About MEXT Scholarship - Japanese Studies (1)

Heya heya. 'Tis me, after a looooong while gone. Huh? Where have I been?

Places.

That is to say, I've been chasing my motivation to write to places. (Insert awkward laugh here.)

Soo yeah, yay for a comeback? I still have zero motivation to create stories, you see, so I guess I'll just stick to random posts... while actually giving useful information. Yep. I'm here to grace the world with my experience, along with some tips, about the legendary Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship – Japanese Studies! At least it's legendary in my school, lol.

So first of all, what is this Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship? Well to put it simply, it's a full scholarship offered by Japanese Government, carried on by MEXT = Japanese Ministry of Educations, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. I know, I know, even now I'm still wondering where did that X come from. I would love to paste a link describing this scholarship in detail, but I can't seem to find a satisfactory page... Here is the Indonesian page for MEXT Scholarship (http://beasiswamext.or.id/) and the overall Study in Japan site (http://www.g-studyinjapan.jasso.go.jp/en/). There are several programs of this scholarship, and the one I'm gonna rant about is the Japanese Studies program, which is a one-year exchange program exclusively for college students majoring in Japanese Studies.

To tell you the truth, even this Japanese Studies program is split into two categories: U-to-U and G-to-G. Both categories will receive the same amount of award though, that is free tuition, free visa, free roundtrip plane ticket, and 117,000 yen worth of monthly allowance.

• University to University, as its name infers, is a scholarship offered to universities that have already established relationship with a university in Japan. For example, my college has a partnership with Kumamoto University, so students from my college's Japanese Studies department are eligible to apply for this scholarship. 
• Government to Government, on the contrary, is offered to countries that have bilateral relationship with Japan. This scholarship is eligible for nation-wide students. At least 300 students fight every year to get this privileged scholarship, making it some kind of a legendary scholarship for Japanese Studies students. Oh, and the students are able to pick any Japanese universities they want! Neat, huh.

Enough intro, yeah? Well, the main point is, I've managed to snag a spot for G-to-G MEXT Scholarship – Japanese Studies Program this year! Yep, I'm going to Japan for a year to study in Nagoya University, starting this October. I still can't fully believe it either, haha. The thing is, I've always wanted to go to Japan using my own worth (read: by snagging a scholarship) ever since three years ago, when I first enrolled in college. So... dream comes true doesn't sound too far off.

Now, I'm gonna tell you how the selection process goes. It's been a tiring semester, trust me.

First of all, the requirements. I dunno about other countries, but in Indonesia only third-year students with (at least) N3 certification can apply. Now, I've known all along that I'm gonna apply for this baby, right? Yeah, so I kinda outdid myself and got both my N3 and N2 on my second year, on December and July respectively. I wanna say I worked hard to get it, but the fact is I only studied diligently on the eve of the test, so I guess I can't? /laugh sheepishly/

Anyway, the initial stage is administration elimination. The admission period is around December until January, and what I had to do is complete the application form (downloadable from the Japanese Embassy for Indonesia's website) along with the necessary documents (photo, photocopy of JLPT certificate, letter of recommendation, etc). The announcement is around February.

The second stage is, the one and only, written test. A behemoth that does genocides every year, reducing 300-ish students to 25-ish. It is said that this test is on N2 to N1 level... which successfully made me study my ass off this time. Lol. I couldn't afford to lay back and relax, you know—not when I've been preparing myself for this for three years.

As for me, personally I began my efforts on October/November. My friends and I formed a study group in preparation to tackle this behemoth, and the six of us held study sessions twice a week. In every session, we did a set of test problems: either grammar, kanji, or reading comprehension. We each did the problems, then we discussed our answer. These sessions continued until December where end-term exam was held. After that, in January-February there was an intensive lesson conducted by the Japanese Studies department, solely to prepare for the upcoming written test. Yup, that's how far we were taking it. My precious two-month college break was spent for this... I kinda felt like, "if, after all this effort, I still can't get that damned scholarship... here, eat my middle finger."

Cough. Sorry for the language.

Anyway, the test itself consists of three parts: easy, medium, hard. Each part has a grammar, vocabulary, kanji reading, kanji writing, and reading comprehension section. The easy part is about N4 level. The medium is N3, and hard is N2-N1. I'm not sure if I have any tips about tackling this step... My grand scheme about any test is "manage your time" and "trust your instinct". (No, I'm not Team Instinct.) That's it. No more, no less.

The announcement for this test came late February. The third stage, the interview, is held on early March. Actually I only had about a week! Not to mention right in the middle of that allotted week is the student council's biggest event, in which I participated as one of the key committee member... No one can blame me for crying the moment the announcement was out, okay? It was a stressful week! *hides*

Unlike the written test that was conducted in each region (mine was in Surabaya), the interview test is held only in the capital, Jakarta. The interview was divided into two, or three days. In one day, there were two groups: morning group and afternoon group. I was scheduled for the afternoon in the second day. Along with me were 11 other kids. These 12 participants were then further divided into three groups of 4. Aaand, the interview was conducted in groups instead of individuals. I was in the first group. Just my luck, there was one who was exceptionally fluent in Japanese. Uhhh I was kinda disheartened, but fortunately I could hold my ground as well. There were three interviewers: two Japanese and one local. The questions were common. I'll list what I remember:

1. Tell us about yourself. 
2. Why did you choose a Japanese Studies major? 
3. What do you want to do in Japan? 
4. [Will add later when I remember more]

Before doing the interview, each of us were given a set of instructions, a guide book for Japanese Studies program, and more forms. It is then explained that only people who pass the interview will have to fill the form and complete the instructions. They would be used for the next stage: elimination performed by MEXT themselves. It's basically redoing the administration elimination. There were application forms, university choice form, and health form. Other necessary documents were recommendation letter, academic transcript, copy of JLPT certificate, and student certificate issued by university. The guide book was something else, though. You can feel the weight of this program just looking at that book. (Punny, haha.)

Feel the weight!!!

Btw, we were able to choose 3 universities out of the 100-ish in the guide book. My choices were: Nagoya University, Chiba University, and Hyogo University of Education. Weird combination? I know, I know. I just wanted Nagoya for its linguistics, Chiba and Hyogo for their interesting courses. Considering the living expenses too, you see. Even though Chiba is not that reasonable... Oh well. Just make sure you guys consider the choices very carefully, okay? There are a lot to add into the equation.

Anyway, after the interview test, there were 20 of us. We were connected by LINE group. Convenient. We talked about stuffs, and from there I found that there is a good chance that all of us get accepted to the scholarship. From experience and all. We bonded quite nicely, I'd say. Besides, we had to wait until August for the result. Just imagine, March to August... The suspense! So we kinda shared our anxieties about the result... like that.

Come August, the result was out. How disappointed we were when we found out only 11 of us were accepted. May have been the result of Japan's declining economy, especially after Brexit? I dunno, but we absolutely didn't expect to be cut down into half... :""""(

Anyway, that's it! All the stages of MEXT Scholarship – Japanese Studies selection process. I don't think I've included many tips, but I really hope this helps, maybe giving an insight of what's to come when you apply for this baby-slash-beast. For those who have their eyes on this scholarship, good luck to you!

I'll see again for another story. I think the next one will include the struggles of packing, lol.