Hello, does anyone know if I can get a MEXT scholarship even though I've never been to college?(I'm 22) Do I have to be enrolled in a university to get the scholarship? I was hoping to get it and go to a Japanese college with the money(yes I am fluent in Japanese)

For the 2014 scholarship, the documentation at http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/pdf/toj2014/...bu_02e.pdf states:

Quote:Age: Applicant must have been born between April 2, 1992 and April 1, 1997

Seems you need to be between 17 and 22. You might be able to squeeze in for 2015 if you just turned 22?

[Zgarbas]

Yoou don't have to be enrolled, but you have to meet the age requirement for undegrad (as aldebrn pointed out, you might be ぎりぎり), otherwise you have to have finished college with a GPA of 3 or higher in order to apply for the research student scholarship.

aldebrn Wrote:For the 2014 scholarship, the documentation at http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/pdf/toj2014/...bu_02e.pdf states:

Quote:Age: Applicant must have been born between April 2, 1992 and April 1, 1997

Seems you need to be between 17 and 22. You might be able to squeeze in for 2015 if you just turned 22?

Are you kidding me? I was literally born a week before that. Damn I didn't know there was an age requirement. Makes me feel a bit old. Oh well guess I'll just hopefully find another way to go to college in Japan. Thanks for the responses.

Look at colleges in your area and go to one with a study abroad program that looks like it'll be there in 2-3 years. Go for a year. You'll come out far better for it probably.

vix86 Wrote:Look at colleges in your area and go to one with a study abroad program that looks like it'll be there in 2-3 years

It'll be hard to find a study-abroad fellowship as generous and comprehensive and Japan-focused as MEXT I feel you @Zon70. Maybe it's worth a call/letter/fax/email/tweet to the Japanese mission in your area to confirm the dates for 2015 and see if there's any special accommodation that can be made for you, given the closeness of the cutoff and your fluency and interest in Japan? (Probably not but...)