@intparent
Oh yeah you’re totally right. I’ll write an email to the dean and see what he writes me back. May I contact you again if his answer is confusing?
Sure. You should ask if they have specific documentation on the course requirements and distribution for graduation. Also see if you can get course descriptions (do they have a catalog, paper or online?). That will give you something to work with to compare this program with a US college science major.
@intparent
Will do. Thanks for the feedback so far! You’ve been extremely helpful.
You’re not spouting nonsense; we just don’t really understand unless you find out more and give us more information.
@TheDidactic
I’ve sent an email to the dean. Will get back once I get answers. Probly tomorrow. Thank you for the feedback 
@intparent
@TheDidactic
Hello again.
The dean got back to me and sent me this file:
http://1drv.ms/188k9M0
Sorry, I am not going to click on it. You will need to read and summarize for us if you want an opinion.
@intparent
@TheDidactic
Oh sorry I totally understand now why you wouldn’t 
It was kinda Chinese to me at first but here’s what I got out of it:
It says total number of credits = 48.
It also says the courses I HAVE TO GET = at least 3 credits in Japanese, 10 credits in Foundation Courses, 9 in Humanities, 4 in Social Sciences, 3 in Natural Sciences, 1 in Physical Education, 6 in Japan Studies.
Can you please tell me what this all means? I have a feeling things aren’t looking good for me 
It looks like you would have 12 credits of free electives after the degree requirements. How much science and math is included in the Foundation Courses? Do all courses carry the same number of credits, or does that vary?
If you are interested in a particular graduate program, look at the admissions requirements for that program AND at the specific pre-requisites for each of the courses required in that program. Then match up the requirements and electives from your possible program in Japan with the requirements of the grad program you are interested in, and see whether or not it is likely to work.
Hmm 12 credits eh? That would be enough for Genetics + Lab and Cell lab and Statistics and Biotech. Since science courses have 3 credits and labs have 1. Thank you very much. Also, I’ll have to study abroad for a year and some unis in Europe do offer special STEM 1 year programs for exchange students. So, I guess it’s all good. Thank you very much!
I am still confused. What is “a credit” in their system? Is one course worth one credit? Even schools in the US use “credit” differently, so this is something you need to be sure you understand. How many years is the program itself? Do the credits you take in your year abroad get counted as part of that 48 credits, or are those additional credits beyond the 12 that you can use as you want to? How much math & science is included in those “foundation credits” (what are they and how many classes would that be?).
Once you answer those questions… so you would have 3 credits (whatever that means) in Natural Sciences, which you could use for something bio or science related. Maybe some credits from the “Foundation” classes, but you need to confirm that. 12 credits to do what you want with, so assume that means bio/science type classes.
One thing that I think is true that US grad schools here expect science majors to have basic college coursework in more than just the science they are majoring in. Here is an example the requirements for a biology degree in a reasonably strong US liberal arts college that sends a lot of kids on to graduate school:
http://catalog.grinnell.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=7&poid=617&returnto=1205
To me it looks like for the major requirements, they are taking about 11 courses total that are required for the major, and that includes Calculus, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry.
One other thing you need to consider is that a foreign college may have different grading standards than a US one (sometimes tougher, sometimes easier, it just depends). You need the strongest grades you can get, and also to perform well on the GRE exam that you will need for grad school admission.
Also, you will want to look into what the requirements are for those STEM exchange programs. They may have pre-requisite coursework, and also GPA minimums (I know this because one of my kids is at a tough STEM school in the US, and doesn’t have the GPA for some of the study abroad programs she is interested in). They aren’t automatic admissions… also, STEM classes in a foreign language could be kind of overwhelming if you aren’t fluent, so that could limit your choices.
Basically, this program is open by US citizens and follows a US liberal arts system fairly accurately as I’ve heard. Genetics course, es an example, was worth 3 credits, but the Genetics Laboratory was worth only 1 credit. I think the theoretical courses are 3 credits and practicals are 1.
The program is 4 years long. I’ll study 1st and 2nd years in Japan, 3rd year in a foreign partner institution (all of them have exchange student programs in English) and 4th year in Japan. The partner institutions themselves, at least the European ones, are really good, usually rank in top 10 in their countries on various lists. The GPA restrictions don’t worry me since I’ll have to maintain 3.5 / 4 anyways, without it, I’ll lose the scholarship. I’m confident I can do this since my high school GPA was 3.8 and I was very unmotivated and lazy in high school. Once I’m abroad, I’ll gain all the credits there and as I’ve read, different unis have different rules and stuff. During that year basically, I’m free to do what I want, as long as I follow that partner university’s rules.
The foundation courses are career design and those sorta stuff, no real subjects.
I’ve read John Hopkins uni’s requirements for Bioinformatics and they wanted Organic Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Calculus, Statistics, Programming languages and databases. They also said I could take the missing courses at their university. I already know CS stuff, I even attended an IT school back in my junior year and I guess I can always prove my knowledge via some certificates and online schools.
The credit numbers don’t add up, at least by US university standards. If a typical class like Genetics is 3 credits, an American university student would take at a minimum 12 credits per semester, and more typically 15 per semester to graduate in 4 years. This program has you taking 12 credits per year if you do 4 years for a total of 48 credits. That is 2 classes/semester, which just doesn’t sound right. If the 48 credits only apply to the years you are in Japan, then it is closer to 3 classes/semester, which is still less than a full load at an American college. Now… maybe they are covering a LOT more territory in their classes than a US college does. But I sure wouldn’t go into this without understanding that better.
What do you mean that you could ‘take the missing courses at their university’ at JHU? Prior to admission to their graduate level program? Or once you have been accepted at the graduate level? JHU is an extremely selective (and difficult) and expensive university. Even taking a semester of credits as an undergrad there would run you over $25,000. Graduate admissions may come with a stipend, but I doubt they would extend it to cover you making up undergrad coursework that is lacking.
I really think you need to pick an “equivalent” major at colleges here and try to match it. Otherwise I think you will find that you are short on the depth and volume of high level courses that others you are competing against have. So choices might be bio, math, or CS (with a few courses in whatever area you don’t pick between Bio and CS). So given the credit scenario you have laid out, it seems like you can take 4 of the estimated 11 courses you would need for a bio major (still using that Grinnell example for argument’s sake). So you need to take 7 more courses in the sciences in your year abroad. That will be a grueling semester if you are trying to fit in a bunch of high level science classes – and you may have trouble (1) getting the sequencing for them, since often they have pre-requisites that must be taken in a certain order), and (2) knowing you will get the classes you need. One of my kids studied abroad, and got bottom of the barrel choice of classes – she really had to cobble together a schedule that would be accepted by her home US college. If you MUST get into things like Orgo or a high level Bio class or something, you are taking a significant risk with this plan.
Well, that’s what I was worried about and why I started this topic. I guess your response really answers it. The full scholarship opportunity was so good it blinded me I guess. I still have a few other choices but I doubt they’ll accept me. I do expect an admission from NAGOYA’s bioscience program which would without a doubt help me get into grad school, but I’m only halfway through. They scheduled an interview and I’ve heard 90% of interviewers are accepted, but you never know… Also, I got acceptance from TROY UNIVERSITY (AL) but dear god is it mediocre in the worst sense of this word.
Thank you for spending so much time on a stranger
It is my hobby, as you can tell from my post numbers. I am not saying it won’t work… but I really think you have to look at those credit numbers and your opportunity to get high level classes. The numbers really don’t make sense to me on the credits, so you probably should go back and ask more questions. To me it just doesn’t look like they are offering the equivalent of a US undergrad education. Now… in the UK, college is only 3 years, and those students get into US grad schools. But I think they probably strip out a lot of non-major related courses to get there, too.
I just Googled the NAGOYA program, it certainly looks more like what you would want to prepare you for grad school admissions here in the US (at least compared to this program where you have the scholarship). The setting looks lovely! But I couldn’t get into the details of the degree, at least the ways I tried to. You might want to take the same approach recommended above, and compare it to that US college biology major to see if it looks sufficiently rigorous enough, and also to see how you might be able to fulfill those extra Bioinformatics requirements if you decide you still want to target grad school in that area.
@intparent
OK. Maybe I have to split the 48 by 3 instead of 4 since I study abroad for a year, but anyways, it seems just weird and unless I really have to, I’ll go somewhere else.
I actually know everything about Nagoya, they’re much more organized, I guess because they’re older. They have lots of tough Chemistry and Biology courses, even Computational Chemistry elective which should help with Bioinformatics. I looked at their course list the other day and it seemed really normal (in a good way).
Thank you again and have a great day
@intparent, maybe it’s 3 credits for a year-long course (so 12 credits a year)?
I know that in the UK, many schools have mostly (1 credit) year-long courses (with some .5 credit semester-long electives).
For example, for most majors in LSE, you take 12 courses total for a 3 year degree (4 year-long courses for 3 years).
Yes, that is possible. Which is why I suggested the OP ask more questions about it. But I also question whether he can really get the number and level of courses he needs even if the credit hours work out.
I agree. Looking at Yamanashi Gakuin’s curriculum, their science offerings are really sparse. It seems aimed at those (rich) Japanese who want to study English in an “American” college (but still within the comforts of their home country). They bring in some foreign students to add some international flavor (not that it is bad for those foreigners who want to study the humanities and live in Japan).
@PurpleTitan
Yeah, that kinda reputation isn’t really something I want I doubt my grad school will care too much about my knowledge of social sciences… Thank you for extra info!