Monbukagakusho Scholarship for Postgraduate!!

Lancetology · 6 Dec 2008

Dear all:

Hi to everyone, Im newcomer from Malaysia, juz joined this forum recently as I found this forum is really useful. Im planning to apply the MEXT scholarship as well next year. Hope can have some helpful opinions from you all....よるしくお願します

jim84 · 6 Dec 2008

Lancetology said:
Dear all:

Hi to everyone, Im newcomer from Malaysia, juz joined this forum recently as I found this forum is really useful. Im planning to apply the MEXT scholarship as well next year. Hope can have some helpful opinions from you all....窶堙ｦ窶堙ｩ窶堋ｵ窶堋ｭ窶堋ｨﾅ?ﾃｨ窶堋ｵ窶堙懌?堋ｷ

Hi Lancetology,
Welcome to the forum.
Basically, there's nothing much you can do now. And you have plenty of time, so no worries.
The application will be opened somewhere late February or early March if not mistaken.
You can get some of your documents ready, such as results, make some contact with your previous lecturers/supervisors from Uni as you'll need a recommendation letter from them.
You can also start thinking of what research you want to pursue, then do research on your research (sounds weird). Well, kinda have a rough idea. This year i was pretty rush on my research proposal as i only started thinking while filing up the application forms.
After you've decided an area of research you can start scouting for universities in Japan. There are more than 300 i suppose.
You don't need to rush into getting the details of the application process first. You can get them easily by reviewing past posts which contain some links to certain blogs, websites OR checkout websites of universities (some of them include very complete info on MEXT) OR just google around. But don't get panic if you see too much details. It will all work out eventually as the process takes 1 whole year, and things happen in stages.
You may start brushing up your english if your command of the language is not strong, especially the grammar part as the written test is kinda tricky. But overall it's kinda easy i would say. For Japanese test, you can skip unless you have JLPT 4 or 3.
Hope that helps.

Lancetology · 7 Dec 2008

ooilingfan said:
Hi Lancetology,
Welcome to the forum.
Basically, there's nothing much you can do now. And you have plenty of time, so no worries.
The application will be opened somewhere late February or early March if not mistaken.
You can get some of your documents ready, such as results, make some contact with your previous lecturers/supervisors from Uni as you'll need a recommendation letter from them.
You can also start thinking of what research you want to pursue, then do research on your research (sounds weird). Well, kinda have a rough idea. This year i was pretty rush on my research proposal as i only started thinking while filing up the application forms.
After you've decided an area of research you can start scouting for universities in Japan. There are more than 300 i suppose.
You don't need to rush into getting the details of the application process first. You can get them easily by reviewing past posts which contain some links to certain blogs, websites OR checkout websites of universities (some of them include very complete info on MEXT) OR just google around. But don't get panic if you see too much details. It will all work out eventually as the process takes 1 whole year, and things happen in stages.
You may start brushing up your english if your command of the language is not strong, especially the grammar part as the written test is kinda tricky. But overall it's kinda easy i would say. For Japanese test, you can skip unless you have JLPT 4 or 3.
Hope that helps.

Thank you very much Mr.ooilingfan, you have provided me an awesome general outline for the MEXT application. Its genuinely instrumental, once again, thank s a lot.
Well, I had already figured out the research proposals long time ago, just wanted to gather more information before submitting the very best for them. Yup, I did received offers (including the official letters) from 7 different universities in japan--Univ of tokyo, kyoto univ, osaka univ, Juntendo univ, Okayama univ, Niigata univ and Nagoya Univ. Hopefully to get some grant to support my stay over there.
Are you one of the successful applicants?If yes, congratulations. Which university you get in and what course?
About the recommendation letter, do we to submit for the very beginning of the application? I thought at the very beginning, I just need to fill up the application form, submitting the degree & results, then go for the English test. The recommendation letters will only be submitted after we have successfully pass through all the screening. Correct me if I'm have mistaken the procedures. Thanks
About the Japanese language test, do you mean that we must have JLPT at least level 3 & 4 in order to skip the test?
Thanks

jim84 · 7 Dec 2008

Hi Lancetology,

Guess i wasn't very clear at the last part.
I mean, the japanese test is not compulsory, as oppose to some countries and some websites/uni may mention that Japanese language test is first priority. But, from our experience, the English test is First Priority for Malaysian Applicants, japanese language 2nd. (That's why the 6 months' preparatory course is compulsory for us)
And the standard of the japanese test would require JLPT 4 and above if you want to pass (as what i've read from some blogs). For people like me with almost 0 command of the language, I can forget about sitting for it. Hence i only sat for Eng. paper and blessed with a pass.
In short, the Japanese language test is especially useful for those whose command of English is not strong, if one doesn't do well in the English paper, then they will look at the japanese paper. (Applicable to Malaysian Candidates)

You can download past year questions with answers easily by googling around. (Sadly i only found out bout the existence of past year questions after i sat for the exam). So hope you won't go into the hall as blur as me.

Yes. You only need to submit ONE recommendation letter AFTER you passed the written test. Which you will hand in during your interview.

And you've already got official letters from Universities in japan??
You mean Letter of Acceptance? Seven? and so soon?

Finally,
No. I'm not one of the successful applicants.Well, at least not yet =p
I'm one of the 'hopefuls' that is waiting for the final results in February 2009. I applied to Osaka Uni for MSc in Molecular Biology btw.

menrui · 8 Dec 2008

Wow lancetology, you are way ahead of the pack. good job!

about your recommendations from the japanese universities, i think these are different from the "letter of acceptance" forms your potential supervisors have to fill out after you receive recommendation from the embassy. however, in the application, you have to list 3 univ. that you prefer, and then state whether or not you have made an effort to get accepted there. this would be a big advantage to you, especially for the interview. it really shows how serious you are, because most applicants wait until after the embassy recommendation to do this.

about the test, you are only required to pass one(we dont know the passing score). but im sure they will consider both of your test scores. afterall, it is a competition. also, i have to disagree with ooling, thought im not completely sure myself. knowledge up to jlpt lvl4 wont get you very far on the test. from what i experienced, most of the test consisted of materials from jlpt lvl3. and then there was also good portion of lvl2(mostly in the reading section).

anyways, good luck~

Lancetology · 8 Dec 2008

ooilingfan said:
Hi Lancetology,
Guess i wasn't very clear at the last part.
I mean, the japanese test is not compulsory, as oppose to some countries and some websites/uni may mention that Japanese language test is first priority. But, from our experience, the English test is First Priority for Malaysian Applicants, japanese language 2nd. (That's why the 6 months' preparatory course is compulsory for us)
And the standard of the japanese test would require JLPT 4 and above if you want to pass (as what i've read from some blogs). For people like me with almost 0 command of the language, I can forget about sitting for it. Hence i only sat for Eng. paper and blessed with a pass.
In short, the Japanese language test is especially useful for those whose command of English is not strong, if one doesn't do well in the English paper, then they will look at the japanese paper. (Applicable to Malaysian Candidates)
You can download past year questions with answers easily by googling around. (Sadly i only found out bout the existence of past year questions after i sat for the exam). So hope you won't go into the hall as blur as me.
Yes. You only need to submit ONE recommendation letter AFTER you passed the written test. Which you will hand in during your interview.
And you've already got official letters from Universities in japan??
You mean Letter of Acceptance? Seven? and so soon?
Finally,
No. I'm not one of the successful applicants.Well, at least not yet =p
I'm one of the 'hopefuls' that is waiting for the final results in February 2009. I applied to Osaka Uni for MSc in Molecular Biology btw.

ou...thank you very much. Mr.ooilingfan, in that case I will skip that japanese test........well, mainly because of beside the English test, I'm planning to submit the TOEFL score as well.

Ou, Osaka univ...thats a good univ, dun worry (shinpai shinai) I'm sure you can get it. Molecular biology? in which area of research? Why dont you try Institute of Virus Research under Kyoto Univ, this is the best among the best, the average impact factor of their paper is around 10 above. I got offer (one of the offer) from this institute under the Lab of Molecular Genetics.

Ou..how come still got another final results in Feb? got two intake? But anyway..I'm sure you can get....wishes you all the best....

Lancetology · 8 Dec 2008

menrui said:
Wow lancetology, you are way ahead of the pack. good job!
about your recommendations from the japanese universities, i think these are different from the "letter of acceptance" forms your potential supervisors have to fill out after you receive recommendation from the embassy. however, in the application, you have to list 3 univ. that you prefer, and then state whether or not you have made an effort to get accepted there. this would be a big advantage to you, especially for the interview. it really shows how serious you are, because most applicants wait until after the embassy recommendation to do this......
anyways, good luck~

Hi, Mr.menrui, thanks a lot for the instrumental information. Yup, my offers from them is a bit different. Those letters of offer are indeed the professors offering me to study in their lab. Some of the professors even mentioned that they will support me through their research grant, not necessary need to wait until the application, and I can joined them next year (2009) around April straight away.
Ou, but the application form that I downloaded from the Japan embassy in Malaysia shows some discrepancies. I did not noticed there is any column asking me to state the 3 choices, & referring to the previous post, about the column to fill up "research student to Master/PhD student" also were not there. May I know where can I downloaded those forms that you guys mentioned? (maybe can send me a link)
Are you once of the successful applicants as well? If yes, congratulations (omedetou)...which course & university you enroll?

menrui · 9 Dec 2008

oh wow, your power level is so far past 9000 right now(joke). im very envious.

anyways, heres a link to my consulate where i downloaded all my forms:
Consulate-General of Japan in Houston English Culture and Education

if i remember correctly, the application process for Malaysia and US are a bit different, at least the order is. like, we turned in all the application, then went in for the test and interview. i think in malaysia, they fill out a a small application? then go in for a test? then turn in the full application? then interview? im not really sure. so maybe you dont have the full application yet.

as for me, im in the same boat as oolingfan. im waiting for the final results in february. the results we received after the interview is the "embassy recomendation". MEXT of japan has the final decision(whether or not we receive the scholarship, and which univ we will enter), which is usually released in feb. Im also hoping to get into osaka U too. if i do, i will be in the department of synthetic organic chemistry.

c0ok1e · 9 Dec 2008

ooilingfan said:
Don't worry cookie.
Those who reapply or 'extend' won't go through embassy recommendation anymore
That is under 'university recommendation'
remember there are 3 ways you can apply for MEXT?
1. Embassy recommendation
2. University recommendation
3. Government recommendation (your own govt.)

Just curious...while waiting for the results all sorts of funny questions came to my mind so hopefully can get some answers here... Lets say after finishing my masters then I play to continue with phd but in a different university then which way apply to me?? Go through the whole hassle of applying like we are doing now or university recommendation? but im applying for different university they wont know me and cannot recommend me right? So impossible to switch university?☝

dblbstrd · 9 Dec 2008

c0ok1e said:
Just curious...while waiting for the results all sorts of funny questions came to my mind so hopefully can get some answers here... Lets say after finishing my masters then I play to continue with phd but in a different university then which way apply to me?? Go through the whole hassle of applying like we are doing now or university recommendation? but im applying for different university they wont know me and cannot recommend me right? So impossible to switch university?☝

It's possible to switch universities when jumping up to the next level, but in practice I think they would only facilitate it if there was a really good reason for it-- i.e., what you want to study next is not offered or can't be accommodated by your current university.
I can't tell you for sure, but my *guess* on how it would work would be that, you'd first have to gain acceptance to the new university (by passing their screening, and entrance exam for the PhD level if they have one), and get an advisor to support you in applying for extension of the scholarship.
When you're staying at the same university, application for extension to the next level goes through your advisor, so I figure that's how they'd do it...

Lancetology · 9 Dec 2008

menrui said:
oh wow, your power level is so far past 9000 right now(joke). im very envious.anyways, heres a link to my consulate where i downloaded all my forms:recomendation". MEXT of japan has the final decision(whether or not we receive the scholarship, and which univ we will enter), which is usually released in feb. Im also hoping to get into osaka U too. if i do, i will be in the department of synthetic organic chemistry.

ou.....maybe you are right. Or maybe Mr.ooilingfan can tell a bit Ou..Osaka univ....organic chem?under which department? I received offer from Osaka Univ too, which is the institute for protein research, under the Lab of Neuron regulation & development. wow...looks like if i wan to pass also a bit difficult like this...must be lots of people as good as you guys applying. Why dont you continued your study in the States? As the education (esp scientific research) over there are excellent

Lancetology · 9 Dec 2008

c0ok1e said:
Just curious...while waiting for the results all sorts of funny questions came to my mind so hopefully can get some answers here... Lets say after finishing my masters then I play to continue with phd but in a different university then which way apply to me?? Go through the whole hassle of applying like we are doing now or university recommendation? but im applying for different university they wont know me and cannot recommend me right? So impossible to switch university?☝

I agreed with dblbstrd, I think you need to sit for the entrance examination of that university you plan to re-enter, then ask the supervisor to "help" you by recommending you for the scholarship again, but before that you must consult the supervisor whether they have "vacancy" for you. No point you pass the examination but they dun have place for you (student under supervision already maximum OR no research grant OR sumting..im not sure which field you are). If you are brilliant enough, I think the supervisor will support you by using their own research grant or other alternative, without necessary going through all those procedures. why you want to switch university? which university you have chosen now? which area you are in?

c0ok1e · 10 Dec 2008

no reason..just wondering...so if wanna continue phd different uni haf to sit entrance exam again..later fail then die..then i guess stay with the same university will be easier..no need sit anymore entrance exam right becuase already sat for it when take masters..all will be smooth if stay same uni

menrui · 10 Dec 2008

Lancetology said:
Why dont you continued your study in the States?

hehe i've been asked this question several times. there are several reasons.
1) fundings: i havent even came close to receiving a scholarship as generous as MEXT here.
2) university choice: here, im most likely stuck going to a in-state university, and theres only 2 "good" universities in my state. 1 isnt for me, and the other i graduated from( its frowned upon to enter the same univ for grad school, i dont know why)
3) interest: i've taken 3 years of japanese classes, even though i wasnt required to take any language classes, and i really came to like japan and its culture.
4) school life: education is great, but i really value school life too. living in a country around the world from my own seems like an adventure to me. im really excited.
5) study field: synthetic organic chemistry actually flourishes more in japan than US, or so i read.

btw, my department is "synthetic organic chemistry"

jim84 · 10 Dec 2008

c0ok1e said:
no reason..just wondering...so if wanna continue phd different uni haf to sit entrance exam again..later fail then die..then i guess stay with the same university will be easier..no need sit anymore entrance exam right becuase already sat for it when take masters..all will be smooth if stay same uni

hmm...i'm not too sure about that.
Perhaps you'll need a PhD entrance exam even if you're continuing in the same Uni. We'll have to find out once we're there.

Lancetology,
About switching of Unis, my friend who's on MEXT undergrad in Kyoto Uni switched to Tokyo Uni when he applied for Master's.
True, he went thru the process you guys mentioned - secure a vacancy in Tokyo Uni, get a supervisor's support etc before applying for an extension. But that is from degree (non-research) to postgrad (research).
I'm not sure whether you can easily do that for Master's to PhD.
And i'm almost sure your Master's supervisor won't be happy bout it.
Unless they really cannot accomodate you and have to let you go.
Anyway, we shall worry bout that later. Things will always work out in the end. The immediate worry after the results is probably the entrance exam, which till now i don't even have the slightest clue. My supervisor seems to sound very serious on that, asking me to prepare as soon i can

skfer · 10 Dec 2008

could anyone mention the phases from arriving to Japan until the leave in points please ?
I mean like this :
the first 6 months japanese school
enterence exam in the university ...etc
thank you

c0ok1e · 10 Dec 2008

yup im worried about the entrance exam also..not sure if its difficult and being sent back after 5 months..but we're all smart ppl here and previous applicant have been able to pass i think we should be able too...although not sure about the statistics how many being sent back..

JapanDream · 10 Dec 2008

Japan Edu Fair at KL

To Malaysians,

How was the edu fair at PWTC on Sunday? Was there any info session / talks given regarding the process for scholarship recipients after they arrive in Japan? Any input will be great. Thanks!

Lancetology · 10 Dec 2008

ooilingfan said:
hmm...i'm not too sure about that.
Perhaps you'll need a PhD entrance exam even if you're continuing in the same Uni. We'll have to find out once we're there.
Lancetology,
About switching of Unis, my friend who's on MEXT undergrad in Kyoto Uni switched to Tokyo Uni when he applied for Master's.
True, he went thru the process you guys mentioned - secure a vacancy in Tokyo Uni, get a supervisor's support etc before applying for an extension. But that is from degree (non-research) to postgrad (research).
I'm not sure whether you can easily do that for Master's to PhD.
And i'm almost sure your Master's supervisor won't be happy bout it.
Unless they really cannot accomodate you and have to let you go.
Anyway, we shall worry bout that later. Things will always work out in the end. The immediate worry after the results is probably the entrance exam, which till now i don't even have the slightest clue. My supervisor seems to sound very serious on that, asking me to prepare as soon i can

ou....that means you are not guaranteed that you can further your study in Japan....if you fail, you will have to come back. As if I'm not mistaken the supervisor hv the power to exempt you from sitting the exam. some might take you in aso even thou after you fail in the exam...but if you really being Exempt.....that means you re damm BRILLIANT....as they wanted you so eagerly to become part of their team.... (seems like manager re buying players in football FC )

Lancetology · 10 Dec 2008

c0ok1e said:
yup im worried about the entrance exam also..not sure if its difficult and being sent back after 5 months..but we're all smart ppl here and previous applicant have been able to pass i think we should be able too...although not sure about the statistics how many being sent back..

...those ppl wanted to enter Kyoto Univ shld worry more as their entrance exam are in Japanese. Osaka Univ are in english..you re very lucky. Tokyo univ required them to sit for some specfic subjects test as well, beside the general entrance exam of Todai (depends on which lab you want to enter).

jim84 · 10 Dec 2008

Lancetology said:
...those ppl wanted to enter Kyoto Univ shld worry more as their entrance exam are in Japanese. Osaka Univ are in english..you re very lucky. Tokyo univ required them to sit for some specfic subjects test as well, beside the general entrance exam of Todai (depends on which lab you want to enter).

Osaka is in English? Wow. that's great.

jim84 · 10 Dec 2008

skfer said:
could anyone mention the phases from arriving to Japan until the leave in points please ?
I mean like this :
the first 6 months japanese school
enterence exam in the university ...etc
thank you

Well, nothing much actually.
You leave in April, start your 6 months japanese school, by October your research student phase will start in your uni,
Entrance exam in Feb, if you pass you'll start Grad school as an official master's/PhD student in April 2010. Then 2 years of Master's.
Total 3 years if everything goes smoothly.

skfer · 11 Dec 2008

thanks ooilingfan, can I do the enatrance exam before Feb ?.. and can I do it in more than one university ?..
and if i failed that exam.. ? can I redo it again ..? how many times can I do it .. ?
thank you again

c0ok1e · 11 Dec 2008

ooilingfan said:
Well, nothing much actually.
You leave in April, start your 6 months japanese school, by October your research student phase will start in your uni,
Entrance exam in Feb, if you pass you'll start Grad school as an official master's/PhD student in April 2010. Then 2 years of Master's.
Total 3 years if everything goes smoothly.

2010 only can start? when come out will become old man...plus phd somemore dunno how..cannot get married and when got children you will be 50 and your child 14 yrs old..

I hope the entrance exam will be great too..im just worried if they start asking questions about japanese history, and some advance maths or chemistry...ill be dead

clockworkorange · 11 Dec 2008

Hello everyone,

I went to the education fair on Sunday. Did anyone else go? I did not stay long so i'm afraid, JapanDream, that i cannot give you a concrete answer. However, my feeling is if you are already a candidate for the Monbukagakusho scholarship, there was very little new information. I could be wrong, of course. Plus there were 2 30 minute talks on studying in japan given on saturday. These may have address concerns we might have had but i did not attend so i don't know.

The reason i was there was because Tokyo University was there. My LoA was from Tokyo Uni so i went there to ask questions. It proved somewhat productive, most of all because i got to know Malaysian students who are already studying there. It provides me with a link that i did not have before as i do not have friends studying in Japan.

So JapanDream, what i'm trying to say (in a very roundabout way) is i think you did not miss much.

As for those worried about entrance exams, some can be obtained from the website of the university. or you can write to your professor to ask how you may obtain them. I have raised this question before and was given the same answer. I did manage to obtain Tokyo Uni's entrance exams from their website. It is in english and speaking to the Malaysian students at the fair, the exam is in english and HORRIBLY hard.

skfer, from what i understand, it depends when you get to Japan and the timing of the entrance exams. If you get to Japan in April, i believe you get 2 chances at entrance exams. For Tokyo University, entrance exams are every February and August. So if you come in in April, then you can sit for the August exam. If you fail, you may try for the next exam in February of the next year. If you get to Japan in October, then you can only try for the February exam. In both scenarios, you enter in April of the next year. This is what i understand. if i'm wrong, please be kind enough to let me know. I'd be very grateful.

To lancetology, i can only say i'm very very envious of you. To be accepted by 7 universities is a feat eh? i started getting my research proposal together only during the application itself and did not get into contact with professors until it was confirmed i passed the exam. So you're way ahead and if you ask me, have nothing to worry about. Anyway, the application for next year will probably come ard March. This year, it was out on March 12 or 15. (I know because i lurked at the Japanese Embassy website everyday until the applications were open).

Good luck.

Monbukagakusho Scholarship for Postgraduate!!

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