Thinking of escape, need help

[murasaki]

Hey, this is my first post on this forum but I've spent quite a while looking over this forum and thinking about this decision. I am fifteen in year 10 going to the Lord Harris academy in London. I am just about to start year 11 and this is therfore my final year of school we have to go to. I was thinking of leaving for Japan as soon as I get my GCSE results back but this would mean that I would have to have 2 years of high school in Japan.

My main question therfore is has it ever been done for someone to drop in one year late and try to complete high school then go on to university? Certainly in my school there are no trades for students to move to Japan and live in a host family or anything like that but I would have suficient funds to live by myself and pay for everything. As for knowing the language I have learnt quite a bit of speaking through various resources and am currently going on to learn Hiragana. I then plan to learn Kakatana and Kanji. I have a Japanese teacher whom I can visit as often as I like but before devoting all my free time to learning the language and completing fund preperation I'd like to know if it is truly possible for someone to join a high school one year late as I have previously asked.

BTW Mina-san Hajimemashite

[Takechanpoo]

Are you female?
If you so, I give you my wholeheartedly-tender advices!!!!

[Oradea]

Murasaki kun, aslong as you have the funds, anything is possible. its not unuaual to see a 20 year old at school either.

My main concern would be this, if you want to go to a Japanese　university, applying from Japan, you will be required to sit and pass the entrance exam, which will cover everything learned in Japanese schools, which there is a good chance you wont have covered back home. Is it not possible to finish School there, and get entry into a J university before coming??

[amdg]

[Oradea]

lord harris academy in london, i believe

[Taro Toporific]

[quote="amdg"]Coming to Japan to study at high school for a year or two and then taking the entry exams for university would be a very difficult thing to do. ... A much better option is to study hard back at home, get your A levels, if that’]

The first thing you need is piles of money anywhere from 3 - 5 million yen per year for at least 3 years of study to pass the entry exams for a Japanese university IF you are fucking clever dude. What you are describing is becoming a Japanese "ronin" pre-university student--that's a tough road to take.

The far easier road is enter a Japanese university via some university exchange program from your home country. That also takes buckets of money.

If I were your age, I would just take the fun and far less tortured road of coming to Japan via an "official" high school exchange program for 3-6 months. You can see how much you love living in the Land-of-Concrete(tm) here and how fast you can learn Japanese in a Japanese learning environment.

If you are truly a genius with Japanese, you can have your Japanese high school find you a longterm homestay arrangement. While you are here in Japan, a MUCH better plan would be is to weasle your way into one of prestigious Japanese high schools that have an "escalator" arrangement with good Japanese university with a "foreign student" department (such as Sophia, Keio Unv, Meiji Dai, ICU, Wasda, etc.).

On the other hand, if as a high school exchange student you find that cannot get yourself to J-Level 3 or 2 swiftly, you really ought to go home enter Japan in the normal "way" via a university exchange program.

[murasaki]

Well it was more escaping my household than the academy.

Thanks for the advice it was unfortunately as I had expected. As far as I know there aren't many exchange programs even in the colleges of London though I suppose I should finish college then go over for university.

Arigatou gozaimasu

[Taro Toporific]

As far as I know there aren't many exchange programs even in the colleges of London though I suppose I should finish college then go over for university.

You need to work on your Google-fu. I found these programs for you within the first 50 hits on Google:

Youth For Understanding (big and legit)
http://www.dawnbreaker-solutions.com/yfui.html#Scene_1

Other programs
http://www.wys.gr.jp/english2.html
http://www.twoworldsunited.com/requirements_year.html


However, I have piss-poor idea about how legit the above programs are. Some programs which advertise on the Internet are excellent, some barely exist. New institutes open every year; some close or change ownership. Sadly for you, I'm an American so I don't how exchange programs in the UK work (Americans have a huge number of high school exchange programs of which AFS is the most famous).

If you pester the hell out of your school's guidance counselors they ought to know or they ought to be fired for gross incompetence (I used to be a foreign student advisor in my university).


Somewhere burried on the Embassy of Japan in the UK website is the study in Japan info for you. Start digging. Or better yet, just call the Japanese Embassy and ask.
http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/study/sch_opps.html
http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/study/mext_postgrad.html


Also carefully check the website of the Japan Society in the UK.
http://www.japansociety.org.uk/


Another resource you are looking for isSister-City Exchange program.
Here's a partial list that's not at all complete--look for a city near year in the UK and then contact that city's program for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sister_cities_in_Japan

[amdg]

There you go murasaki, Taro has given you a lot of good leads to follow up. As he says, also talk to your guidance counsellor and make them do a bit of work for a change. Lord knows, my guidance counsellor at high school was a waste of skin, so please make yours do something useful.

I remember being fifteen and wanting to escape from my family. Actually, I don't remember being 15 so much as I remember wanting to escape from, and/or kill, my family. As far as escape goes, Japan is a pretty good option because its about as far away as you could get right?

But I really do recommend trying to find out about possible short-term exchange opportunities rather than planning on a full-scale living in Japan plan. And if your heart really is set on living in Japan for a while, then the very best thing you can do to start you on your way is to keep studying the language seriously, and try to get some Japanese language tests under your belt.

Good luck!

[Mulboyne]

Things may have changed in Britain since my day but there was no such thing as a guidance counsellor in my school. We did have a Careers Office which may provide some similar functions and I suspect that is where murasaki needs to go. It can often help to have a sympathetic teacher who might also do some leg work on your behalf, in particular if personal references are necessary.

To get these people on your side, though, you have to show that you are serious about what you want. Taro has shown you some links so follow them up and take them to your Careers Office so they can see that you have tried to find some options yourself. That will make them more willing to spend the time trying to find some other ideas. They will likely have better access to information on educational programmes than you can find on Google so they might be able to tell you about opportunities that you aren't aware of.

[kamome]

murasaki - I understand that you want to get away from your family. But you risk doing yourself more harm than good by using Japan as an escape valve.

How comfortable are you with the idea of living in Japan forever? Getting a J-university degree means that you risk locking yourself into a Japan-based career or at least put you at a disadvantage if you ever wanted to return to the UK for work.

Think about it - a degree from a J-university would be most valued in Japan, not in the UK. As several people have said already, go with a high school or college exchange program and stay for a semester or two, but get your degree from a UK school.

Besides, it sounds like you are reasonably wealthy - surely with that kind of money you have access to top UK universities. Why throw that chance away? People from around the world immigrate to the UK for the chance to attend one of its prestigious schools.

[hundefar]

That may all be true, Kamome. But have you seen the British women?

[kamome]

That may all be true, Kamome. But have you seen the British women?

If they look like Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter), I'd be tempted to stay in the UK.

[hundefar]

If they look like Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter), I'd be tempted to stay in the UK.

In the UK most women are er...not very pretty at all....actually, the blokes are usually more fit than the women. If I were to live in Britain I'd probably turn homosexual.

[CrankyBastard]

Until I discovered girls I thought love was a pain in the arse.

[Greji]

Until I discovered girls I thought love was a pain in the arse.

Damn Crank, I didn't know you had been a Bos'n!