MEXT Scholarship for Postgraduate 2009: Post Application

[kouki]

Maybe we should ask Ms Yin how much we should bring? (Ms Yin, do you mind answering that for us?)

But before that, ooilingfan, is that (how much cash should we be bringing along) stated in the guide book?

 

[clockworkorange]

Hi everyone,

Regarding the monthly stipend - I know its only given a month later after arrival but do they not give you some sort of allowance when you first arrive? Is it the 10000 yen ooilingfan mentioned?

Also, about how much to bring when going - honestly, i did not take the current exchange rate into account. So u guys have a point. I suppose the more you can afford to bring the more comfortable you'll feel.

At any rate, for those going in April, let us October ppl know yeah?
Btw, is there a facebook group now or something?

To yeelee, hello!! I'm going in October too!!

 

[noob]

>Can we change Malaysian Ringgit in Japan? If we can't then we will be loosing money twice by doing MYR-USD-JPY... Maybe we can ask our family to deposit some money for us if we run out of them in Japan... The Japanese exchange students here are doing that... I think we can withdraw money using the ATM of the major banks in Japan, by ATM cards of banks such as Maybank, HSBC or others?

it is not impossible. you can change ringgit to yen at some (very few) branches of the major banks (sumitomo, mitsubishi ufj etc.) but the rates will not be as good as you may get back home, and the procedure is rather troublesome. if your malaysian atm card has a cirrus sign, you can withdraw yen directly from the japan post atm machines. this is, of course, subject to current exchange rates. each withdrawal will incur a fee of SG$5, but i'm not sure how the malaysian banks will charge. useful if you get desperate!

also, not all credit cards work, so don't be surprised if your non-japanese issued card gets rejected. i think you can apply for a japanese card through most university unions - usually without yearly fees.

i think 150,000 yen could get you through a month safely if you don't make any major purchases. most uni grads there earn about 250,000yen a month BEFORE tax, and they have to pay their own rent too as most of them live away from home! so that might be a helpful gauge.

hope this helps!

 

[clockworkorange]

Hey everybody,

Since its lunch time, i can access my personal email. The following are the sites the student from Tokyo U forwarded to me. She was really kind to help me out.

This is a blog about the Komaba campus of Tokyo U (dunno how much it will help ppl but it could give some idea on how much to bring as there is a list of prices at the bottom):
fwong(dot)wordpress(dot)com/2007/04/12/the-komaba-international-lodge/

This is from the JASSO website: www(dot)jasso(dot)go(dot)jp/shibu/index_e(dot)html

Hope it helps.

 

[kouki]

I think bringing amount almost to the amount of our stipend would be a great idea... We'll see then...
>Vyen
Are you sure we will have to pay the deposit of our dorm right at the first month? I hope they are giving us some time... My university's dorm deposit would be 30000yen.
We will not be paying for welcoming party, usually. But anyway if we are paying our own (since Japanese practise Wari-kan - go Dutch)... it would be about 10000yen once...
>Malaysians
I remember reading somewhere that it is better for us to prepare some o-miyage (presents) from our country... What do you think we should bring?
Anyway, just update us (the October batch)... Yeah, we have three of us leaving in October now!!!

 

[kouki]

I think by referring to that, there are things we are not sure:
1 Which are covered by MEXT Scholarship, and which we would have to pay on our own?

2 What are those in need (which we are obliged to pay at the moment we reach), which can be paid later?

 

[jim84]

=)
USD 2000-3000 should be more than enough i would say

 

[clockworkorange]

i dun have that kind of money!!! *cries*

kouki, are you refering to the blog website? well, since we're not given a monthly stipend until a month later, i guess we will have to fork out first.

 

[kouki]

>clockworkorange

I don't have that amount of money too. I am a bit worry about that RM4000 now... I am still a student...

Yes, I am referring to the blog website and the information given by JASSO... it says an undergraduate needs about 150000 yen per month... But I don't know which fees we can pay later on, when we have received our stipends, and which are covered by MEXT (so we don't need to pay at all)... Then we can put a rough calculation on which should we pay first (so what we won't run out of money at that time...)

 

[MakKuro]

Have two friends studying in Gakugei. According to one of them the firs grant is coming in less than a month. And 1500 USD will be plenty enough for the start.
The other one left Bulgaria with only 200 USD! He is still alive and kicking! ^^

 

[Vyen]

Have two friends studying in Gakugei. According to one of them the firs grant is coming in less than a month. And 1500 USD will be plenty enough for the start.
The other one left Bulgaria with only 200 USD! He is still alive and kicking! ^^

Wow...your Bulgaria friend must teach us how to survive with only 200 USD. He must be a guru in saving money~~

 

[clockworkorange]

woah. 200 usd........worthy of hero worship.....

 

[menrui]

I think I will be heading to Japan with about 500 USD... and a credit card.

oh, an i remember reading some where that we will be given 25,000yen upon arriving.

 

[jim84]

I think I will be heading to Japan with about 500 USD... and a credit card.

oh, an i remember reading some where that we will be given 25,000yen upon arriving.

so the 25000yen is confirmed?
I haven't finished reading that handbook yet

>kouki,
I suppose MEXT only covers for our flight ticket, tuition fees, exam fees, and all process fees related to university. Others from healthcare to accommodation, books, food etc are on our own.

yet another humourous answer by Ms Yin. But i feel the person who asks got more humour.

Q: I got free time on 9 March. Can I go to the Embassy on that day? (for visa application)
A: You can come but we will be closed due to public holiday

 

[kouki]

>ooilingfan
I suppose that book is for all students instead of MEXT Scholars? I think it is published by JASSO.

I am wondering are we the only batch getting this kind of e-mails? Perhaps it is because we are too (or should I say extremely) curious... We will know on that very day of 31st March. :Haha: So I guess no one leaves before that?

But it is good to have that FAQ part there... (why is she not answering our question here?) Maybe for the money part it is a bit personal: it depends how much you spend (spending habits)? I am expecting some answer like that. ☝

 

[luckyme]

As far as I know, MEXT cancel to give us 25,000 yen upon arriving since 2008.
In my University e-mail, I was informed that the first pay-ment of scholarship will be at the end of April and they recommend me to take 100,000 yen when come to Japan. To be honest, I think we don't need to think much about how much money we should take to Japan. We don't have to take much, just one commond credit card (Visa, master) and we will be OK.
Within my knowledge, we will receive National Health care Insurance after coming and it will cover 70% of our expense. We have to pay 30% remain. As I researched, JASSO will help us to pay 80% of 30% remain but from last year they reduce the percent that they will pay from last year. If you want to know exactly, you can search yourself.

 

[athz]

...@athz lonesome no more. Yeelee is going to Nagoya too obviously

GReaT bring also your turtle squad ok!!! ^o^

hi yeelee, welcome to this forum... finally one mate to Nagoya

well i remember that in the MEXT scholarship terms and regulations they mention that we have to prepare bringing money at least twice the amount of living cost per month. we'll get double of the stipend on the second month we stay in Japan ~gotta take some of my savings then...

 

[Vyen]

I thought the Japanese government already cancel the medical reimbursement program for international student starting this year. Maybe I was wrong?

 

[maaya]

yet another humourous answer by Ms Yin. But i feel the person who asks got more humour.
Q: I got free time on 9 March. Can I go to the Embassy on that day? (for visa application)
A: You can come but we will be closed due to public holiday

Haha, Ms Yin is really a great person!
You guys are lucky to have someone like that to take care of you at the embassy.

 

[menrui]

As far as I know, MEXT cancel to give us 25,000 yen upon arriving since 2008.

I thought the Japanese government already cancel the medical reimbursement program for international student starting this year. Maybe I was wrong?

This sucks even worse than JASSO ditching the medical coverage,

I got the last quote from the 'mext scholarship reduction' thread. Looks like they have really been cutting back. Can any one else confirm these?

 

[kshoo]

Hi guys, perhaps this is a better gauge. My company has a "per diem" policy for some of our people who needs to be in japan for work. Based on their standard, they budget about 5,500 yen a day for living expenses (but not including accomodation, which is taken care separately).

Perhaps we can use this as a basis for estimation.

Menrui, Ooilingfan - not sure about the health insurance thingy. Did the letters that you receive mentioned anything about how much we are given per month, and whether health insurance is included?

 

[maaya]

Hi guys, perhaps this is a better gauge. My company has a "per diem" policy for some of our people who needs to be in japan for work. Based on their standard, they budget about 5,500 yen a day for living expenses (but not including accomodation, which is taken care separately).

5500 yen per day seems a lot to me. You can eat quite good for already 500-800 yen (in cheaper food places), and the school cafeteria should also provide you with cheap and healthy meal, starting from around 400 yen and going up to 1000 yen, if you eat a lot. Also in the evening, in all major supermarkets, you can buy discounted food from the day itself. You can buy priced down sushi sets or pieces of bread for example. After 9 o'clock the bakery at the supermarket lowers the price to 50%. Later on the bakery sells everything together at fixed prices.
Traveling is also not that expensive: for a distance of almost an hour with a bus I paid a bit more than 400 yen. You can check bus/train fares on google maps - there you can see how much will it cost you to get to the campus from your dormitory. And for smaller distances you can use a bike. It seems to me that it almost never rains in Japan, so I used to go everywhere by bike before. Hope this helps.

 

[c0ok1e]

Anyone going to uni near hokaido/sapporo region?? Where is waseda u located?☝

 

[maaya]

Where is waseda u located?☝

Waseda University is in Tokyo.

 

[c0ok1e]

I just read Ms Yin email... her QnA sounds very sarcastic...