I am currently an honors student in Southern California and I am looking to pursue a career in Japan. While asking my professors and advisers what I should do, they stated that one of the best ways to get into new markets is to go to grad school there. I am an American born student
I am wondering if one might be able to explain what is expected of international students who want to go to Japan for grad/undergrad or academic programs. I am looking mainly into the Tokyo universities; however, I am afraid they will not look at me in a serious manner.
When I graduated high school, I didn’t entirely know what I wanted to do. I decided not to go into debt and rejected going to the 2 ivy leagues and multiple UC I got accepted to. I feel it was a smart decision because I have $0 debt which is unheard of today with a $ 1.8 trillion student debt in America; however, that was smart for the American market, not international.
I do realize I have lost the branding capability and being associated with a “sexy brand”. I have however, tried to diversify myself and become what I believe is a very strong candidate. So far I have:
● Awarded 9 university/state/national honors or awards
●GPA is well above the average engineering GPA (last I checked it was about 2.5, I have a 3.3+ gpa)
●Multidisciplinary internship (mechanical, electrical, computer and code-program engineering practice for complex devices)
●Federal student research position (D.C. funded research that will create new regulations and impact laws in the US)
● Electrical field assistant position (being contracted by 1) Federal branches such as homeland security, air force military bases ….2) Companies like google, oracle, etc ….3) public sector: hospitals, electrical power stations, etc)…mainly for more hands on experience
●Business management and organization research ( researching location/site stock and supplies, cost analysis, etc)
●International competition exposure (Formula SAE international collegiate competition)
●Material science experience with: Steel, aluminum, Carbon-Fiber, fiber-Glass, Nicolin, etc.
●International integration (Studying abroad in Hong Kong University for 1 year)
●Very strong and developed communication skills (I am literally one of the only engineering students confident enough to collaborate with none engineering professional while displaying confidence)
●Language skills: Hindi/Urdu/ Punjabi/Farsi, Spanish, Mandarin, English, and Japanese (second year)
●Leadership Experience (project management, group leadership, and project organizer role)
●13+ engineering discipline related projects
What else do I have to do to become a strong candidate for Japan? How can I meet or exceed Japans standards and compete with their students?
What can I do to really standout and become a solid American candidate for universities in Tokyo?