MEXT Students, October Start: When did you fly?

bononogram · 3 Jun 2016

I've been trying to get information about October departure research student's flights. Namely, I am trying to figure out roughly WHEN these flights depart.

The semester starts soon after October 1st, and the embassy and travel agency have told me that they "don't know yet" when the flight might be.

How early could it be?

As you can imagine, I've got a load of things to sort before I leave and it would really help to know just when I might be boarding that plane. I've heard that the ticket can come as late as a week before departure ... knowing just when that departure might be would be enough for me right now.

What are some of your experiences flying (from, say, North America) for an October start? Is there a sort of average, ballpark time frame for this? (Neither the embassy or travel agency would commit to giving me an average/ballpark, lol).

Could I really be flying as early as September 15th?

Bella.Sup · 3 Jun 2016

hojoojoh said:
I've been trying to get information about October departure research student's flights. Namely, I am trying to figure out roughly WHEN these flights depart.

The semester starts soon after October 1st, and the embassy and travel agency have told me that they "don't know yet" when the flight might be.

How early could it be?

As you can imagine, I've got a load of things to sort before I leave and it would really help to know just when I might be boarding that plane. I've heard that the ticket can come as late as a week before departure ... knowing just when that departure might be would be enough for me right now.

What are some of your experiences flying (from, say, North America) for an October start? Is there a sort of average, ballpark time frame for this? (Neither the embassy or travel agency would commit to giving me an average/ballpark, lol).

Could I really be flying as early as September 15th?

The japanese embassy told me that they will start to process my visa and issue my ticket around august or september, so in my case, it is quite impossible for me to depart in early September.
However, you can ask your university when will the new student orientation start. in most cases, we usually depart approximately 1 week before the new student orientation.

Geminz · 3 Jun 2016

Agree with @Bella.Sup above. In my case (I departed in Apr btw), the embassy (via ticketing agent) consulted my uni as of when they need me to be there, and decided my flight from there.
So maybe you should try consult with Kobe U and see what you gonna get.

bononogram · 3 Jun 2016

That makes sense.

Everything at Kobe (even access - or 'check-in' for the dorms) STARTS October first. If I was to be sent there on, say, Sept 15th, I would have a LOT of free time on my own with no where to stay and nothing to do....

So, it seems like I would be sent on the last few days of September. This is a relief.

ueno54 · 3 Jun 2016

My classes started on the first week of October and my flight was on September 12th. It might sound early but I had two weeks of orientation, then on the third week I had to do health checkups (again), make the health insurance registration, open a bank account and so on. It's actually quite a hurry. It depends on the university, but prepare to fly around two to three weeks before your classes start. There were people who left a week earlier than me (and their classes started on the same day as mine), and there were those who went almost a month later (because their classes started later). I only knew the day of my flight around one month before the departure, which means that, until my classes started, I was just running around to hand in all the documents in time, in my home country and in Japan.

Also, the university is responsible for you, so I don't think they would just leave you with nowhere to live when you arrive, but you should talk to them about it before going.

bononogram · 3 Jun 2016

ueno54 said:
My classes started on the first week of October and my flight was on September 12th. It might sound early but I had two weeks of orientation, then on the third week I had to do health checkups (again), make the health insurance registration, open a bank account and so on. It's actually quite a hurry. It depends on the university, but prepare to fly around two to three weeks before your classes start. There were people who left a week earlier than me (and their classes started on the same day as mine), and there were those who went almost a month later (because their classes started later). I only knew the day of my flight around one month before the departure, which means that, until my classes started, I was just running around to hand in all the documents in time, in my home country and in Japan.

Also, the university is responsible for you, so I don't think they would just leave you with nowhere to live when you arrive, but you should talk to them about it before going.

Thank you for this info. Might I ask which university you are at?

Collagen18 · 4 Jun 2016

Hiiii may I ask if all of you guys have received the MEXT result already? Are you guys all recommended by your university? My uni says that the result will be at the end of July

Geminz · 5 Jun 2016

Collagen18 said:
Hiiii may I ask if all of you guys have received the MEXT result already? Are you guys all recommended by your university? My uni says that the result will be at the end of July

We applied last year (2015) and departed/will depart to Japan this year (2016)

rizkymutiara · 6 Jun 2016

Collagen18 said:
Hiiii may I ask if all of you guys have received the MEXT result already? Are you guys all recommended by your university? My uni says that the result will be at the end of July

Helloo.. I also recommended by university as candidate for MEXT scholarship. I was informed that the results will be on June/July. But untill now,I didnt hear anything yet from Osaka University

DezireeAngel · 9 Jun 2016

rizkymutiara said:
Helloo.. I also recommended by university as candidate for MEXT scholarship. I was informed that the results will be on June/July. But untill now,I didnt hear anything yet from Osaka University

Let us all hope for the best!

AmerikaJin5 · 10 Jun 2016

I started at Tokyo Tech last October (2015), and departed from USA on Sept 27. The travel agency and the Tokyo Tech MEXT student support office were in contact with me regarding the date. They told me that anytime after Sept 14 (holiday) and before Oct 1 (semester start) was OK, and I could give two (2) preferred departure dates. They gave me the earliest of the two dates that I chose (I chose them for family/logistical reasons). The student dorm (temporary accommodations until private apartment can be found) was available to me starting anytime in September. Upon arriving, it was a whirlwind of paperwork and orientations: meeting my lab, getting the bank account, getting my health insurance, medical exam, MEXT orientation, university orientation, intensive language course orientation, etc. Be prepared!!
Hope that helps!

bononogram · 10 Jun 2016

AmerikaJin5 said:
I started at Tokyo Tech last October (2015), and departed from USA on Sept 27. The travel agency and the Tokyo Tech MEXT student support office were in contact with me regarding the date. They told me that anytime after Sept 14 (holiday) and before Oct 1 (semester start) was OK, and I could give two (2) preferred departure dates. They gave me the earliest of the two dates that I chose (I chose them for family/logistical reasons). The student dorm (temporary accommodations until private apartment can be found) was available to me starting anytime in September. Upon arriving, it was a whirlwind of paperwork and orientations: meeting my lab, getting the bank account, getting my health insurance, medical exam, MEXT orientation, university orientation, intensive language course orientation, etc. Be prepared!!
Hope that helps!

This is really useful information - thank you!

indojindesu · 21 Jul 2016

Was searching for information about October departure! (I am planning to opt for October ) Lots of useful information here! Thanks guys!

MEXT Students, October Start: When did you fly?

bononogram

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Bella.Sup

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Geminz

Kouhai

bononogram

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ueno54

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bononogram

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Collagen18

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Geminz

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rizkymutiara

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DezireeAngel

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AmerikaJin5

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bononogram

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indojindesu

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