Study in Japan Opportunities

Hello.
I am new here.

I found this site by searching for "Study in Japan forum".
I am 21 and a college graduate (2012) and a professional nurse (2012).

I would like to ask some things about studying in Japan.

1.) If I am to study in Japan, say, for an MA; am I strictly required to have 16 years of education?
I have a bachelor's degree (the basic requirement for MA studies here in my country) but I am not sure if it is considered in Japan. This is one of my problems, coming from a country with a 2-year education gap if compared to other country's education structure of K+12 (which is also being implemented as of now, it is its first year here in the Philippines).
I have two semesters of research experience as we are required to submit a graduation thesis.

2.) What are my chances of getting into an undergraduate program (possibly, all-English like the G30 ones)?
Are there anyone taking any G30 programs here? If yes, I would also like to ask about the experience there and the general "positive" requirements like your GPA/GWA and others.

For reference; I am not your genius type of a student. It reflects on my transcript as I have two "passing" scores (which is 3.0 in a 5-point GWA scale) as my lowest scores. My GWA is 2.25 (average; 1-highest, 5-fail in a 5-point scale). It's a B in letter-based scale.

I passed my national licensure exam without any further reviewing and my score, 79.40%, is pretty high if you'll ask me. Topnotcher's score was 86.40%.

Is this a strong background? Can this type of background hook a scholarship for me?

As for my Japanese skills; I rank it conversational and beginner for speaking and reading respectively.

My English is good in my opinion as it is my second mother tongue.

3.) What are my choices for part-time work? Is it possible to teach English language on a tutorial basis to Japanese students while I, myself, is studying at a university (either undergraduate or graduate studies)?

These are my questions as of now and will post other questions if certain ones pop out.

Also, for you guys wondering about my possible reasons as to why I chose to study rather than work:
My career path has been jumbled by the supply-demand chain and language barrier. I can work on a job in which I have no interest with or wait until dust and cobwebs pile up on me.

I also applied to a university and will wait for its result. I need to have some backup plans if this one's out of luck.
Also, I prefer prefectural or national universities are their costs are much lower than private ones in exchange of lower chances to be a successful candidate.

Also, I would like to ask if a Bachelor of Social Science (Law major) + further law studies can become a lawyer?

Thank you!

Hello IamHajime, welcome to the forum!

IamHajime said:

1.) If I am to study in Japan, say, for an MA; am I strictly required to have 16 years of education?

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I think it should be fine as long as you can explain the gap, i.e. your education system. Students from the Philippines do study here in Japan, so it is of course possible. I think for many universities they say you need a 16 year education or the equivalent.

IamHajime said:

2.) What are my chances of getting into an undergraduate program (possibly, all-English like the G30 ones)?
Are there anyone taking any G30 programs here?

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I understand your anxieties very well. However, to be honest, questions like "What are my chances?" or "Do I have a strong background?" are ultimately meaningless for two reasons in my opinion. One, unless someone is on the inside it can be hard to judge exactly how the selection committee chooses a candidate. Without statistics to back up the selection habits of a given university, this makes it even harder.

Second, unless it would be a serious burden, you should apply for the universities you wish to attend regardless of whether you think you will be admitted or not. You lose any possible opportunity by not applying in the first place, so naturally your first step should be to apply. Leave the worrying for later . But, if that answer is not satisfying, in my opinion a B average won't get you rejected.

IamHajime said:

3.) What are my choices for part-time work? Is it possible to teach English language on a tutorial basis to Japanese students while I, myself, is studying at a university (either undergraduate or graduate studies)?

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It is entirely possible and is pretty common among students to do some type of part-time work.

IamHajime said:

Also, I would like to ask if a Bachelor of Social Science (Law major) + further law studies can become a lawyer?
Thank you!

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I'm not really sure, but your language ability will have to be on par with native Japanese. That is to say, you will have to read, understand and produce Japanese on the level of legal documents, something that is hard to do in even one's own native language.

Thank you for your reply!

I applied to University of Tsukuba as an international undergraduate student.
I am hoping that my credentials are suffice for this.