@blurcheryl
yeah i will post it here after i asked..im reading the previous scholars' discussion now. the thing is, what is the quota of recommendation for our country? Since from what i've read, the budget for foreign students' admission decreases annually but we have more recommendations this year, which is confusing.
All the information I got thus far is from the education counsellor. Apparently, the number of recommended candidates has been a steady figure i.e. 30 with 2 alternates each year. So I'm really surprised why this number increased to 33 this year when there is a budget cut.
the budget cut is not absolute yet as it's just a proposal. Maybe the embassy came up with another alternate this year. Still, let's just hope that the quota stays the same, else we'll be panicking like crazy till December where the unofficial confirmation of our status comes in.
the budget cut is not absolute yet as it's just a proposal. Maybe the embassy came up with another alternate this year. Still, let's just hope that the quota stays the same, else we'll be panicking like crazy till December where the unofficial confirmation of our status comes in.
December? How come? I thought the results come out in February.
And, guys, don't forget that East Asian countries are priority for Japan, if MEXT had to choose only 10 foreign students, they would choose 9 from East Asia and 1 from USA/Europe.
I do hope we are considered as 2010 cycle. But my embassy spokes quite different as they not only confirmed the reduction of 1400, and also told me that there might be reduction in recommended number. Similar to Singapore, here, they recommends 4 research students for the past 7 years and nobody ever failed. But the lady in charge told me things might be quite different this year due to the big reduction number and it's definitely affecting our lot, although they didn't receive order from MEXT of reducing the quota for our embassy until now.Hello everyone,
I just received a LoA yesterday (masters programme) and while handing it up at the embassy, I also took the chance to inquire about the issue of MEXT reducing its quota and budget for 2011. However, I am not very sure what to make of the response the embassy gave me.
The lady in charge at the Singapore embassy said that it has been consistently recommending 4 ppl (3 MEXT postgrads + 1 JCB, MEXT scholar) since the start of the programme. Also, I was told that they were not informed about the budget reduction.
When I told them that there was official news about the budget reduction on the MEXT website, I was told that since MEXT said "2011 budget reduction for MEXT" it means that this reduction is for the next cycle which starts in 2011. (i.e. in that case we are considered to be the 2010 cycle).
I do hope we are considered as 2010 cycle. But my embassy spokes quite different as they not only confirmed the reduction of 1400, and also told me that there might be reduction in recommended number. Similar to Singapore, here, they recommends 4 research students for the past 7 years and nobody ever failed. But the lady in charge told me things might be quite different this year due to the big reduction number and it's definitely affecting our lot, although they didn't receive order from MEXT of reducing the quota for our embassy until now.
Btw, personally speaking, I think we start at 2011, the money to us starts at 2011, though we start to apply at 2010.
I think we should stop worrying ourselves out since things are not very clear for now. IMO, i don't think MEXT or Japan will make a sudden change in the middle of the screening. We know how consistent and precise the Japanese does their job and having to throw this issue out of a sudden is not exactly how they work. Since there's a clash in point of view by the embassy, perhaps things might not be as bad as we think. One thing is for sure, they did not receive order from MEXT about the reduction in quota, so this quota might start next year. I searched out for several fellow Malaysians scholars at Japan now and they said that they've heard no such news. Neither were they informed by MEXT that they will have a reduction in their allowances (which makes sense since if there is a reduction in budget, there might be some notification for reduction in their allowance). It's still September and i think it's not mentally healthy for us to sweat our pants out for something that even the embassy cannot confirm. Try to be positive, ask the past scholars of your country and try out best to share resources here. I'm sure all of us can benefit from each other's effort. Peace.
MEXT informed my embassy TODAY that the quota is reduced from 4 to 3.
Well, that was expected. If all 4 candidates have obtained LOAs, do you have an idea based on what will MEXT deny 1 person the scholarship?
Me too...omg i am panic :S
prettybunny, at least in my case, my professor stated very clearly and with a very high level of detail why he accepted me in the second page of the "Letter of recommendation form". He mentioned the email exchange, some highlights of my project and even the importance of attending the japanese language course. I don't see the point in contacing him again but I don't know if it a common practice.
Hello everyone.
I am from Bulgaria. I've participated in this year embassy selection for MEXT scholarship, obtained LoA from Keio and I am currently waiting for the final confirmation.
I only recently discovered JREF and I find it rather useful though in case of this particular thread kinda scaryI hope I don't sound very rude just my experience with the program was a little bit different. Rather irritating actually, because of all the waiting (20 days to mark English exam....really!!!) but overall things seemed to proceed smoothly.
But enough chit-chat. Good luck to everyoneAnd thank you for the detailed input
Fingers crossed, right*waves*
I got 3 LOAs (although much after the deadline), but I'm still not sure whether MEXT will give me the scholarship, after their budget cuts.