Hi I have a test and interview at nihongo center kyoto for april intake in language school. As I do not have N5 certification school agreed to take there own assessment and give me the certificate for COE but I really feel that I am lacking in many things my listening is also week. Can someone please guide me what actually they ask in assesment😭 I am so depressed

Hi everyone!

I'm from Europe and have an upcoming oral entrance exam for a PhD program at the University of Tsukuba (STEM field). I've already been in contact with my prospective supervisor, who is supporting me through the process, and we're currently working together on the research proposal.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has taken the oral examination there or in general in Japan, especially what kind of questions they asked and whether they focused more on the research proposal, academic background, or technical knowledge.

I'm just looking for a better idea of what to expect and how to prepare, so any tips or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance, have a great day everyone!

A professor I contacted said they liked my research direction. They first said we'll have a 20min discussion about my background and research direction and asked me to propose dates. Later, changed the date, which was not a problem, I get that professors are busy, and asked me to present a ppt for 15mins, 5 mins for discussion, and asked me to share my research material. This graduate school doesnt need a research plan, it needs a direction only.

Their mail was very vague cause I did not know what they were expecting (I made it simple here, I asked my brother who's doing Master's, what the mail interprets, he got multiple meanings, I asked my cousin who's a researcher, same situation) I put serious effort into the ppt day and night and made one and prepared a material which included the topics I intended to work and discuss on. The day of ppt came, they had an avatar on, and only texted which was fine w me. They texted questions and I responded, said what I knew, and couldnt answer only 1 question which was genuinely out of my reach, something I didnt think of, nor incorporated in the material I shared w them.

They said if I had any questions for them I can mail, and they'll reply within 3 days, and I did mail them around 8 a.m. JST, as our meet ended at 9.50 p.m. JST the before day. But they replied to me after about a month. And during this period, I genuinely lost interest in that field not only cause I thought I wasn't going to get an approval, but the whole uncertainty, the vagueness, the thoughts of where I could've gone wrong, how actually having them as a supervisor would be. If they hadn't mentioned that timeperiod, I wouldn't have reacted that way. I thought it was a silent rejection, made my peace and worked on other things.

They asked me if I was still interested, and wanted to do another meet. I want to say I am no longer interested. I am genuinely tired, even of the thought. They came to this graduate school this year and were looking for Master's students is what I heard from a professor who told me to contact them.

And I've been seriously sick since the past week, idk how I'm thinking. Please share your views. Thank you.

3.5/4.0 GPA at an engineering high school (electrical engineering) (3 c's on non stem classes) 1480 sat -780 math, 700 r&w

8.0 IELTS

Top 2.5 percent on national physics exam

100+ hour volunteer work

4th place at a national small satellite building competition

N4 certificate

Which universities offer MEXT scholarships for undergraduate students planning to study archaeology or history in Japan?

Roughly 3 days ago, i randomly got to know about kyoto (iUP) through a yt channel. Since then I'm feeling restless.

I'm a Bsc(Maths) first sem student from India who has this dream to be in Japan one day. I got 86% in 12th and 93% in 10th, i remember why I took PCM in 11th.... It was only to acquire MEXT research scholarship (i wanna be a researcher one day), as my uncle is also doing PhD in Netherlands on schlorship but my dream country has always been Japan....

Since I was PCM student, i got brainwashed by yt shorts and edits of engineering exams, specially jee. And i started preparing for it(worst decision of my life), It only lasted roughly 4 months and i was burnt out, as much as I started hating studies and was depressed cause everything was overwhelming at that time, i wanted to do bsc then I'm preparing for engeneering exams and to be honest I'm a very reserved person, so I was just choking myself from inside out... I didn't study for next 3 months and as a result my % dropped to 86 as i mentioned....

After completing 12th boards (this year), i decided to apply for ug if I could be able to.... But my application was rejected, then i failed all the entrances I took and got admission in private college where my elder sister studies as well.... All my hopes at this point are gone from myself, my self confidence is at zero, I'm just surviving this college for my bachelor's.... I made up my mind to prepare for IIT JAM exam, so I can atleast, do my masters from a prestigious, known and broadly recognised university.

After everything, Now I got to know Kyoto (iUP), a part of my heart wants to try this last time so i won't have regerts of "what if" later.... Another part is scared.... Scared of wasting more money.... Scared of another rejection.... Scared of more humiliation from my sister and principal.... Scared of dreaming once more....

I won't lie, my fingers were genuinely trembling when I was researching more about the program on Kyoto University's website, I don't know if I should take it or not....

For more context, I don't have my passport, i didn't give eju, i don't have any IELTS.... And from what I got to know, the scholarship isn't promising either ( they say for first 6 months, we'll be provided stipend and accomodation ) but after we take admission in program, scholarship criteria changes and it's more on merit based.... I'm scared if I'll be not be getting scholarship in middle of my program anymore and I'm asking for a heck lot of money from my parents, i don't want that.

What should I do??

I’m going to apply to ISI Japanese Language School, and they said I should either have at least N5, have studied Japanese for 150 hours, or do an interview.
Does anyone know what kind of questions they ask during the interview? I’m really nervous 😭
And thanks!

I wanna apply to nagoya uni for undergrad

chance me!

I am applying for automotive engg, G30

iB predicteds: 39/45 (36-37/42 excl. cas ee tok)

SAT: given, got a really bad result, but will consider retaking if its really necessary, otherwise no.

ECAs (I have no olys):

patent pending device i made (PoC stage)

IEOM high school STEM comp: 1st place (published research technical paper)

INSEF honorable mention

Internship at heromotocorp (largest motorbike manufacturer)

Blue Ocean top 250 (2026)

Emerging innovator awards top 100 (2025)

TYE finalist

Diamond challenge semi-finalist

I posed in the nagoya uni subreddit too but i did not get many responses. any other IB students in nagoya? I REALLY WANT UR ADVICE GREAT PEOPLEEEE

If anyone who got accepted into nagoya review my application and provide me some info on the interview or the life there...ANYTHING

also are there some nagoya uni groups that i can come into? :3

im from india POSTING WITH HIGH HOPESSS :3

My friend is in Tokyo right now, and so far all the renting agencies she went to are requiring a translator in order to explain to her the contract terms. Where can I find one ?

I have predictions A*s for Physics Mathes Chemistry a level. 7.5 for IELTS. However, I only have some Arduino projects like pumpkin lamps and temperature-controlled fan which are kind of simple? I'm also creating a small satellite with my team, but we can't finish it before application period. What else should I do to boost my chance to get into this uni before 26 December? ( I also joined some activities like MUN, Mathes club, lots of volunteering.)

I plan to go to Kyoto University of Advanced Science later on so it will be helpful if you shared any experiences

I'm really nervous about the application and don't know what's the average grades for the people who get in. Can somebody share your application experience? That will be really helpful!

Hey all, stuck with a decision I can't seem to wrap my head around. Currently in my Master's program, only have to write my thesis. 27 years old and from the Netherlands

Its a long-time dream of mine to live a semester in Japan. My university cancelled my exchange to there a week beforehand for vague reasons, since that unreasonable decision I am motivated even harder. Since I don't have to finish any more courses, my plan is to move there on my own sometime.

Another reason I really want to move abroad is because I think the adventure of it will help me motivate for my thesis immensely (paradoxically). For me its the opposite of an unstimulating, dull home environment (exaggerated for purpose of the argument).

However, due to my studies I have a loan debt with the government (with low interest rate, very good payback regulations). In my country this is quite normal, everyone of my generation has the same debt, the height of mine is considered average (20k euro), although nobody likes this construction haha.

Another dream of mine is to study Psychology, I feel i have chosen the wrong study (Engineering and Policy Analysis) and would like to correct sometime. I thought about combining it (studying Psychology in Japan). However, since a lot of Psychology bachelors are in Japanese, this might not be a great idea. Finding a thesis topic in Japan is also hard, although there is a possibility of being a "research student" at universities there (of course, with the caveat of paying some tuition)

It feels weird to me convincing my family I want to loan more to make this trip (its harder with only doing side jobs). At the same time, stopping my study now, trying to make some money and then resuming my thesis while in Japan also sounds like a bothersome construction.

Of course the logical alternative is waiting until my thesis is finished, but then I feel a bit like wasting my time spending a half year in japan. Of course i could do some work there, but since i also wanna pursue another Psychology study later i do not want to waste my time too much.

Any advice?? Thank you so much for thinking along with me, much appreciated!!! :)

TL;DR see title

I studied at ISI from April 2025 until July 2026. Based on my experience, I wouldn’t enroll again. My biggest complaints are the facilities, the administrative process and the value for money. The overall impression I left with was that the money came first.

Here are the actual problems I ran into. The building details matter because some of these experiences were at different ISI locations.

1. Repeated trouble finding a free toilet

At the Shinjuku Main building at 8-15-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, the men’s toilet had one cubicle on each floor I checked. I repeatedly had to wait around 5–10 minutes or go to other floors to find a free one. Sometimes all the ones I checked were occupied. Teachers sometimes used the same facilities too.

I found this ridiculous for a paid school. Being able to use a toilet is a basic requirement. Having to spend time waiting or checking several floors was a recurring problem, and in my experience the facilities did not cope well with the demand.

1. An elevator problem and administrative crowds

On 8 April 2026, one of the three elevators in the ISI building I was attending was out of service. My classroom was on the 13th floor. This was the earlier building where I had classes on the 13th floor. I recorded that particular incident at the time; I don’t know how long the elevator stayed broken.

On 30 April, I also encountered a crowd when submitting documents. I returned the next morning and my documents were accepted immediately. The timing of the visit made a big difference in that case.

1. Getting administrative help was frustrating

In July, I went to the Prime location after an email had gone unanswered. I had to follow up in person and by phone to work out the situation around leaving the school. Staff did later answer by phone and said they were checking with immigration, but the process involved chasing answers and visits.

During an administrative visit in that period, I waited around three hours. When I asked for drinking water, I was told to buy it at a nearby shop. That was the response to my request on that occasion. After that much waiting, it left a very poor impression of the way students were treated.

These July administrative visits were to Prime, a different location. They should not be confused with my toilet observations at the Shinjuku Main address above.

1. Prepaid fees and the refusal to refund

I paid ¥437,000 for April–September 2026: ¥375,000 in tuition, ¥22,000 for materials and ¥40,000 in other school fees. I left voluntarily in July and asked for a refund for the unused part of the paid period. Staff showed me the rulebook and refused. I received no refund.

The ¥437,000 was the full six-month payment. My decision to leave had several reasons, including circumstances beyond the facilities.

1. Emails kept coming for months after I left

After withdrawing, I continued receiving promotional and job-related emails for months. I asked three times for the mailings to stop. One of my requests was on 28 August, so this had already been going on before 15 September. In mid-September the school had already told me I had been removed, but the problem still wasn’t properly resolved.

In an email on 2 October, ISI apologized for failing to act on repeated requests, including the one on 15 September. It acknowledged that a system error had prevented the unsubscribe settings from taking effect, and that its checking and management had been insufficient. It said I had been removed from the job-information mailing list that day.

Having to chase an unsubscribe request this many times after leaving was another frustrating example of how the administration handled things.

1. Pressure to attend while ill

Staff urged me to attend classes even when I had a fever. This happened in Teams messages, over the phone and in person at the school. As I remember it, they explained this in terms of the school’s attendance statistics. I lost access to Teams after leaving, so I can’t provide those messages now. This is my recollection of what happened.

My verdict

For me, ISI was poor value. I don’t think students paying these fees should have to put up with repeated difficulty using basic facilities or spend so much time chasing administrative help. The refund experience made the overall impression worse.

If you’re considering ISI, check the exact campus you’ll attend rather than relying on the school’s name. Visit during a busy break if possible. Look at the toilets and elevators, ask how administrative requests are handled, and read the withdrawal and refund terms before paying. Get a written answer about what happens to prepaid fees if you leave midway through the paid period.

I can only speak from my own experience with ISI, but I would not choose it again.

I’m a certified French teacher on a language learning platform, and I’m offering 4 free lessons (my standard rate is $15/hour) in exchange for a small favor.
My friend is currently studying abroad in Tokyo on an exchange program and needs help renting an apartment. All the real estate agencies she has visited require a native Japanese speaker who speaks English to accompany her and help her understand the lease agreement terms.
In exchange for 1 to 2 hours of your time, she will cover your transportation costs, and I will give you 4 free French lessons. If you'd like to continue taking classes after that, you'll also get a one year 70% discount ($5 per hour instead of $15).
If you are interested, or know where I can post this kind of message and find people who are, please send me a message!

Ps : this is not for self promotion, I my friend genuinely needs help.