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Forum - View topicAnswerman - How Tough Is It To Get Into College In Japan?
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Jonny Mendes
 Posts: 997 Location: Europe |
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Let me disagree a little here. I think Keitarou Urashima from Love Hina is probably the most famous anime ronin. |
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mgosdin
 Posts: 1302 Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA |
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I took the ACT admissions test at the beginning of my Junior year in High School, this was to find out what areas needed improving as there would be 3 more opportunities to take the test before graduation. I think it cost around $100. I got the results a couple of months later and my High School Advisor said, "You don't need to worry, this will do just fine."
Not being crazy I planned on going to the University in my home town, which meant I could walk there or ride a bike if I were feeling lazy. The test did get me a scholarship for the first year which saved a tidy sum of money. Mark Gosdin |
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Shay Guy
 Posts: 2306 |
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I think he's talking a little more old-school than that. It was before my time, but from what I've heard, Maison Ikkoku was big in fandom back in the day. Apparently some circles considered watching all 96 episodes to be a rite of passage. |
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kinghumanity
Posts: 365 |
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So......silver lining..........?[/quote] Last edited by kinghumanity on Fri Oct 27, 2017 12:16 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4627 |
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The depiction I've usually seen is that someone's future prospects are determined by where they go to school, and that you're "set" if you get into a prestigious school. If that is the case, then I would imagine it is very difficult to get into those schools, and that going to a fall-back school is essentially giving up on future goals. It's also pretty common for shows involving clubs to depict third-year students either dropping by only occasionally or at least giving up leadership positions because they need to focus on studying.
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#861208
Posts: 423 |
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Can I just point this out... I think there are a lot of areas where mandating something by law isn't nearly as effective as having a society that values it. The social consequences for something are always going to be taken more seriously than legal consequences, in a conformist culture like Japan, but in other places, too. America isn't as individualistic as they'd like to believe they are. Americans with drugs and underage drinking are another example of how social pressure is far more powerful than legal pressure, though obviously, in a negative way there.
There are a lot of silver linings to the population decline thing. More opportunities for immigrants to Japan (*raises hand*), for one. Also, the technology and systems that Japan is developing to deal with the aging population issue are important, and can be exported to other countries that will start to have that problem - which is good for Japan. And, most countries will start to have that problem, because it's not just about anime waifus or whatever. If a country ends up not having that problem, that's a problem (a life span problem). |
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Scalfin
Posts: 249 |
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Sounds like the big problem is Japanese schools putting up all sorts of hurdles to make applying difficult for even highly-qualified applicants, as opposed to US schools that use common tests (SAT and/or ACT), grades from the previous school, and often the common app.
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18446 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Actually, it wouldn't be all that rare for a U.S. student who engages in a dedicated test prep program to wind up spending around the amount Justin cited in the whole SAT/ACT process. (Of course, parents tend to be quite willing to do so when full-ride athletic scholarships or academic scholarships worth $10K+ might be on the line.)
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Also, just wanted to point out that in We Never Learn!, an ongoing manga in Weekly Shonen Jump, they recently introduced a ronin character who's studying in cram school to get into a medical program after failing once for not putting enough focus into learning her material.
Yeesh, is there any kind of government aid for low-income families/individuals? My family was in poverty during the time that I took the college-related standardized tests and applied for college, and we got plenty of financial aid from the government, so that's what would come to mind for me first when I see those expenses. Then again, the above character I mentioned is working a part-time job whenever she isn't at the cram school or living at her dad's place, which I presume is to pay for these expenses. That sounds very rough.
I'm not certain about if it's like that in Japan, but certainly, college rankings are very important in most of east Asia. It's why part of the stereotype of Asian-American parents is their obsession with getting their kids into Ivy League schools, or at least schools with great prestige: They believe that this is the easiest ticket to a high-paying job. In the country my parents grew up in, when a college graduate goes job hunting, the employers are most likely going to look for which college the applicant graduated from most recently--namely, the college's rank. This is prioritized over any other qualifications (except for the major in which the degree is for). The result is that graduates of prestigious schools tend to wind up working for big national (or multinational) companies, well-known fixtures (like well-acclaimed hospitals or restaurants), or the federal government; while graduates of lower-ranked schools are put into leftover jobs.
There are a few problems to standardized tests too, namely in that they are mostly run by private organizations and restrict schools and teachers to teaching the same things to all students regardless of their individual differences. The result is that, in a change to make schools more of a springboard to get into college, they become less useful for learning life skills. |
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Sahmbahdeh
Posts: 713 |
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The way I see it, it's sort of an "all your eggs in one basket" problem. Because of the aforementioned barriers to applying to multiple schools, but also the fact that schools in Japan, as I understand it, place priority almost entirely on the entrance exams, wherein schools in the US (and elsewhere) tend to have a more holistic approach to college admissions, taking into account grades, SAT/ACT scores, recommendations, extracurricular activities, community service, etc. in the process. Also, there is the problem others pointed out of one's specific college having a far more significant impact on their post-graduate success in Japan than in the US. The pressure is concentrated in Japan, whereas in other places, it gets dispersed over a few years and a few places.
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jdnation
Posts: 2110 |
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QUESTION:
Would it actually be easier then, for a Japanese student, to study abroad? Presuming they can afford it + presuming they're not aiming for the cream-of-the-crop college/university in America / England etc. How does a foreign education help then? Or do Japanese corporations still prefer a Japanese education institution over a foreign one? Of course in certain fields like the tech industry, there's probably no issue with foreign education or foreigners? |
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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I might be wrong, but every time in an anime I see a teacher give that little fill in page of universities (or high schools) a student wants to attend in the future, there are always three options to insert. So the system always encourages for multiple schools. Also, like in New Game! students can go to technical high schools and have a good paying job without going to college. My japan born japanese teacher told me that much and that was about a decade and a half ago.
You heard Shay Guy, I will have to rescind your anime otaku credentials until as a bare minimum you watch all 96 episodes of Maison Ikkoku 
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Nekki Basara
Posts: 17 |
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You just proved his point, newbie. 
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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Population decline isn't the same thing as having a longer life span. Having your population go down isn't a good thing in general. There are silver linings, yes, but a country that has a low cost of living, a high quality of life, a sustainable birth rate, and a long life span is obviously ideal. Population decline is usually a sign that the cost of living and raising children is too high. That's not a good problem to have. And it's certainly not a problem for a developed nation to not have population decline. |
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H. Guderian
Posts: 1255 |
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I'm glad you're inductively reasoning this. The low birth rates are a symptom. Also consider in the future one child is going to have to care for two elderly parents. Those childless folks will grow up into unstable people who have no one at all to care for them or carry on their legacy. The kids themselves wind up having parents far too involved since the parents are waiting longer and putting all their eggs in one basket, giving the kids all sorts of extra hurdles. |
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