<p>Which colleges have good Japanese Language programs/courses? </p>
<p>My dream is to be an English teacher in Japan. I know it's not going to be easy, and that it probably doesn't pay well, but this is my dream so I don't care about that. I don't currently know any Japanese, but I want to learn it while in college. However, I'm having a hard time determining which colleges have better Japanese Lang. courses than the rest. </p>
<p>Some things to keep in mind/Help you with your suggestions -
1) I don't mind the location, and I don't have any preferences. So it can be anywhere (Within the US of course).
2) It would be preferable if the college had Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ ESL language Instructor courses as well.
3) It would be nice if the school had study abroad opportunities. </p>
<p>Any help you give will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!</p>
<p>Lots of people do this and being a Japanese major is not required. My daughter completed three years of Japanese language at the University of Pittsburgh. She also looked at Georgetown, Chicago, and Michigan for language study.</p>
<p>I heard that Hawaii… has problems? Or should I say is scary? I don’t know why but that’s what I’ve heard others say. As for Harvard, I looked into that and they’re the #2 school for Linguistics I believe, but they’re ridiculously hard to get into right? I’m going to go for it anyways, but I just thought I’d ask. </p>
<p>And I know of the JET program. There’s also the Interac program I believe. I plan on applying to them after I finish college and meet the requirements to apply.Also, I know a Japanese major isn’t required, but I’d like to major in Japanese Studies if not English.</p>
<p>What can your family afford? What is your home state? Most flagship Us have good language programs - Ohio State, Indiana, etc. Some LACs also have good Japanese programs - Lewis and Clark, Earlham, etc.</p>
<p>My family can’t afford much, so I’d have to rely heavily on financial aid/scholarships. I can get a job too to help pay off tuition and whatnot as well. My home state is California. </p>
<p>Flagship Uni. are state colleges or University of _____'s that have more than one campus right? And a LAC is a Liberal Arts College correct? Sorry for not being very informed. My family isn’t very college oriented. If things work out I’ll be the first in my family to go to a college that isn’t a City college.</p>
<p>Being a California resident is a plus. There are a number of public schools in California with large Asian-American populations and old, strong programs in East Asian studies. I would concentrate on those. Look at the web sites of the UCs and Cal States in your area. It’s a good sign if they offer more than four years of Japanese.</p>
<p>Yes, agree with the suggestions to look at the UCs and CSUs.</p>
<p>Hawaii does offer a good selection of Japanese language and literature courses, and you should eligible for the Western Undergraduate Exchange tuition discount (1.5 * in-state tuition instead of normal out-of-state tuition).</p>
<p>If cost and financial aid are a concern, be sure to run the net price calculators at the various universities. UCs tend to determine EFC using federal methodology, and assume an ESC of $8,000 to $9,000 (i.e. $5,500 Stafford loan + some work earnings), meeting the rest with grants.</p>
<p>Check out the following for starters (more to less selective in each group):</p>
<p>Small Liberal Arts Colleges<a href=“good%20for%20high%20quality%20instruction%20in%20small%20classes%20with%20total%20focus%20on%20undergrads;%20limited%20advanced%20course%20selection”>/u</a>
Middlebury
Oberlin
Earlham</p>
<p>Private Universities<a href=“good%20for%20high%20quality%20scholarship%20in%20language%20&%20area%20studies,%20with%20more%20focus%20on%20undergrads%20than%20the%20state%20schools%20and%20better%20course%20selection%20than%20the%20LACs”>/u</a>
Princeton
Chicago
Georgetown (has Applied Linguistics and ESL/TEFL programs)</p>
<p>State Universities<a href=“good%20for%20relatively%20low%20in-state%20cost%20before%20aid,%20and%20for%20broad%20course%20selection%20not%20only%20in%20language%20&%20area%20studies%20but%20also%20in%20applied/pre-professional%20areas%20like%20ESL;%20big%20intro%20classes%20in%20some%20departments”>/u</a>
Berkeley, UCLA
other UCs<br>
CSUs</p>
<p>Forget about OOS public universities if you’re a CA resident, unless you’re shooting for merit money at one of the state schools that offers it to OOS applicants.</p>
<p>Sorry, but what’s a ESC? I know EFC is Estimated Family Contribution, but I’m not sure what ESC (unless that’s just a typo). </p>
<p>Also, why is being a CA resident bad if I want to go to an OOS public university? Is it because of my financial status and have to rely on financial aid? </p>
<p>And thank you everyone for your help! I have a pretty good list now of where to start looking. If anyone else still has any suggestions or any advice it’s still appreciated and wanted!</p>
<p>The comment about OOS was in reference to aid. Most take care of their own kids first. Some OOS colleges will offer money to top students, but more often not.</p>
<p>I had to think about it and read the post for context. Usually, people do not split out family and student.</p>
<p>Do look at what Berkeley offers. It may be one of the best. I do not know specifics as we did not look that far away, but I know it has good languages.</p>
<p>Yeah, Berkeley is near the top of the list of schools I’m thinking of applying too. I’ve seen quite a bit of people mention and suggest it. So I’m going to do a bit more research and then decide.</p>
<p>When my daughter was applying, we were trying to figure out good programs. She was looking for schools that offered German, Russian, and Japanese. I knew that we could not afford Stanford, but I knew its languages were good. I e-mailed a professor of Russian and asked him who had good language programs. He was funny and said that if there was any way we could afford Stanford she should come there because it is the best. Then he said Berkeley was good as was Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Really? Then I guess if I want to stay in-state then Berkeley would probably be my best bet huh? I don’t think I could afford Stanford either, even if I did get a job to help pay of tuition. </p>
<p>But I’ve also heard good things of Wisconsin’s Madison campus, I think it was. From what I can tell so far the colleges I see that come up the most as suggestions are: Berkeley, Wisconsin (Madison campus I think), Uni. of Hawaii, Middlebury, Earlham, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. But people are also talking about the UC’s and CSU’s.</p>
<p>Stanford has very generous financial aid, so if you manage to get in, it is likely to be less expensive than the UCs for students who would receive financial aid at the UCs (whose in-state financial aid is relatively good – feel lucky you don’t live in IL or PA where the in-state financial aid is poor). Check the net price calculator: [Net</a> Price Calculator : Stanford University](<a href=“Financial Aid : Stanford University”>Financial Aid : Stanford University)</p>
<p>UW Madison is unlikely to be generous with financial aid to an out-of-state student. Same with Pittsburgh, although it does give large merit scholarships that you can try for.</p>
<p>Try the net price calculators on each school to check affordability before deciding whether or not to put it on your application list. If the school is not affordable on need-based aid, you will be aiming for large merit scholarships, not merely admission, if you apply to that school.</p>
<p>Ooh! I did what you suggested and it said this is what I got - </p>
<p>Estimated total cost of an academic year at Stanford: 58,900
Estimated Scholarship/Grant I can get: 53,900
Estimated Parent Contribution: 0
Estimated Student Contribution: 2,200
Student Academic Year Job: 2,800
Estimated Student Loan: 0 </p>
<p>Those are good results right? That means I’d only have to pay 5,000? And I’d be able to pay off about 2,800 working a job on campus?</p>