Right, so, I recently went to the Japanese consulate to apply for the 文部科学省 undergrad scholarship. This was a pretty big deal for me, but then I got rejected. So I wrote a long article on the thing. Anybody want to read it?

http://alexelkholy.com/2009/06/24/how-my...-hardened/

I'd post the article here, but it's kinda long. Basically, I write about the setup, what I went through, what I had to do, getting to LA, and taking the test. Also is the aftermath of it all and what I decided to do.

Excerpt:

Quote:Have you ever been totally and completely shut down after putting everything you had into one goal? I was in LA having dinner at a Moroccan restaurant, Babouch, spending my last twenty dollars. I was broke, disappointed, tired, and not looking forward to the six hour drive home.

I was a ronin.

Allow me to explain. In Japan, there is a culture centered around college entrance exams. The more prestigious the college, the more difficult the exams are. Those who are accepted have a downhill ride to graduating and the promise of a good career, depending on how good the college they went to is. Those who do not pass, however, are labeled as a ronin. In my case, I was in LA taking the exam for a scholarship called the monbukagakusho (”moan-boo-show” for short). Being accepted into this scholarship would mean the Japanese government would pay to fly you to Japan, place you into a school to teach you Japanese, then later place you into a college (depending on your area of study), pay for your tuition, and pay you a generous amount of money each month to live on.

Now, you want to know how many other people applied for the undergraduate scholarship this year? Two. This is the story of my experience in LA, and how being rejected from the scholarship hardened my resolve...

Wow, that was very inspiring. Sorry you got rejected, but I have the feeling its made you a better person for it.

Heh I kinda skimmed through your blog post, a similar thing happened to me (but not as big). I was applying for a JEF thing, I totally forgot the name of the company but it was the Japan Educational Fund or Foundation? not sure.

It basically involved a fully funded 3 week visit to Japanese companies in engineering, finance etc who invest in JEF, and after the 3 week visit, a 4000 word essay on your experiences.

Anyway they required a ~2 page essay submission on why you should be chosen as the JEF person. 9 Universities in Australia are chosen each year. 11 of the best essays are chosen, then those 11 people are interviewed and later, a selection of 1 from 4 of the best students.

My hopes of getting accepted hit the ceiling since I was the only engineering student applying (my research told me that most of applicants were either international studies/commerce students). I mean no offense to people who study those degrees, but compared to them I felt like I studied something that had substance :p and I thought I'd be able to offer a unique perspective.

Turned out I wasn't even one of those 11 people selected for the best essay. Ah well, it turned out that it wasn't really that great a trip anyway, 3 weeks of observing strictly Japanese companies, fun yeah but I'd rather have free time if I go anywhere, not be bogged by some company painted tourist package.

I found out about a new scholarship package that my university offers to students of Japanese, a kind of similar thing to yours, you go to Japan, you are taught Japanese, bla bla. Teachers chose you based on how well they know you , how they think you'll
perform and not exactly on how good your grades are etc. So I'll be checking up on that in more detail after my Engineering Ethics exam, which is tomorrow, which I should be studying for right now =D.

Your application seemed more interesting, I would have loved to take that maths test for you!

Go Hard, and good luck next year

Great post, alyks

I'm planning to try for monbukagakusho myself... not as an undergrad though since I already have a degree... (which is good for me I guess, I don't know anything about math.)

Not expecting to get in at all though, I'm pretty sure we do compete over spots in Sweden.

True strength is a result of how one deals with failure. Great post.

Really cool post. I never heard about this program, but I'm going to keep it on my radar, perhaps after I'm done with my B.A. (partially because I only have 2 semesters left, and partially because I haven't had a Calc class in 8 years :/ ).

Quick question before I go looking for more info, do you know if you can take this test at any Japanese consulate (like say in NYC, or maybe inside of Japan..) or if it has to be at the L.A. one?

I've met quite a few people on those scholarships in Kyto and the vast majority are involved in MA or Msc courses. Also, the vast majority are students are from countries that are not so economically strong. You meet very few of them from Europe or North America etc. Therefore the odds may be against you being from America. If this is fair or not, I don't know.

It is only for non-Japanese outside Japan.

strugglebunny Wrote:Really cool post. I never heard about this program, but I'm going to keep it on my radar, perhaps after I'm done with my B.A. (partially because I only have 2 semesters left, and partially because I haven't had a Calc class in 8 years :/ ).

Quick question before I go looking for more info, do you know if you can take this test at any Japanese consulate (like say in NYC, or maybe inside of Japan..) or if it has to be at the L.A. one?

You go to the consulate that is closest to you. Find the documents on the site of the consulate that "serves" your region.

I noticed they require you to get a chest xray and urine analysis. How silly is that? Are they afraid you'll die while you're there?

- also required: 4 pictures. How is that relevant?
- recommendation from the principal of the last university attended

Transparent_Aluminium Wrote:I noticed they require you to get a chest xray and urine analysis. How silly is that? Are they afraid you'll die while you're there? ...

No, they are afraid you will bring tuberculosis or a similar disease into the country.
Silly or not, this was a requirement together with an HIV test for a work visa in Japan back in 1994.

I don't know if the requirements are now stricter or more relaxed, but with SARS, bird flu, swine flu and similar
diseases I can only assume that various governments get more and more restrictive.

~marcus

Transparent_Aluminium Wrote:I noticed they require you to get a chest xray and urine analysis. How silly is that? Are they afraid you'll die while you're there?

- also required: 4 pictures. How is that relevant?
- recommendation from the principal of the last university attended

Chest xray is for TB. It's scary in a country this packed up. They don't use easier, less scary tests because of bureaucracy. I have to get a chest xray every year... heck the frickin doctor zaps me every time I walk through the door. It's like the tongue-depressor of Japan.
America: "Welcome, what are your symptoms? Let me look in your throat."
Japan: "Welcome, what are your symptoms? Let's Xray you."
Since I applied to JET and got here I've had 7 xrays in 2 years. That's like 5 more than I had in the first 25 years. You can imagine with this many xrays happening there's a lot of money in the politics of mandatory xray screenings and such from the medical conglomerates.

Driving test: pay $15 for 3 pictures, they take 2, put one on your sheet and one extra. If you pass (1 hour later), they throw them away and take another one for your license. If you fail (1 hour later) they file that and next time you come in you do it over again. If you keep your leftover from the first test, you can buy a set of 3 for $15 and then if you fail you have 2 for your 3rd test! Just make sure you are wearing the same outfit or they don't match and ... void.

I think the overall lesson here is that Japanese LOVE PICTURES! Real ones, ones inside your body, any kind at all. What's that song? "I think I'm turning Japanese".. I just understood the line "I want a doctor... to take your picture.. so I can look at you from inside as well."

alyks Wrote:"Yep, that’s where I was. I knew what it meant to go on without a goal. If I had allowed myself to remain lost, then I would slip into mediocrity. The only thing I would accomplish would be that which I was told to do by others. It would mean a total loss of any sense of self. I knew at that point that I had to decide on something to work toward. There has to be something driving me forward.

I decided to try again next year. I decided that by next year, my Japanese ability is going to be good enough to cut through that test like a twig and my Math ability would be good enough to ace their test without any problems. It was here that I had hardened my resolve.

I’ve come to understand that there is a difference between setting a goal, and setting a goal for a purpose.
I realized that having a goal only gives you the ambition, the purpose of the goal is what gives you resolve."

Great blog buddy
On the first sentence in bold, I've been there, and it's the worst feeling ever, EVER! It's great how you got past it immediately!
On the second one, that's what I needed, so yes I learned from your experience! Thanks from the bottom of my heart.
Becoming a better person is better than a scholarship, but I think you can get the second next year
Good luck.