Monbukagakusho Scholarship for Postgraduate!!

[DaiUso]

to Midorineko:
Congrats! That's great!
Is your level of Japanese high, for the uni considering you'll manage without the language course?

to Ooilingfan:
Maybe having international english qualification is good, but in the short time we have isn't it better to put the effort on studying japanese?
That's why i want to make sure taking the test now will be of good use...hehe :embarasse

 

[kimberleylhj]

daiuso, it depends, some uni do need toefl or ielts. so check with your uni and i would advice to take it before u leave if it's needed.

cookie, i too didn't receive the letter. =( and from what i know, in previous years, they did receive the tentative letter too, but of course all those who received the tentative letter did indeed got the final confirmation. so guys, congratulations!!

 

[kawabanga]

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if some of us did not receive the letter, not yet that is. Don't be discouraged. We don't live in the same area, do we? So it is quite possible that the postman hasn't been working more than he should. Wait for a couple more days! I am quite certain it will arrive!

 

[jim84]

daiuso, it depends, some uni do need toefl or ielts. so check with your uni and i would advice to take it before u leave if it's needed.
cookie, i too didn't receive the letter. =( and from what i know, in previous years, they did receive the tentative letter too, but of course all those who received the tentative letter did indeed got the final confirmation. so guys, congratulations!!

kimberly, you haven't receive the letter YET. Just be patient for a while. Stay with us, you're gonna make it. They're sending to hundreds of candidates worldwide by post mail, it's normal that not all posts reach at the same time.

 

[kouki]

The letter is not from embassy? Is the letter from MEXT in Tokyo? International mail? Did they mentioned your university and your scholarship period? April or October intake?

>c0ok1e, kimberleylhj
I have not received my letter either.

>ooilingfan
As far as I know, most universities in Japan require either TOEFL or TOEIC. They are following American English standard. But do confirm with your university.

 

[kimberleylhj]

kouki, they just prefer toefl or toeic due to the american english. however, ielts is accepted as well.

 

[Vyen]

The letter is not from embassy? Is the letter from MEXT in Tokyo?

Kouki,
The letter is from embassy, not from MEXT. Maybe you can call them to ask about the letter...

 

[JapanDream]

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if some of us did not receive the letter, not yet that is. Don't be discouraged. We don't live in the same area, do we? So it is quite possible that the postman hasn't been working more than he should. Wait for a couple more days! I am quite certain it will arrive!

That's quite true, especially if your mailing addr is outside the Klang Valley. The farther away you are from KL, the longer the regular mail will take. I would think if you're in East Malaysia, it will take the longest to arrive. Hang in there!

To Kouki and Ooilingfan,
I'm also thinking of taking the english test, but I'm undecided between TOEFL and IELTS. And then there's this other test TOEIC. What I know is TOEFL and IELTS cost RM500+ each, and TOEIC is only RM200+ I think. And the bad thing is all these test certs are only valid for 2 years.

 

[kouki]

Hi, just informed by my family that I have received the letter as mentioned by you all.

Just would like to confirm with you, whether they are including the university you are allocated into? Mine just mentioned that I have tentatively selected, but without the university name. They are still finding the university.

Is my content the same with yours?

>c0ok1e, kimberleylhj
My address is within Kuala Lumpur, but it takes more time than others. I am sure yours are on the way. Just be confident of yourselves. Ganbatte!

 

[clockworkorange]

Hi, everybody.

Thanks, midorineko, for letting me know about how you don't have to be a research student first. I'm guessing that you have the necessary experience that qualifies you directly to their masters program. If you don;t mind me asking, did the decision depend strictly on your supervisor or are there exceptions made by the university? Are you fluent in Japanese then?

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

Also, thanks for the congratulatory wishes. Congrats to everyone here too. still not confirmed though. those of us who have been tentatively selected.

However, to those who haven't received a letter yet, especially kimberly, kouki and cookie, maybe u guys should just call the embassy like vyen said. Sure, patience is a virtue but if there is something that can be done to maybe shorten the wait, why not? Coz we all understand that the waiting process is an agonizing process. Or maybe email ms. yin if you're afraid of disturbing her by calling when she's busy.

At any rate, i don't think its time to give up yet. There could so many reasons no letter has come yet. You live far away, the letter got lost somewhere (not an impossibility given our post system), the address might have got typed wrongly, someone at the embassy might have missed out your name......

So make certain 1st eh?

Best of luck and let us know over here how it goes.

 

[JapanDream]

Hi, just informed by my family that I have received the letter as mentioned by you all.
Just would like to confirm with you, whether they are including the university you are allocated into? Mine just mentioned that I have tentatively selected, but without the university name. They are still finding the university.
Is my content the same with yours?
>c0ok1e, kimberleylhj
My address is within Kuala Lumpur, but it takes more time than others. I am sure yours are on the way. Just be confident of yourselves. Ganbatte!

Kouki,

The letter I got doesn't specify the univeristy--it's just a simple one page letter. I think it has the same content as yours.

 

[kawabanga]

Hi, everybody.
Thanks, midorineko, for letting me know about how you don't have to be a research student first. I'm guessing that you have the necessary experience that qualifies you directly to their masters program. If you don;t mind me asking, did the decision depend strictly on your supervisor or are there exceptions made by the university? Are you fluent in Japanese then?
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

Though not directed to me, I will answer it anyway. For my case, according to the professor, the faculty had a meeting and decided to enrol me as a Master student. Also, he was very kind to confirm with me a few weeks back that he has replied MEXT of my acceptance in the university and that the faculty is already arranging for my accommodation. Hence, I don't really know if the letter we received is the most up-to-date information. Nonetheless, I am still very delighted to be sure that at least the economic recession isn't affecting us as an applicant.

 

[jim84]

I just got hold of the letter, yea it's from the Embassy. Which means the information may not be the latest.
As we know pilarika has been confirmed by MEXT on his university placement. I'm sure many things are happening at MEXT now, vigorously trying to secure our placements.
I suppose MEXT informed the embassy on those who passed MEXT's screening that's all. (from my understanding MEXT will screen our documents, interview results and everything else before embarking on uni placement).
Thus after the screening it's still tentative and subjected to university placement.
But it's a big step. Meaning our health screening, interview results, documents and embassy recommendation all have passed MEXT's approval.
Now is the final final hurdle, which is the confirmation from Unis.
Lets hang on for this final stage. Taking an english exam would be good now. We might be very busy after receiving the confirmation. I'm thinking of IELTS or TOEFL as they're more universal. But it's optional anyway. So, no worries la.

 

[midorineko]

ClockworkOrange,
I believe my case is the same as Kawabanga's. During the application process, when talking to my intended adviser, we assumed I would be taking the six month language training ending in the fall. After hearing from my embassy I contacted him to let him know the news and that mext would be contacting the Uni, and was told there had been a meeting about me the previous day. I then received an e-mail from the graduate school office at the Uni saying I was (unofficially) accepted directly into the graduate program with no language training.

I am not sure if this decision was made because of my monbusho application japanese test results. I did do a portion of my interview in Japanese. I am not fluent, but I did a double major in Japanese and History for my B.A. and spent 2006 on a Jasso scholarship doing an exchange program at a university in Tokyo, so I know my way around the language. I am pretty nervous, have not had much chance to speak Japanese over the past year and I do not know if I can keep up with a graduate level course with out a warm up period. I do plan to take advantage of my Universities Japanese language classes.

 

[jim84]

Seems like they really take into consideration every detail and past record we have and make arrangements accordingly.

That's great, at least you are exempted from the entrance exam and able to complete your Master's in 2 years instead of 3. =)

 

[kouki]

>ooilingfan
I understand that some Japanese universities would require their postgraduate to sit for TOEIC (or marks converted from TOEFL). Would it be a lot more expensive if we are sitting the paper in Japan?

For me, I think I would take into consideration of the location of the test, the price and the availability of the test.

 

[jim84]

>ooilingfan
I understand that some Japanese universities would require their postgraduate to sit for TOEIC (or marks converted from TOEFL). Would it be a lot more expensive if we are sitting the paper in Japan?
For me, I think I would take into consideration of the location of the test, the price and the availability of the test.

hmm.... if that's the case, i'd better check with my Grad School and ask for their advice.

 

[kshoo]

Side note: GMAT for MBA

Hi all,

This might be relevant for those who are interested in applying to Japan's business schools, or am planning to sit for their GMAT exams.

I recently completed by GMAT exams in order to meet my requirements to the Japan business schools, and have no use for the various GMAT guides anymore. Anyone who is interested to take them off my hands, please drop me a line at [email protected]. These books are quite new, used only by me for the exam about 2 months ago. They are all the 2008 edition.

Titles available:

1) Kaplan GMAT 2008 Premier Program (with CD ROM)
2) Kaplan 2008 Math Workbook
3) Mcgraw Hill 2008 GMAT (with CD ROM)
4) Official Guide 2008 - GMAT Verbal Review
5) Official Guide 2008 - GMAT Review

These books were purchased from Kinokuniya in Malaysia 紀伊國屋書店ウェブストア｜オンライン書店｜本、雑誌の通販、電子書籍ストア, but i suppose you can also log in to Amazon to check out the prices in USD. Again drop me a line at my email, and we can take the discussion separate from the forum.

Thanks.

Hi all,

sorry for not posting for so long. Was away for work.

Congratulations to all who received their letters. I have also gotten the "tentative" reply, so I guess i will be seeing many of you very soon

Anyone has any idea when exactly tokyo will let us know its final decision? Am getting a bit jittery because 2 of my 3 choices wanted to me to reapply (again) directly to the school, once i have gotten my MEXT letter. And the dateline window is very short (one week, in Jan '09).

 

[jim84]

kshoo, i think you better check with the Embassy.
In the past the final results (for Malaysia) will only be out around end of Jan.
Which will be quite late for you.

 

[kimberleylhj]

=) =) =) do i need to say more??

oh, and i forgot.. thanks everybody for the encouragement!!

 

[menrui]

congrats kimberleylhj!
im still wanting for a "tentative" selection. i checked my post mail today even though they will most likely contact me by email or phone haha. i read some previous post/threads, and it seems like most of the "tentative selections" occur around this time. seems like bad timing because its around the holidays. my embassy will mostly be closed for the next 2 weeks.

and some other stuff i dug up: ooilingfan brought this up a while ago, but remember our friend nall-ohki?(sorry for bringing this up) i think he said he received a MEXT scholarship before for "japanese language/culture". then i remembered reading this is our guidelines:

Scholarships will not be awarded in the following cases:
3: The Applicant was a grantee of a Japanese Government Scholarship in the past will not be selected unless he/she has had at
least three years of research or teaching experience after returning to his/her home country. This exclusion will not apply to
a research-student applicant, who (i) as a foreign student in Japan received training in the Japanese language and/or Japanese
culture at a university and graduated from it~~

maybe this is the reason he is becoming an alternate?

 

[kshoo]

No problem Ooilingfan. Of course, my backup plan will be to put in application to both, using the tentative letter and what not....then choose again once it is confirmed.

However, Ms. Yin sounded pretty confident that we should be getting replies early Jan. Fingers crossed.

On the TOEFL part, i agree that it is on a case by case basis. As my undergraduate studies are done in English, this was waived.

 

[kshoo]

On the part of laptops, a friend of mine recently returned from Japan. She remarked that the places normally only sell Japanese brands (e.g. Toshiba, Fujitsu, etc. ) and it will be tough to find anything else.

My own preference will be to buy a laptop here in MY, get an adaptor for the plug (no need convertor, since all the power cords automatically convert between 220V and 110V). I will also be paying extra to cover 3 years of international warranty, so that if anything goes wrong, supposedly the japanese technical team will still cover parts.

While I don't have anything definite yet, I am leaning more towards the Thinkpad T series, whom many have told me are very good. Either that, or the new Sony Viao CR series, which at least with a japanese brand name, should be easily recognizable and fixed in Japan (i hope).

 

[kawabanga]

However, Ms. Yin sounded pretty confident that we should be getting replies early Jan. Fingers crossed.

Woo Hoo! Ms. Yin rocks!

And by the way, why do we need IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, etc.? I don't remember it being one of the admission requirements in japan universities (for a science course).

 

[JapanDream]

Hi Menrui,
If you still haven't heard anyhing, I would suggest calling the consulate up, like what Vyen and Clockworkorange mentioned. Don't let long distance charges hold you back. Otherwise, you will most likely have to wait till early Jan before you get any update at all. Just curious though, all this while after the LoA, have you been contacted by your potential supervisor? Well, I haven't.

Hi Midorineko,
Your experience with the Japanese language and culture really paid off. You should be able to adapt in Japan in no time.

Hi Kawabanga,
Wow, like Midorineko, you are ahead of the pack without having to go through the research student phase. Will you still be participating in the 6 month Japanese language training?