Post-Exam Wrap-Up

I thought of making this post about the long-ago kendo competition, but I can't write a post that requires me to show happiness while I'm doing all I can not to break down in tears.

You see, I got THE RESULTS (the one that determines your university) today.

And being me, I'm focusing on my weakest point, or to put it another way, my lowest score. Maths.

Even though I've done math for the past 12 years. And even though my marks weren't that terrible in Singapore, I'm still the worst in class now. Which effectively ruins my chances to go to my dream university.

I could say that it's because we're not allowed formula sheets in the exam (and talk about how unnecessary that is, since with the internet, looking up formulas is easy).

I could say it's because we weren't allowed calculators (in which case, what is the calculator for)

I could give a lot of excuses, but they're just that. Excuses. I'm the one that did badly, I'm the one that can't do math, and I shouldn't be blaming it on a different system.

So to all my future juniors, let this be one piece of advice to you. Although I love to encourage you guys to apply, before you come, think about how good you are with academic pressure. Sure, come here and have fun, but make sure you're ok with studying hard, or you're ok not going to a brand-name university.

And on a related note, here's a piece of information I was told today. One of the scholars got expelled for cheating - twice. If you cheat once, I could say that you're under pressure. If you cheat twice, it makes me think you have nothing but contempt for the system. And right now, having studied so hard but did so badly, I have no sympathy for cheaters.

In other words, don't come here if you can't study.

Right now, I'm just sad. I feel like I'm letting my Junior College (that's high school for most of you) down. I see my friends going to Harvard, to Cambridge, to Kings, to Hong Kong Univeristy, to NUS, and here I am, struggling. My school was tough, and we have a winner mindset. So now that I feel like I'm letting my school down, I feel just terrible.

And I have this up ahead:

University applications.

Frankly, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to have to rethink everything.

University Presentations (大学説明会)

Last week, we had what was arguably one of the most important events this year - the 大学説明会 (daigakusetsumeikai - University Presentations). The reason why your teachers tell you not to stress about your universities (and one of the reasons why I applied for this scholarship) is that this year is when you choose your university. So what this event does is that it invites universities from all across Japan to give presentations and consultations to the students.

The event went like this - Listen to a bunch of presentations, Consult/Talk to the professors from many different universities, Continue mingling at the "party" (for us, "dinner"). Quite simple, but very tiring.

And um, while there wasn't a dress code, I (and my fellow Singaporeans), take the blame for a good number (I think more than half) the Arts Stream students coming is semi-formal/business casual clothing (one girl was rocking a suit!). You see, I made Rena wear a blazer with me (and a nice dress). And when we met Nicholas, he was wearing a fairly nice jacket, not a blazer, but definitely not casual (we do a mind-read of each other's brains unconsciously . Because of that, two other students felt the need to change, and bumped into Simone on the way back. And somehow, she thought that the dress code was semi-formal and started telling everyone she saw. So when the other students started arriving, we were all surprised to see them in blazers and such. Well, the 'mystery' was cleared up once Simone came.

From this fair, I got, a lot of information. I talked to around seven universities (we were supposed to talk to at least five. Most universities will give information about their dorm (how long you can stay, if there is one, cost) and their different courses.

Top Left: Some of the files/information booklets I got. Top Right:
Ryuku University (Okinawa!), Bottom Left: University of Tokushima
(very enthusiastic people), Bottom Right: Hitotsubashi University
(Very strong in Economics)

So as your senpai, I have a few pieces of advice you may or may not hear when you come:

Very very importantly, please be nice to the visiting professors/staff! We were told that one year, a professor was very angry because no one came to his table (um, it happened this year for the TUFS table, but in all fairness, we didn't have people who were taking Japanese Language, I think). But do remember that these people have come from all over Japan, taking trains and such. So if you have time (and you will have time), just take a chance at the not-so-popular tables. You may find out that it's a good fit for your after all. Plus, if you're waiting for one university and the table next to it is empty, you might as well use the time to talk to another university. It won't hurt you.

Before you even start, think about the questions you want to ask. While we did have the period before to prepare, it's quite hard to come up with questions one hour ahead. But generally, you should at least ask if your course is available, what the university specialises in and the dorm conditions.

Of course, you should definitely pay attention to the presentations. A lot of the professors are very funny, and if you're unprepared, you can use the information they give as a base for forming questions. Plus, it will introduce you to other good universities that you may not have heard off.

This leads to the next point, which is keep an open mind. One unexpected contender was Shiga University, which, apart from having a persuasive and funny teacher come to present, seems to have an excellent economics/business program (especially if you're interested in the real life applications, because you will get to do internships and go on field trips to factories). I remember that a lot of us business/economics students went "suddenly, I feel like going to Shiga University" after the presentation.

In the same vein, if you're asked to write what you learnt about five universities, it's a good idea to write in pencil (especially if you choose the universities in advance like me). Trust me, there's a very high probability that your choice of universities that you want to 'visit' will change after the presentations. That is, if you stay awake through them.

Finally, do some research after. If rankings matter to you (or your family), it's not a bad idea to search for what rank the universities you're interested in are, and to ask around (Linked In has a group called Business in Japan that is really helpful). Remember, everyone is really nice, but they're also trying to get you to choose their university.

Don't forget, you aren't limited to the universities that came. You can choose from any public university in Japan, so no worries!

My Room (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies International Hall 1)

I realised that even though I moved here in April, I haven't posted anything about the living conditions. And I would think that all those that want to come here under MEXT would be pretty curious about this topic (well, I was very curious anyway). So, to calm your worries - the living conditions at TUFS are really great.

The basics: I'm in Hall 1 (there are two halls, although they're building a third hall now). What this means is that I have a toilet in my room, while those in Hall 2 have to share a communal toilet. At least, that's what I heard from the students in Hall 2 (there was something about how that's very uncomfortable during winter).

The rooms themselves are quite small. Including my toilet, I have 15m squared of space. On each floor, the first room is occupied by a Japanese tutor, who is available for advice and support. There is a common laundry area (floor 6 and if I'm right, floor 2 as well) and two common rooms (floor 5 and floor 7). On the first floor, there is a small music room (there's a piano!), a exercise place (you can play ping pong there), a kitchen, a Japanese-style room (occasionally, there are classes like Tea Ceremony there), a TV room (with a very nice TV inside). I think there's also a study room, although most people study in the common room.

So those are the shared facilities. And now, onto to the rooms (basically, my room). So, here are the photos (Warning! A lot of photos ahead!):

 This is my room from the door

 The clothes rack is right next to the door. It's really really small. (Tip: bring as many hangers as you need when you're coming)

 And right below the clothes rack is the shoe rack. As a side note, don't you love Magic Mop? It makes cleaning so much easier!

 We have individual heaters and individual heating bills (remember to always turn off your heater when you're not using it. This is especially since electricity bills are going to go up!). While I've heard of a senpai who (apparently) never turned on his heater for the whole year, I definitely can't do that. I have another senpai that bathed in cold water during winter (with very low electricity bills as a result. If you want to try, his advice was to "try and remain conscious when the cold water first hits you."

 My mini-kitchenette! It's an electric stove (so if you get a kettle, get an electric kettle), but it's adequate for all cooking needs. Or at least, I haven't had to use the kitchen on the first floor yet.

 I use the space below the stove to store all food-related items. In the right corner is my beloved blender. Right now, I go by "which dish uses the least ingredients" method of selecting things to cook because I don't have the space to store a lot of ingredients.

 My bed. There's a board next to it, so I'm trying to fill it up before I leave. All those notes are either prayers or verses.

We have a balcony on which I can hang clothes! Can you see my name on the yellow towel? Well, you can't really see my name on my dogi (simply put, it's the kendo top) though...

 The view from my balcony during sunset! (after a bit of editing)

 The real, unedited view. This is the school track. I wake up to the soccer/baseball team practicing (I wonder how they find time to go to classes since I always see some people practicing....)

I have no space. Which is why all my clothes must be foldable (only formal wear is the exception). And yes, it's over my refrigerator) 

 My bookshelf ^^ Because of this, my room is known as a mini-library (and I lend books out too!)

This is how I decorate my library shelves - with toys from Kinder Surprise (I love Kinder Surprise. Kinder Joy? Not as much) 

I really have no room, which is why my rice cooker is next to my bed....

Just know that the toilet is small but contains a (deep) bathtub, a sink and a toilet bowl. There aren't any full-length mirrors, but there's one small-medium sized mirror hanging over the sink.

So, here's my room. It's small, but really cozy ^^

ETA1: 24/7/2014: If you need to see more of my room, +InasWH did an excellent vlog about it! Click here to go to the video

ETA2: 14/6/2015: If you're looking for information on the Osaka U-Program (the Osaka version of TUFS), +Devangi Yadav made an excellent and detailed post here

Pre-Arrival Information Handbook (TUFS)

I just got the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) pre-arrival information handbook yesterday (+ a word document you're supposed to fill out), and immediately started stressing over (of all things), what language to use to reply to the email.

You see, I'm supposed to reply to acknowledge getting the 2 documents, and me being slightly OCD/perfectionistic (take your pick), I didn't know what language. Should I use Japanese? But the email is written in English, so they might expect an English reply. Not helping matters was the fact that I just had a Japanese lesson on keigo (polite language), so the whole "be polite" thing was at the forefront of my brain. In the end, I decided to write in English. I'm not that good in Japanese after all.

But apart from the completely unnecessary self-inflicted angst, I also had a chance to look at the handbook (PDF document). This is the first page:

I can honestly say that with each document that gets emailed over, I get used to the fact that this is reality and not just some wonderful dream I'm having. The document is actually fairly detailed, and it covers things like arrival and the dorm. The dorm actually sounds appealing. It's all single room (15 metres squared) and comes with a toilet (+ bath) and a mini-kitchen. I don't imagine there's much room to swing a cat, but all the amenities is convenient.

However, JLC (Japan Language Centre) "does not approve part-time jobs as for undergraduate students". There goes my plan to work part-time to supplement the allowance. Plus, the monthly allowance has actually decreased, from the initial ¥123 000 to ¥120 000) :/ Mom, Dad, if you read this, well, I'll have to depend on your for at least one more year :D

And to end things on a happier note, here are the subjects I'm studying (read the Humanities and Social Sciences column):

I'm actually looking forward to most all my subjects (I know, I'm a nerd/mugger) ^^

Handing in the Pledge

Today, I made a trip down to the embassy to hand in the signed Pledge and a photocopy of the passport. The Pledge is basically a one page agreement that I have to sign, stating certain standards that the scholarship awardees have to uphold. If you're wondering what it looks like, here's a picture:

The terms and conditions are actually really reasonable, and I felt so happy when I handed it in. And when I handed in the documents today, I managed to speak with Ms Chiang, who liaised most of the time (at least I think it's her!). So now, I have confirmation: rent is not paid by MEXT, it's to be paid out of your monthly allowance (123 000 yen/month for me). But for Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) at least, a single room costs about 17700 a month, excluding water and electricity bills, which is really cheap for Tokyo. If you're wondering, they have a monthly average/estimate of costs for students here (scroll down to "What are monthly living costs?" for a breakdown).

 Plus, I found out that this year, only 5 students were award the scholarship. That's down from 7 last year and 14 the year before if I remember correctly. When I learnt the news, I realised how much it is by God's grace. I'm not sure the number of applicants, but in the exam round, there were more than 10 of us for the Humanities section alone, not including the the Science applicants. But on the bright side, there are three of us going to TUFS together, so I can't wait to meet them!

You know, it's really funny. Whenever I walk down Nassim Road to get to the embassy, the greenery reminds me of Japan (sorry, I forgot to take a photo, and I can't find one on the web). Or maybe it's just the mood I'm in, knowing that I'm going to the Japanese Embassy. And after my trip in Secondary 3, I cannot listen to two songs: Tattoo by Jordin Sparks and 言葉より大切な物 (kotoba yori taisetsu na mono) by 嵐 (arashi) without being reminded of the trip. That's because my mp3 was already breaking down at that time, so I only listened to two songs during the trip. But that's enough for me, because now, the memories are stuck to the songs. So now, whenever I go to the embassy, I make it a point to listen to those two songs.

I'm going to Japan! (With the Monbukagakusho Undergraduate Scholarship)

But before that, I'm so excited! And that's not because I went to the zoo today (but that was great too). No, it's because the letter that I've been waiting months for has finally arrived today:



Although I got an acceptance email way back in December, it's still very nice to have actual paper in my hands. Now, my sisters (and parents and extended family) can't keep asking me if it's a hoax because I have an official letter(: Now, I just need to get them to stop making those rather insensitive coments about whether I'm going to turn Japanese (the hidden subtext being that I'll betray my race).

Now, I realise that there aren't many posts on the Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Undergraduate Scholarship process, and also for my rather-short-term memory, I think it'll be really helpful to write down what I went through.

Stage One: Submitting Documents

This should theoretically be the easiest stage. But, since I didn't have many of the documents, I spend a fair bit of time worrying. That's because I applied before I graduated from school, which meant I didn't have any documents about my final scores and whatnot. All I had was a letter from the school saying that I was "expected" to graduate.

And even that letter was trouble. The first time it was written, they referred to me as "he". And keeping in mind that it typically needs three working days to be written, I was very near panic-mode. All I can say is THANK YOU FRONT OFFICE STAFF. Especially for bending the three day rule for me.

Later on, I heard that some candidates (who made it pass the Document Screening), that they made some mistakes, like choosing Private Universities for direct placement. If nothing changes, MEXT only allows you to apply for public universities. I'm a very cautious person, so I'd rather make no mistakes in the documents, in case it reflects badly on you.

Lesson learned: Make sure you have plenty of time to finish and submit the right documents.

Stage two: Examinations

For the humanities side, I had to take three exams in English, Maths and Japanese. (Did I mention that I'll be studying Business Administration?). The main difficulty with this stage is the lack of time. If I remember correctly, I had about a week to prepare for this. So, I ended up doing past year papers every night.

If English is your native language, the English paper shouldn't be a problem for you. And it probably won't be a problem for many of the candidates. In fact, I think the scores should be the same.

Maths on the other hand, was tough. Even though I take Higher Level Maths (Not that I'm very good in it, since I only scored a 6 in IB), it was still really really hard. I took a few problems to several maths teachers (all of them brilliant) and even they had trouble solving them. But thankfully, I managed to finish more of the questions, although I heard there were candidates who handed in blank sheets.

Finally Japanese, is pretty hard to cram in a week. All I can say is to study regularly, which is why I was so thankful that I've been taking regular lessons. It's supposed to be very important, so some basic knowledge of kana and kanji is essential.

Stage Three: Interview

Again, I had about one week's notice for the interview dates, so you should arrange for that day to be free as early as possible (they do give out a schedule). Other than that, there are only two things:

1. Be Honest
2. Have someone practice your answers with you. I am so blessed to have my Business and Management teacher, who spent the time to give me interview questions so that I wouldn't ramble (too much) at the actual interview. Note however, this doesn't contradict number 1. Thinking about and Practicing explaining your motivations and background does not mean that you make up stories to tell the interviewers.

[EDIT] I've been getting so many questions about the interview, so rather than make another post and have you guys click and click and click (although it would make the blog stats look good), here's what else I can remember after two years:

a. The interview won't be as bad as you think. Honest. The questions aren't tricky, they're the normal kind - "Why do you want to study ______?", "Why do you want to study in Japan?", "What do you plan to do after graduating?". Of course, they may vary the questions from year to year, but it should stay roughly the same.

b. Yes, the interview is very important. It's the last stage of the embassy selections, so do your best.

c. This is just a recommendation  but I think it would make a good impression if you went for the interview either in a suit, or your school's formal uniform. If in doubt (perhaps where you live, everyone dresses in a suit or something for interviews), ask a teacher (I asked my business teacher, who also coached me).

Stage Four: Medical Tests

If I learnt anything from the interview process, it was that the Japanese are efficient people, so like the other stages, I had about a week. This time, things like blood tests and X-rays were needed, so if you can, pay extra to get the results ASAP. It really helps if your doctor writes a note to the technicians there (if you go to outside facilities) to explain why, because they might have policies on that. Of course, tell your doctor the deadline for submission, so he knows why you're rushing him.

This might be a good time to mention that I hand-delivered all documents to the embassy. Although the Singapore Postal system is very effective, I still feel safer knowing when the documents arrive at the embassy, and of course, knowing that they have arrived!

Stage Five: Waiting

This is the most difficult part, because the waiting is the longest. Keep calm and have hope.

NOTE: I think many of you lovely readers find my blog through this page, so if you do have any questions, I'd really appreciate it if you look at these pages first:

Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions (II)
Frequently Asked Questions (III) Please do NOT ask me these questions. 

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2017 Update: I created a PDF that summarises my 5 years in MEXT! You can learn more at this post.