How I Got the MEXT (Japanese Government) Scholarship 2024 on My First TryーWaseda University
This is too surreal to be true, but I finally got the MEXT (Japanese Government) scholarship 2024 on my first try to enroll in Waseda University! Moreover, I did little to no preparation since my application was too sudden. So, how could this be happening? My friends asked me a lot about this, so I decided to write about my journey when applying for the scholarship!
Things I need to clarify first
First of all, I am an applicant from Indonesia, applying through the Embassy of Japan in Indonesia as a research student (Master’s degree/Ph.D.). The screening process could be different depending on the country where you are from or the program you are applying to (there are many categories such as Research Student, Gakubu/Undergraduate, Senshu, Kosen, etc.). But the main idea is still pretty similar. Please refer to the MEXT (Monbukagakusho) website or your country’s Embassy of Japan.
Second, I noticed a lot, that some people (not all, only some) do underestimated this scholarship, because they have several mindsets like “Oh Japan’s population is declining, of course you are going to be accepted that easy” and similar things. But that’s totally wrong. MEXT scholarship is probably the hardest scholarship you could apply to! Take example, other scholarship’s (that the name I won’t mention here) process could be simpler or faster than that of Japan’s. The only thing that could be harder for other scholarship is probably the English test result requirement (TOEFL/IELTS), or the university application itself.
Lastly, there are so many steps required to obtain this scholarship, from preparing for language tests (TOEFL, or IELTS, or JLPT, or whatever it is), organizing the documents (including getting recommendation letter from thesis advisor), studying and doing the written test, come to the embassy for interview tests, doing health test, and applying to Japan universities.
I think that’s enough for the clarification. Moving on to my experiences below!
1. Documents Screening
1.1. IELTS Academic Preparation (Or Not)
Starting from here huh? this is probably the most ridiculous thing that I have done in my life. If I were to fail, I wouldn’t blame myself because of this. I promised to myself that I won’t repeat this ever again.
So for the MEXT scholarship, one would need language proficiency certificate such as TOEFL/IELTS/JLPT. Since my Japanese language skill was very bad (I was only able to comprehend and understand hiragana/katakana, and several kanjis), I decided to take the IELTS test instead. The plot twist is, I forgot when the MEXT scholarship registration will open. So I ended up not preparing for anything at all until March 2023.
So when I got an information from my friend that this scholarship is open, I panicked, and quickly booked the nearest IELTS schedule date possible so that the result won’t be announced late (the scholarship is open on around 25 March 2023 and closes on around 15 April 2023, I booked the IELTS test on 30 March 2023 while hoping the result will be delivered before 10 April 2023). That was so ridiculous! At the same time, I almost had no time to study for IELTS because I was working full-time at a company (Blibli.com) in Indonesia as an engineer (仕事をすると、時間が減りました。それは残念でした). If I have to count the study time of my IELTS preparation, it’s probably less than 5 hours in total (because I could only study at night once per hour daily at that time, just to learn the IELTS question patterns).
Luckily, I managed to get an average of 7.0 out of 9.0 without much preparation. That was a close call, I truly almost wasted 200$ worth of cash! I thanked my English ability for helping me to get that score (A piece of advice, don’t even try doing the same thing as what I did!). If I were given a chance to study more for IELTS, I would have gained better score (7.5 or more), so I regretted about that result a little bit.
1.2. Letter of Recommendation
This took me quite a time, because both of my undergraduate thesis advisors are very busy, so I have to allocate my schedule to come to my previous university and ask for a letter of recommendation. I used the one provided by MEXT and my advisor wrote one for me.
1.3. Research Plan
Have you ever tried to apply to a scholarship without thinking much about your research plan? well, this was me. I should have prepared better so that I won’t be panicking again in the future..
I had totally no idea what to research at the time (because I was specializing in mobile application, which is pretty lacking in terms of research progression). So I just decided to go with a topic related to it (for example, mobile security), and hoped that I would like this topic later on (and yes, I finally studied about cybersecurity and liked the idea). Let’s say that I took the mobile security topic because I realized that I encountered a lot of security problems while I was a mobile application developer. A piece of advice again, never try what I just did!
1.4. Other Documents
For the other documents, I think it’s pretty simple because I just have to fill out the form (like my identity data, which universities I want to go, etc.) so I finished the other documents without much issues.
2. Written Test
I didn’t expect that I would pass the document screening just like that. If I had to take a guess, it’s because of my working experience, my IELTS score, and my last GPA.
Here in written test, the process is much harder, because I have to take both English and Japanese test provided by MEXT on-site (in a university. It was University of Dr. Soetomo for Surabaya participants). This is nerve wracking, because I was very bad in Japanese language and I was afraid that I would forgot my English skills because of learning too much Japanese language. So this time, I did many practices by doing the previous year’s exam questions.
The English test, I managed to do the exam without much issues, but for the Japanese test, I cried inside, because I almost don’t understand anything at all beyond A1 or N5 level. The easiest Japanese question was
- 図書館＿本を読みました。(答え：で)
Oh yes that was very easy! But that’s it, the rest are much harder than that.
3. Interview Test
Again, I didn’t know how I managed to pass the written test (I would assume that I did my English test well and managed to answer most of the “easy level” Japanese test questions). From around 175 participants, only 53 are selected for the next phase (That means 122 participants got eliminated just like that).
So for the interview, it is being held in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. The problem is that, I have never been going outside my hometown Surabaya, and I have to go there alone?!
Long story short, I booked a ticket to Jakarta alone (leaving my family behind because they were busy and stuffs), and took myself there so that I could attend the interview. I managed to reach the embassy by asking people around and use Google Maps. But that wasn’t the only problem.
Many of the participants can speak Japanese, some even have JLPT N2!
That alone, was very nerve wracking, because my Japanese level was basic (Even though I studied by myself to reach like around low-N5 level). I spoke to some of them, only to find myself even more nervous that I already was. Some even tried speaking using Japanese language with me.
So I just did the interview anyway, but the interview questions aren’t like what I expected.
Some people from other countries would say that the interview questions consists of our motivation (like “Why do you want to apply to Japan?”, “Why this university?”, “What can you do to improve the relation between your country and Japan?”). But in Indonesia, it’s a little bit different. They asked questions related to my research plan instead. It’s almost like a thesis proposal trial?
After done from the interview, my motivation went down that I was so pessimistic and believed that MEXT would reject me this time. So I went back to my hometown, lessen my Japanese language study (because of my broken motivation), and starts to find alternatives (I got accepted to Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand shortly after that).
4. Passed the Primary Screening
Wait what? Is this even possible?
From 53 participants, 16 participants got eliminated, so only 37 participants remain (including me). I was so shocked, that I had to decline my offer of place from Victoria University of Wellington, because I am very sure that if I were to reach this stage, I would be 99.9% certain to receive this scholarship. From now on, the processes are much easier than before.
4.1. Medical Checkup
The embassy and MEXT had us to take medical checkup to ensure that we could study in Japan in a healthy condition. But they didn’t arrange anything and don’t provide us anything for the test, so I had to find my own lab (Which was Pramita Lab), and did the test by spending my own money (around 75$?).
4.2. Going to Jakarta for Stamped Documents
Oh not again! I had to go to Jakarta twice and used my own money again to reach there alone and get the stamped documents from the embassy.
Thankfully, because I had reached this stage, I was not as nervous as before, so I was chilling here in Jakarta for a day until I went back to my hometown, trying out foods that aren’t available in my hometown.
4.3. Applying the University
“Oh this should be easy” or so, I thought. So I had backup plans to apply to one prestigious university, and one “not really prestigious but good for my research” university. This was nerve wracking too, because when I applied for the latter, I got rejected. They told me that they aren’t receiving students in their lab or something. I was so shocked and thought “If those universities rejected me, how about the prestigious one?”.
The prestigious university that I meant is Waseda University (早稲田大学), one of the best private university in Japan, located in the heart of Tokyo (Shinjuku City). I don’t know why, but according to the rumor (and my experience), usually top universities are pretty slow in giving responses (including Waseda University). I almost heard nothing from Waseda University, which caused me to panic.
But one day, the professor emailed me and asked for a brief interview using Zoom Meeting, and we agreed to meet like around early September 2023. There were two professors, and one of the professors is interested in my background as an iOS engineer (because it’s needed and will be invaluable to the research in the lab). And after that, I got accepted and they issued the LoA (Letter of Acceptance)!
4.4. Submitting to the Embassy
That’s all, and for the last part, I just had to submit the remaining documents (LoA and placement preference) by email (thankfully I didn’t need to go to Jakarta again). I like Jakarta, but I am not very good with the crowds of people there (Jakartaが好きだけど、人ごみが苦手です).
5. Final Screening
After submitting everything, we are practically done and certain to receive the scholarship (if you got at least one LoA). This process only ensures that the participants documents are completed, and that nothing is missing. This is also the time that if you got accepted in two universities (not one), MEXT will determine which one you will enroll. But if you don’t get any single LoA, this could be the final decision from MEXT whether you will receive the scholarship or not (they will still let you choose two universities that you want to try though besides the rejected ones)!
Months have passed, and I heard nothing but silences from MEXT.
Japan, being strucked by earthquake (around Ishikawa), made me afraid that I could probably lose the scholarship because they had to reduce MEXT scholarship budget to help the earthquake victims there (Why was I overthinking, though, if it’s certain that I would receive the scholarship..). I kept reading on the Facebook and Reddit forums to hear about the news related to MEXT scholarship. This was one of my inferiority complex issues. I prayed to God everyday to lessen my anxiety level.
At this time, I was learning Japanese language a lot, by learning from textbooks that I got from my friend who worked in Japan, practicing speaking (会話), enrolling in a Japanese club for free to share with the others about the Japanese culture, speaking in Japanese. It was all worth it though, I tried to do JLPT N4 simulation and barely passed. I am currently studying for JLPT N3 level right now.
Finally in early February 2024, I was informed that I am placed in Waseda University, in Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering!
Oh that’s quite a long journey, isn’t it?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why would you apply to Japan?
Oh a template question! Since high school, my dream is to go to Japan because I love Anime and stuffs. But of course I wouldn’t use that reason for MEXT scholarship application right?
The main reason is that mobile security is an emerging field in Japan, while Japan is known for its technological advancement. So as an IT, I want to research there so that I could at least apply my knowledge and contribute there, while living in Japan, my dream country.
Why Master’s Degree and Not Full-Time Work?
Sorry but I can’t answer the full answer here. But simply put, I want to try being a researcher to see if I’m fit to be one or not. Many of my friends said that I was very good in doing researches and stuffs, so I want to prove if this is true or not. Moreover, I am already bored working full-time as an engineer (for now).
How Did You Study The Japanese Language?
Some textbooks (like Minna no Nihongo 皆の日本語, Irodori, Marugoto, and stuffs), Cakap Japanese Club, HelloTalk (chatting with Japanese native) and Duolingo. That’s not all though, I did many things randomly like reading NHK news or any articles in Japanese (and tried to translate each words). As for now, my Japanese level is probably at around JLPT N4.
What Are The Interview Questions Being Asked?
Mostly are related to your own research plan, so I can’t answer this in specific. They did ask me to briefly introduce myself and template questions like “What will you do in the future if you got rejected from the MEXT scholarship?” though for the general questions.
Should I Understand Japanese Language First Before Applying?
Not really. In fact, my Japanese language skill was so bad that I was embarrassed myself. I totally relied on my English language skill alone for this scholarship, which is pretty decent (I used English language for communication almost everyday, especially for work).
Can I See Your MEXT Scholarship Documents For References?
Sorry, but for privacy reasons, I shouldn’t show anyone (including my parents) my MEXT scholarship documents. But if you want to ask for any advice, I can answer by email (provided below).
How Hard Is The MEXT Scholarship?
It’s so hard that you won’t even believe yourself if you applied and got the scholarship. I don’t even know the exact reasons why I got the scholarship.
When Will You Go To Japan?
I will be going to Japan in early April 2024. So, wish me luck!
If you have any other question related to my experience or the MEXT scholarship, you can email kevinjonathan3010(at)gmail.com. Keep in mind that since MEXT are very secretive related to their policies, I probably can’t answer questions like “How high is the percentage to get this scholarship?” or something similar.
That’s all from me, thank you for reading!
