Would like some opinions on some Universities..

[SWEnoKingyo]

Good morning everyone!
it's my first time ever posting something here, (been reading alot though)

Some basic information:
My name is Martin (also known as Kingyo) i'm 21 years old and from Sweden.
I've been living in Japan (tokyo) since January 2009, studying Japanese, and currently working part-time at H&M.
I'm in my schools highest class and at the moment studiyng for the JLPT N1 as well as EJU.
I consider myself not fluent, but close since sometimes in the news etc. there are some new words and so on.
I do however not have any problems in daily life conversation, or discussing on a higher level.

So this is my "problem":
I'm planning to enter a university here in japan as of next year.
I want to study Management (and if possibly a litte international touch on it) as well as chinese as an extra subject.
As well as I would like the scool to be located in Tokyo-to or very close.
(and of course I plan to take all of the classes in Japanese)

Which takes us to the top 3 universities i'm interested at the moment.
1. Asia Univeristy
2. Obirin University
3. Takushoku University (Takudai)

Does anyone have any experience/opinions on these?
I've also researched some on Meiji, and Keio.. (Waseda as well, but unfortunately they won't accept applicants who take the EJU in november)
Which of course are good schools, but how are their management courses? I thought that maybe it's better to go to university that's main courses are management.
Also I don't know how hard is it actually to get accepted in to these "name schools"?
I've also heard that if you're young (or at least kind of young, like me still 21) and have good profiency in the Japanese language it's a little bit easier to get accepted. (only what i've heard though, don't know if it's true or not and not something i'm relying on)

(If I could i would probably just apply to all different kind of schools, the problem is that it cost about 2-30.000yen to apply, and that kind of limits me to about 3 schools maybe)

So please, if you know ANYTHING about these schools (acceptance rate, quality (campus, lessons) etc.) please share your experience/opinions.
Or perhaps if you know about another school which could be interesting do let me know.

Thank you!
/Kingyo

 

[japanesewords]

What do you want to get out of it?

Hi Martin,

I there are a lot of options available to you, but it really depends on what you want to get out of it. I don't have all the information, but attended Waseda University as a foreign student and have also worked as an admissions counselor for a University in Japan. My major by the way was business management.

Since you have a lot of options, I recommend to think about your ultimate goals. If you plan to work in Japan, then the higher named schools will certainly help (Waseda, Keio, Etc). I had a great time at Waseda and would recommend it. The networking and friends you will create will help you a lot in establishing your career in Japan.

However, if your min focus is management and what you will learn (especially if you will work outside of Japan, then I would say that you would be better off studying in the US or Europe. I think the level of classes are a little higher. (I have friends here in Japan who managed to graduate in Japan without ever attending class.) It is also important to realize that the Japanese degree doesn't hold as much power outside of Japan. I am not sure about countries in Europe, but most people in the states couldn't even name a university in Japan.

I hope this helps a little.

Wish you the best of luck

 

[SWEnoKingyo]

Thanks for your response.

Maybe I should have written about that as well.
My plans for the future after I graduate is to work in Japan for a couple of years, and after that eventually try and get to Taiwan within the company to study chinese and see how life is there.. or I may just end up wanting to stay and work in Japan.
Anyhow my plans is to stay in Asia (and with asia I basically mean Japan/Korea/china/hong kong/Taiwan) Until I either die or get really old (then maybe I can consider returning to Sweden)

I really wanted to enter Waseda since it's close to where I live and I have a lot friends attending the school (Japanese people) so I know it's a good school (famous as well)
Unfortunately, as I wrote before they don't accept applicants who take the EJU in November.

From what i've heard, is that lately, Japanese companies doesn't really care about the "name schools" as long as you've at least attend any university they're more interested in your work experience.

Thanks again.
/Kingyo

 

[japanesewords]

It is true that companies are starting to pay less attention to school names. This stems from the fact that schools are not properly preparing students for the workforce. However, another thing that you gain by attending a particular school is becoming a part of that group.

A lot of the people in top positions of various companies will be from some of the top schools. Having gone to the same school will be a plus in getting hired and moving up. The senpai/kohai system is still pretty strong.

In addition, the name brand schools will have more pull throughout Asia. Waseda, Keio, and a few others also have programs that are mostly in English and have a good mix of both Japanese students and foreign students. You might also check those out.

Hope that helps.

 

[SWEnoKingyo]

I see..
But in the end that only brings us back to one of my previous questions.
How hard is it actually to get accepted to a school like Keio etc.

Best regards
/Kingyo