Hello,

I went to Japan already for 1 year, with a high school exchange program called AFS.
Now I am back in Belgium, in my last year of high school.
Originally, I wanted to take the exam for the MEXT scholarship for Undergraduate students. Which would allow me to enter a normal Japanese University for 4 or 5 years. However! The exam requires English, Japanese and MATH. My math level is terrible since I have gotten only 2 hours math a week for all my life. (I go to an Art School...) Now, I have been training myself every evening, but am now 2 months away from the test and I still suck badly. Today I spoke with someone who had all his life 5 hours math a week and he is now also in his last year, well, he said he wouldn't be able to do anything of that exam. It's more a math exam about insights and stuff... So it seems the MEXT scholarship is impossible for me because of my math level...

Are there any other options to be able to go study at a Japanese university? I mean for more as just 1 exchange year. I have no money since both my parents are unemployed, and they told me they could not be of any financial support. That's why the MEXT would have been awesome, because it pays everything, but I am a sucker for math...

My Japanese level is pretty high I think. About 4000 sentence-cards now, lived 1 year in Japan, I study it now every day for more than 2 hours and my pronunciation sounds native says my girlfriend. So doens't that help me any closer to some kind of scholarship for Undergraduate Enrollment?

Thanks for the info!

-Lucas Van Ammel

What subject do you want to study at university? Sometimes there are subject-specific scholarships, grants, bursaries etc. A bit more information about this might help us search.

Some sample exams here:

http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/toj0308e.html

There's some calculus in there. ∫[0, x/2] x sin x dx = ?

Can't say I remember how to solve that.

Edit:

Tried Wolfram Alpha:

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%E2%88%AB[0%2C+x%2F2]+x+sin+x+dx

O_o

yeah , that's the MEXT scholarship which requires math... >,<

I will probably study math for a whole year in order to pass the mext test next year.

-Mesqueeb

Eikyu Wrote:There's some calculus in there. ∫[0, x/2] x sin x dx = ?

Can't say I remember how to solve that.

Yeah, 15 years since A levels and my notes on integration by parts now look exceedingly cryptic :-) Luckily wikipedia's first example is pretty similar and I managed to get the right answer with only one sign error on the way...

Yeah, the Khan academy would be pretty useful I think.

Integration by parts seems a bit advanced for what's supposed to be high school maths. That's more like undergrad maths.

Eikyu Wrote:Integration by parts seems a bit advanced for what's supposed to be high school maths. That's more like undergrad maths.

Hmm, depends on country and syllabus, I guess (countries doing four-year undergrad degrees probably put it in the degree course, three-year degrees might not.) I wouldn't expect it to be required for a degree in something other than maths, though. Which paper was the integration question in? I had a quick look but couldn't find it...

Isn't integration by parts in any introduction to calculus course? I wonder what HS calculus in the US involves if not...

dizmox Wrote:Isn't integration by parts in any introduction to calculus course? I wonder what HS calculus in the US involves if not...

Integration by parts was covered in my US high school calculus class. The math department for my college actually required all incoming students to take a series of math tests during the summer before we entered, and I believe that was on the test, indicating that they expected all students, regardless of major, to be able to do it (although I went to a very math/science-oriented college). But like pm215 said, it could very well vary from place to place.

Eikyu Wrote:Yeah, the Khan academy would be pretty useful I think.

Integration by parts seems a bit advanced for what's supposed to be high school maths. That's more like undergrad maths.

Integration by parts is school level calculus. In the UK, it's taught at A-level (17-18 year olds) in the C3 module of pure maths. Definitely not an undergrad topic - unless you failed maths at school.

Saiman Khan certainly deserves some respect for his achievement - that site is incredible.

I've heard lots of mixed stories about the MEXT acceptance process.
Some people have done absolutely terribly in their exams, and still gotten through.
Some have done really well, and not been accepted.

Really, it depends on your country and the mood of the people working at your embassy.
If you ace the Japanese and English exam and do very averagely on the maths, you've probably still got a good chance of getting through. Just keep studying maths and increasing your chances. Use the old tests as a guide, and then buy some maths textbooks and maybe a tutor to learn the necessary material, then anki the stuff you're learning as you go along.

I was distraught to find that this year's applications had closed three days previous to when I found out about the scholarship, which now means I need to wait another entire year.
At least I also now have plenty of time to study for the maths exam (I'm also in my final year of high school)
東大 2012!

If I have one piece of advice, it would be this: apply for MEXT this year, no matter what level you are at. There is a good chance you'll make it. You can always try again next year anyway. I'd kill for the opportunity to try this year.

dizmox Wrote:Isn't integration by parts in any introduction to calculus course? I wonder what HS calculus in the US involves if not...

We covered integration by parts, I believe, although it was in AP Calculus in senior year. I did it again in undergraduate, though.

("maths" is one of my least favorite British-English words...)

yudantaiteki Wrote:("maths" is one of my least favorite British-English words...)

If it makes you feel better, "math" is one of the Americanisms I find most obtrusive :-)

There is one thing which has been completely overlooked by you and everyone else here,

You claim that MEXT pays for everything. That is true... to an extent.

The sad reality is, while they pay for your flight, any extra baggage above the 20kg limit has to be covered by you.

Also, you only receive the scholarship at the END OF THE MONTH AFTER YOU ARRIVE.
You will need to survive on your own money for one whole month, and because you will have to run around with paperwork, food, transportation, etc it will be at least several hundred euros, depending on whether your student resident is kind enough to wait for your scholarship to demand the monthly rent.

My parents had to ask for a loan to support my first month. Also, if you have a serious illness, even with the health insurance things can get really expensive. You will still need to keep part of the bank loan for emergencies.

Just don't go to a MEXT application think it is a completely free ride. They cover a lot, but the value of the scolarships diminished in the last years. Be prepared.

bebio Wrote:Just don't go to a MEXT application think it is a completely free ride. They cover a lot, but the value of the scolarships diminished in the last years. Be prepared.

It may have diminished, but $1, 500 AUD per month to pay for 'living expenses' sounds pretty sweet to me. I mean, considering that they're paying for your accomodation which may or may not include food, $1, 500 is a ridiculously large amount per month!

Is that money tax free?