University Entrance System/Exam

I think this topic has come up before, but I want to post this and who cares anyway.( don't say that you do!)

So let's start.

Okay. I'm male, 18 years old. I'm pretty much like an ordinary Japanese boy except that I went to study abroad in Australia when I was 16. I came back to Japan when I turned 17 and started cram-studying in order to enter a uni.
I passed a exam and I'm now a student of Hosei University, which is ranked as one of 5 famous universities, so called "March"

University Ranking (what comes up in people's head when talking of Japanese Universities regardlass of Faculty. It's mostly based on so called "Hensachi". Hensachi is like adjusted standard deviation score)

-National Universities-

1.Tokyo Daigaku
2.Kyoto Daigaku
3.Hitotusbashi Daigaku
4.Tokyo Gaigo Daigaku
5.Hokkaido Daigaku
Other national univesities follow them

-Private Universities-

<Group.1>
Waseda
Keio
Jochi ( Sophia University in Engllish)
Kokusai Kirisuto(International Christian University in English)

<Group.2>
Meiji
Aoyama
Rikkyo
Chuo
Hosei .......... Therefore, this group is called MARCH

Gakushuin

<Group.3>
Meijigakuin
Seikei
Seijo
Dokkyo
Kokugakuin

<Group.4>
Nihon
Toyo
Komazawa
Senshu

Others follow

<Usually, people see any national university higher ranked than private ones except a few like Keio waseda,,,,>

When people consider entering a uni, what comes in their minds first is "Hensachi", because of Japanese uni-entering system. Hensachi is like God in terms of Juken, it rules everything related to Juken(Japanese uni entrance exam).
When your Hensachi is very high, people around you consider you "Atama ii"( you are smart or you are inteligent), which doesn't accord with the fact, because Hensachi is just points that you get on a test.

If you say that you are a student of Keio, which ranks at the top of private universities, they see you as "Atama ii", "Sugoi" etc, regardless of what you are actually studying or doing. On the other hand, if you are a student of Komazawa, which ranks much lower than Keio, you'll get very different reaction from them. "University ranks" is so important in Japan that it is a part of your identity.

But why? Why Japanese are effected by the "University Ranks"? becasue in the past, you could get a well-paid job thnaks to the rank of the university you went to, for example, just because you were a Todaisei (a student of Todai).

Time has passed and things have changed but still it can be said that the "University ranks" according to "Hensachi" is a big influence, well, nowadays it doesn't matter that much when applying for a job, compared to the past. People's reaction, when talking of which uni you go to, still mostly depends on the "University Ranks" though.

There are people that feel they are lower beings than people that go to higher ranked unis. I mean, some people are like they've lost motivation to study, feeling they are losers, because of the rank of their uni.
I think it's really stupid cause even though they don't go to high ranked uni (by Hensachi), there are a chance to see a great professer and great people and to get a opportunity to do what they want to.
Even if they go to a high ranked uni, nothing is guranteed unless that they knew what they can do there.

I think, this Juken system has to be changed, casue what's the point if there's a small number of people who win(going to high ranked unis by mostly Hensachi) and the rest go to ones ranked lower, feeling depressed, feeling losers. Well, I admit that the higher ranked uni you go to, the more chance you get to see a good professer, good peole and good programs. Therefore, there shoud be the equal number of good professers in each uni, which means the University Ranks is gone.

The above is just what I've been feeling since I was a Jukensei.
It is based on mostly my experience, a little information I got from the prep school I went to so there should be some wrong points, so if you find them tell me thanks.

I want to ask question, is there this kind of uni-entrance system in yoru country?
Write yoru country name and the system, if possible. That'll be greatly appreciated.

The above is just what I've been feeling since I was a Jukensei.
It is based on mostly my experience, a little information I got from the prep school I went to so there should be some wrong points, so if you find them tell me thanks

First your uni is the one in Rokudaigaku

>I was only thinking about baseball...

>...I was only thinking about baseball...

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, which means?

Just about the Tokyo Six University Baseball League, so forget about my first post.

in america

In America the system is much different. There is never a clear ranking of schools but most people know that the majority of private schools are more prestigious than the public ones. The top private schools: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, etc usually get the a majority of the brightest students. Also, within each state there are a series of schools where anybody can go. In Florida (where I live) there is: University of Florida, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of North/South/East/West Florida, Florida International University, and many others.

However, the job market after you go to college I would imagine acts in the same way. There is a greater chance for someone who went to one of the great private schools to get a job when in competition from someone from a public school. I also think that this is unfair because there are many factors contributing to entrance into a public school which includes: Grade Point Average, Standardized Testing, Financial Capability, Legacy, and all sorts of other bull crap. The smartest person I knew in high school had almost a 5.0 gpa from taking mostly honors/AP/IB classes, the got a 5 on every AP test he took which included both calculus and physics, his family was well of and could afford to send him, he got an IB diploma with twice the credits required, however he didn't get into Harvard, which is considered the top university in the country. So there are many factors other than the immediate educational ones which determine where you go. (And I think it is stupid)

There are a great variety of problems with the education system here in America, and the majority doesn't come from unfair admissions and social school rankings. But those pose a problem as well.

If you say that you are a student of Keio, which ranks at the top of private universities, they see you as "Atama ii", "Sugoi" etc, regardless of what actually what you are studying or doing.

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Funny story about that...some Japanese people think you're smart if you just study ABROAD at Waseda, which requires no more than passing the basic requirements of any study abroad program. People would tell me I was something amazing, and without trying to dissuade them TOO much, I would explain just how easy it is to get in as an exchange student. Nevertheless, sometimes the looks you get from people when you're in a bar with Waseda gear on are worth it.

As far as American schools go, and I'm sure many others as well, universities tend to have certain fields of study which they're ranked higher in nationally. These rankings are usually made known in large periodicals like Time or US News and World Report. I went to USC, for example, and even just in the business school there is a large disparity between the rankings of the accounting school (usually top 3-4) and the marketing division (somewhere in the mid 20s?). Schools with prestigious liberal arts programs may be lacking in the sciences, or vise versa. I found it much more important to have an idea of what you want to study before you choose a school. Of course, if you're undecided, then you may have to go with your best option.

shiningblue said:

Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, etc usually get the a majority of the brightest students. Also, within each state there are a series of schools where anybody can go. In Florida (where I live) there is: University of Florida, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of North/South/East/West Florida, Florida International University, and many others.

However, the job market after you go to college I would imagine acts in the same way. There is a greater chance for someone who went to one of the great private schools to get a job when in competition from someone from a public school.

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What about the difference between school fees?
Private uni's school fee is more expensive than that of national one, right?

If so, that can be a reason that you go to national uni.

In Japan, school fee thing goes the same, but you get more chance of getting well-paid job, if you go to national uni(except some ones)

MeAndroo said:

I found it much more important to have an idea of what you want to study before you choose a school. Of course, if you're undecided, then you may have to go with your best option.

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That's the core of what I was saying

-Yu- said:

What about the difference between school fees?
Private uni's school fee is more expensive than that of national one, right?

If so, that can be a reason that you go to national uni.

In Japan, school fee thing goes the same, but you get more chance of getting well-paid job, if you go to national uni(except some ones)

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The private schools are more expensive than the public schools, yes. In addition to that, I also found that universities in Australia are less expensive than those in the US and those in the UK. See the comparison here (pdf file).

And here are some figures for you from this page:

The average tuition at a public four-year institution is over $4,000, and the average private college or university tuition is $18,000.

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EDIT: nevermind my question... i just read MeAndroo's post

and about university rankings in the USA... i would say that they are still very important as well. I know that there are TONS of companies in the USA that will hire only from certian universities, regardless if another student from another university is a complete genius and a better pick than anyone at one of the top-ranked universities. I know a lot of people as well that feel like failures if they don't get into a top-ranked university like an ivy leauge university or such, and they feel they are less superior, which is totally nonsense IMO.