one of the universities you've listed.

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Thank you for your reply and information. I appreciate! So what you mean is if I apply as a self-fund student, chances would be higher to get into the program?

Robin L. said:

Thank you for your reply and information. I appreciate! So what you mean is if I apply as a self-fund student, chances would be higher to get into the program?

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I mean that getting a place on the course is usually not the difficult part. The difficult part is getting someone else to pay for it. Obtaining either a private scholarship or a funded place from the university will be much more competitive than simply being accepted to study there.

This is not specific to Japan, this is true for most graduate courses around the world. Universities are more able and willing to accept students whom they don't have to fund, for obvious reasons.

Robin L. said:

Thank you for your reply and information. I appreciate! So what you mean is if I apply as a self-fund student, chances would be higher to get into the program?

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Do you think the private universities with high tuition fees would turn down a foreigner offering to pay those fees? Universities are no different than any other business; their product is education.