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Hey,
I recently applied to a Japanese Grad School and they told me my chances are pretty good to receive a MEXT scholarship (fully paid governmental scholarship, for 2 years) .
Now my potential advisor asked me if I plan to continue on to a PhD - I have the chance to receive a 5 year (2 yr master, 3 yr PhD) scholarship.
I feel thats a pretty big commitment and that there are too many factors to decide right now for the next five years, what does TL think?
My concerns:
-I never lived on my own, yet alone abroad
-I have no real research experience
-I could just apply for PhD during my time as Master Student over there
Only advantage I see is that I wouldn't have to apply again and that I have really good chances right now.
 
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living in japan was one of the best experiences of my life, and it was my first time out of the country. i could have graduated a year early from college, but decided to do a year abroad instead. i have never regretted it, and will force my children to do similar study abroad programs. the fact that it may be fully paid for is just icing on the cake, as i didn't even regret paying for it, and if you are white you can get so many english teaching jobs for such good money. non-whites can get jobs as well, but its more difficult because japanese tend to think white people speak english better (which is completely ridiculous). the graduate program will be waiting for you when you get back.
what grad school in Japan? I went to Oubirin University.
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i'm very happy for you, but i'm also in a similar situation where i'd need to move out alone for the first time and for a long while. The Ph D would be a gigantic commitment, i can only imagine.
The bottom line for me would be (although a simple one):
you would gain that experience,
Japan can be a very good place to live and commute
and minus all the personal opinions of Japan, i think it may all be worth your time given that you have a fully paid scholarship.
It's one thing to carry student loan or debt (even to your parents) but you have a very great opportunity in my eyes.
I'm sure its crossed your mind that if you get your chances again, the deal will be a lot less sweet.
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Well right now the scholarship would be for 2 years. I would get a master degree from Tokyo Institute of Technology if I really get selected.
So the question is just 2yrs vs 5yrs - which to choose.
During those 2 years I could apply for a PhD but who knows if I get accepted or a scholarship.
On the other hand, what if 2 years is enough for me. Doing something you don't like to do for 3 years is quite something. Such a hard decission lol.
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On February 02 2012 06:47 fanta[Rn] wrote:
Well right now the scholarship would be for 2 years. I would get a master degree from Tokyo Institute of Technology if I really get selected.
So the question is just 2yrs vs 5yrs - which to choose.
During those 2 years I could apply for a PhD but who knows if I get accepted or a scholarship.
On the other hand, what if 2 years is enough for me. Doing something you don't like to do for 3 years is quite something. Such a hard decission lol.
wait. are you saying that you may be turning down a five year scholarship if you go to japan (where you potentially could get a two year scholarship)? thats a different question than i thought you were proposing (i.e., you could do both, but delay the PhD program). the answer would have to do a lot with your financial condition, and what you are planning on doing in the future. if you can afford potentially losing the PhD scholarship, I would still recommend Japan; if you cannot, I would still recommend Japan as long as you are going into a job that will allow you to pay off and student loans in a decent amount of time. overall, going to japan is never a bad thing, but you have to consider the economic risk and what your tolerance is for it.
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I think it was Balzac who said "our greatest fears lie in anticipation".
Concerning your "living alone abroad" worries: it's not going to be as tough as you imagine it to be. I've been through the same thing (went to Paris for 2 years without really speaking the language beforehand) but it worked out great. Shitting your pants is normal but don't let that influence your decision in any way. People grow with their tasks and you will too.
Good luck. And most of all, have fun!
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another thing you should consider is (1) how good your education will be in Japan if you don't speak Japanese; english courses will never be as good as the japanese ones; and (2) whether your masters at the Japanese university will be considered equally to a masters at an austrian or equivalent university. i would think a lot of companies may not look highly on foreign universities where you don't study in the non-native language (i am not sure about this, maybe your counsel can help). a bunch of friend of mine took foreign law classes and based on what they said, it was a joke and they just partied.
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I applied for a master program which I have a good shot at receiving fully paid scholarship for (it lasts 2 years)
I was asked if I plan to do a PhD afterwards because if I wanted to do that anyway I could get a 5 year scholarship instead of the 2 year one.
It's just a question of master vs master+PhD
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On February 02 2012 06:57 dAPhREAk wrote:
another thing you should consider is (1) how good your education will be in Japan if you don't speak Japanese; english courses will never be as good as the japanese ones; and (2) whether your masters at the Japanese university will be considered equally to a masters at an austrian or equivalent university. i would think a lot of companies may not look highly on foreign universities where you don't study in the non-native language (i am not sure about this, maybe your counsel can help). a bunch of friend of mine took foreign law classes and based on what they said, it was a joke and they just partied.
We have the same here. People who are on the so-called "Erasmus" program (L'auberge Espagnole, anyone?) usually only need to attend to half the courses that I needed to take and get treated much more leniently. When I ask them about their studies they're all like " 'twas chill, dude. Partied, smoked all day and that was it".
It extremely depends on how serious your program is. PhD or Master doesn't seem like a small feat though.
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Yea this wouldn't be an exchange program.
It would be a fully fledged graduate program like anyone else in Japan would do.
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On February 02 2012 06:57 fanta[Rn] wrote:
I applied for a master program which I have a good shot at receiving fully paid scholarship for (it lasts 2 years)
I was asked if I plan to do a PhD afterwards because if I wanted to do that anyway I could get a 5 year scholarship instead of the 2 year one.
It's just a question of master vs master+PhD
if you can, apply for both. if you get the five year one, go to japan, and, if after two years, you decide you are done, just end it. assuming any of that is possible. =)
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Just because you sign on to an additional 3 year PHD program, doesn't mean you can't leave part way through if a superior opportunity strikes you. Figure out what the cost of backing out would be. Then, figure out if the benefit of guaranteeing yourself that PHD position is worth paying the cost if you decide not to do it.
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If I were you, I'd take the master's programme, and worry about PhD later. Life is pretty random, you don't know what you want to do in two years. It's a pretty big commitment so far in advance.
Which school if you don't mind?
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Yea, I agree with you. I think hanging a PhD on won't be too hard, also I got some new connections to University of Tokyo so maybe do one there heh.
School is Tokyo Institute of Technology
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oh cool, good school and you'll be in Tokyo 
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Yo fanta. <3
My concerns:
-I never lived on my own, yet alone abroad
Stop whining. It's not that bad. You gotta do it sooner or later anyway. =P
I feel thats a pretty big commitment and that there are too many factors to decide right now for the next five years, what does TL think?
You already answered it yourself, there is no need to ask TL. You feel that it's a pretty big commitment and that there are too many factors to decide right now for the next five years. =D
Translated that means: "I'd feel bad if I would commit for 5 years right now, but there is no way in hell I'm not doing that stuff for at least 2 years."
--> roll with 2 years and work from there. Make sure to keep windows of opportunity open - frame it towards people who can make or break a future scholoarship in a way of "If I commit to something I do it 100%, I didn't commit to something for 5 years because I wouldn't have known whether I would be able to suddenly change my entire life to make it work. (...but now that I tried it I definitly want to continue doing this!)"
gl bro. <3
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MEXT is regarded as very prestigious. Lots of people around the world compete for it, and for any given year, if they like you enough, they'll give you a scholarship. There's virtually no limit, but on the other hand, they're also not afraid to just not give anyone at all and wait for the next round.
Tons of people embark for foreign lands at a much younger age than you with virtually no support apart from money from their parents (myself included), and survived just fine. Over time you'll learn the things you need to do, and in this day and age with skype, it's not like you're really alone. This should be the least of your concerns.
The no research experience could be troublesome, but as a graduate student, you should (must) be able to handle this.
About the PhD, personally, I think it's hard to apply for PhD and present yourself attractively if you're still not sure about what you want. At the same time, if you've managed to get up to that point, why stop? 5 years masters+PhD will give you insurmountable experiences both in life and for your future. I can hardly imagine you would regret doing PhD in Japan later on.
Of course, you know yourself better than anyone else, and good luck!
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Hey rEvo.
Thanks for all your input, I think I need the experience from a master program to decide about a PhD so I'm just going with my first instinct and do the Master Program first.
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Not to rain on your parade or anything, but aren't schools in Europe and North America better than those in Japan?
I don't know what you're studying but it seems to me that getting your Phd in a top tier school back home makes more sense.
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Hi fanta, long time no see
Yes it is a pretty big commitment, and I've not had any similar experiences, but my advice is that you should definitely go for it. Even if it doesn't turn out great, this is one of those 'I'd rather do it and regret it, than NOT do it and regret THAT' thingies. It's (for most people) a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience something really rich and different.
Also Japan sounds awesome, despite the language barrier.
Best of luck, you could make some sick photo blogs from Japan^^
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EPT
