=Sophia University Study Ablog=

Blog of an American university student with prior experience in Japan who will be an exchange student in Tokyo at Sophia (Jouchi) in 2018/2019. The purpose of this account is to share as much info as possible to other Sophia students & hopefuls.

[jouchiabroad]

Moving posts

Just a quick update to say I’m exporting these posts to a wordpress: jouchiabroad.wordpress.com There doesn’t seem to be a way to make a new tumblr show up on searches in google, or even in tumblr itself unless the search is very specific. Here’s hoping the wordpress works a bit better.

[jouchiabroad]

CoE and Letter of Acceptance from Sophia - Visa process

Sophia University was able to send my Certificate of Eligibility and my official acceptance letter to my school’s study abroad office just under the wire for July. I picked it up today and am now filling out the forms to turn in to my local Japanese embassy office for my student visa. Since some of the questions on the visa paperwork can be a bit difficult to understand, here are some helpful links:  

- Guideline sheet from one of the US consulates

- Tips from another US consulate - Tutorial from another US student on how to fill out some of the items Bear in mind that each country has differences, so the form may need to be filled out differently. Some things to note, as far as I can tell: -“name of ship or airline” is looking for the flight code, usually two letters plus numbers.

-“name of hotel or persons with whom applicant intends to stay” I haven’t booked my place in Japan yet and of course I won’t lie on my form. I might have a place booked within the week, but if I don’t I may need to update this with info on what happens in that circumstance. -if your “guarantor or reference in Japan” is a school, I believe you put only the basic school info and leave the date of birth and sex sections blank, but I’m still verifying this. -it seems like even if you work in your home country, if you are applying for a student visa it makes more sense to fill in “name and address of employer” with “university student” and the school’s information. I’m using my school’s study abroad contact information here. -as a general rule it seems that they want things spelled out as clearly as possible with few abbreviations Will update if anything else comes up on this

[jouchiabroad]

Study Abroad and Phone Service

There are lots of options for temporary phone and/or data service in Japan nowadays, including pocket wifi, prepaid phones, and data-only or data and mobile SIM plans. Since I plan to be there for around a year, I’m looking at the data-and-mobile SIM packages. To check if your phone can match the SIM network of a particular carrier, you can use the site https://willmyphonework.net/ - I don’t know if they have everything listed, but they were able to match my US-brand phone with DoCoMo’s 3G and 4G networks. It’s also worth noting that SIM card switches will only work with an unlocked phone. There’s a decent breakdown of what are called “MVNO” (mobile virtual network operator) SIM options on TokyoCheapo (as of July 2018). Many of them connect to (or rather, piggyback off) the DoCoMo network, but it’s worth checking ahead of time. Sakura Mobile’s plans look pretty good to me, but as of this date, BIC Camera’s “BIC SIM” plan is offering a very good deal (not mentioned on the Cheapo site), so it may also be worth checking around. The BIC plan seems to require physically stopping at a BIC Camera store or having a Japanese address to deliver to (and maybe a Japanese card to pay with), so I don’t know if I’ll use it as I’d like to set up my account in advance and pick it up when I get in to the country. Services like Sakura Mobile or Mobal offer support in English (and maybe other languages), and have various options for setting up the account, including SIM pickup in Japanese airports and sending the SIM to your country ahead of time. As with the other topics, I’ll try to update with info on the process as I go through it.

[jouchiabroad]

Sophia Student Supporter

I received an email from my student supporter today :) Sophia sent an email asking if I was interested in having a student supporter on June 18 with a response deadline of June 27. The signup link asked some basic questions, including what kinds of help you might ask from your supporter, who would be a current student at Sophia. It’s nice that they’ve sent the information to supporters almost two months before classes start, giving us plenty of time to ask questions and get to know one another. What I understand is that during orientation Sophia will have us meet our supporters in person and they will show us around a bit.

[jouchiabroad]

The Accidental Email

If you happen to be on the email list for incoming international students to Sophia in Fall 2018, you likely received an email intended for “交換留学生サポーター” aka your study abroad coordinators. They sent a quick followup saying you could disregard the original Japanese-language message, but if you can read some Japanese (or maybe if your translation program is good enough?) the info it contains seems useful (much was already available through other links they had sent but is probably frequently asked). Some bullet points: -Visas will be “re-entry” type (you can go to other countries or visit home country without reapplying for a visa during your study abroad period) -People asking about visas need to wait for Sophia to send the CoE and official acceptance letter to apply and then apply at the embassy/office in their home country (we knew this but I’m sure many people new to visas are anxious about the process) -Airport pickup service for Sophia is dependent on a number of factors: you must be a dorm student (already I’m not qualified but I knew that lol), you must arrive at Narita or Haneda, and you must do so within a certain time window on certain days. -A bit of info about dorm housing -Links to things on the website such as course lookup and a guide to the Japanese language track (I found the PDF difficult to understand but I think the website makes sense - link) -Some attachments. One is about purchasing a student commuter pass, the others Japanese and English versions of a guide to “Student Status and Responsibilities”. This document has a lot of useful information about things like getting set up in Japan and daily life. I’ll go into more detail about these topics in a later blog post and will link the document if Sophia makes it publicly available.   That’s a general overview. Although it was not intended for students, it’s nice to see the update and have more planning tips. Side note on the airport pickup - since I always knew I wasn’t going to be picked up, and taking large bags on public transport in Japan is difficult and can be seen as rude, I’ll be packing necessities for a day or two in a smaller bag and then sending one or two larger bags (whatever I end up with) using a takkyubin aka item delivery service such as Kuroneko Yamato. I’ve used takkyubin many times before to move luggage when traveling and even once when I had to move across Japan as a moving service. They’re worth the price. They have stations in every major airport in Japan and they’ll typically get a large and heavy piece of luggage from the station where you drop it to the address you give them within about one business day for about 3,500-5,000 yen depending on the company and how bulky/heavy it is. So for about 40 USD, you can completely stop worrying about your luggage from the moment you pick it up at baggage claim until after you’ve slept off some jetlag. I try to be careful with money but if you have some to spare I recommend using it on this service as it is useful when you most need to rest.

[jouchiabroad]

A more specific (or at least official) schedule from the Sophia website [ Link HERE ]

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Sophia University - Courses and Schedule

7/10/18 - Still no CoE - expected date is end of July. Plan to buy a plane ticket within the next 1-2 weeks; travel sites say average best prices are 50 days ahead of a flight. I’m currently thinking the best route is to get to Japan two weeks before orientation to allow for move-in, get over jet lag, relax and meet up with friends in Japan before school starts. The school calendar for Fall is: Sept 21~22: Orientation and language placement test (if taking) Sept 22~Oct 4: Course registration (presumably including the add/drop/change period) Classes before winter break: Sept 27~Dec 21 Classes after winter break: Jan 5~22 The school will have you fill out a form selecting your courses as part of your initial application, but to my understanding this is just to gauge how many seats to keep available for exchange students (who register last). Japanese is the only course I was sure of. There is a system called Loyola in which you can search the course database, but access may not be granted until you have reached a certain level of acceptance from Sophia. Even then, it may only be accessible through certain links they send until they set you up at orientation. My school also offered another site with a historical database of courses offered, though it did not include course descriptions. Those taking Japanese have to take a test which I hear is very difficult in order to be placed in a course. Supposedly you cannot argue the results. This is what I expected. As long as the credits count for what I need, I could probably use a lower-level refresher, but I’m sure some students would rather study hard and start higher. It’s a generalization, but my experience is that “the system” (”the way things are done”) is difficult if not impossible to argue in Japan, and it’s better to figure out how to get what you need from within it than fighting it from outside. As a side note, Tokyo Game Show, a videogame convention, is the same weekend as Sophia’s orientation. I went once before and it was fun, cheap, and easy to access. Seems like a good way to relax before classes start. Let me know if you have any feedback or your own story to share!

[jouchiabroad]

Study Abroad - Prep Work

I was accepted for a study abroad in Tokyo at Sophia University aka Jouchi Daigaku (上智大学) for the 2018-19 timeframe.  I’m the type that likes to research (and research and research...) this sort of thing ahead of time, and I couldn’t find much specific information on the kind of program I was doing.  Blogging and social media aren’t my strong point, but my hope is that creating a tumblr will make any information I manage to upload more easily searchable so that everyone can benefit :) Where I am now: I have my acceptance but not the CoE/visa. Planning to buy a plane ticket soon, because Sophia says they’ll send the CoE around the end of July, and I want to be in the country by the second week of September (a week before orientation).  LIVING ARRANGEMENTS From research and talking with other students I learned that Sophia dorms are far from the school, and some have strict rules. I didn’t put my name in for them and am instead in the process of contacting share houses. I feel comfortable with this process because I’ve a) lived in Japan before and b) have friends in Japan that can help me if anything comes up before I get there. A dorm may be a great option for you if this is your first time abroad or if you feel nervous about living in a new place.  You can look up basic info on share houses, but in general the good ones will include water/electricity/furnishings/internet in the monthly cost, so you will only pay a reasonable monthly fee plus a deposit (some of which you don’t get back).  As housing in Japan usually comes with many fees, this is a great deal. The “catch” is that rooms are often smaller and kitchen/shower/etc are shared.  Personally, I like this type of living environment, especially if it is a place that has Japanese residents as well. Sakura House is one of the most famous share house chains, but I find them to bit a bit expensive, and they specifically do not rent to Japanese people. I’ve heard that Borderless House and Oakhouse are both good. I’ve also used https://tokyosharehouse.com/eng/ to do english searches. I’ve mostly been using https://www.hituji.jp/ though. I’m on their mailing list, and when looking I do a search including parameters “foreigners ok” and the area/price range I want. This does require some knowledge of Japanese, but you may be able to use a translation tool to make it work for you. I find that this site has a lot more options than others (and once I found that it had significantly lower prices than the English website for the same sharehouse) There are a few share houses I’m currently in contact with that seem promising, and a friend might be able to check them out for me soon. Everyone has their own desires in a living environment, and what I like most is to be close to my school. If I can walk there, even if it takes 15-20 minutes, I’ll be extremely happy, so that’s my #1 search requirement. You may find a cheaper and/or larger place a little further out, though! This seems like a lot of information for now, so in future posts I will attempt to explain my confusion over funding, what I know about courses, and other plans I’ve made so far. I’m not proofreading at this time so please forgive any mistakes and let me know if I need to change anything or if you have any questions!