<p>Hi! I am a senior in high school, and thinking of taking a gap year starting summer 2014-2015. I have 4 years of Japanese (AP Japanese), and my cousin is in AP French; I am enthusiastic to learn French if I decide to France. I would really really love to travel to France or Japan and do schooling for at least a year, so I could come back to reapply to Apple following my internship, or continue schooling in a UC. </p>
<p>Are there any recommendations of international universities in France and Japan that focus on science/engineering/technology (STEM courses)? It would be nice to do independent study but please recommend any programs if they are very nice. </p>
<p>For France so far I have Sciences Po, Ecole polytechnique, Ecole Normale Superieure Paris and Centrale Paris.</p>
<p>For Japan I am thinking Tokyo Tech, or Waseda... Sophia and ICU seem very liberal arts related. </p>
<p>To best honest even though I have Japanese knowledge I would much like to school in France. Can people who have studied abroad in France for technology/science please enlighten me? Would they care more for my transcript or ACT/SAT scores instead? Do they offer English courses and then supplementary French courses (for learning the language?) </p>
<p>The schools you mentioned in France are the elite schools of Paris and you have to pass a competitve exam to enter. You just don’t walk into those places.</p>
<p>+1 to what riprorin said about France. If you’re looking to learn the language, why not look into language programs in France? </p>
<p>As for Japan, what JLPT level do you think you are at? Punahou in Hawaii has the country’s best HS Japanese program and even then the majority of students are not ready to take classes taught completely in Japanese. Most Master’s programs can be found in English, but as for undergrad, almost all the classes are still taught in Japanese or aimed at liberal arts students.</p>
<p>What are you hoping to gain from a year stay in Japan or France? Answering this question will give us a better idea of what you want to do and what programs fit you the best.</p>
<p>@riprorin Hi! Thank you! I don’t mind taking a competitive exam to enter, but as far as test results for SAT/ACT go what would the equivalent be? Do you have any other engineering/tech/science international school recommendations?</p>
<p>@Sprints I don’t want to just learn the language, I meant that it would be nice to have supplementary classes for learning French while schooling. I’m planning on going with my cousin who has some knowledge as well. As for JLPT, I’m not sure but I am pretty confident in my fluency, not enough to take full courses however. </p>
<p>I’m looking for the cultural experience tied in with pursuing engineering/technology. I intern for Apple and am planning on just reapplying for an actual position once the year is over. However I would like to have something to come back with if I decide to transfer into say, UC Irvine or so. Essentially I just want to work at Apple and travel the world, but at least have something to fall back on if I decide to go back to school. Because I am an engineering major (know CAD, inventor, revit, et cetera) and would like to minor in chemistry or so for pharmacy.</p>
<p>Somniphobia, check out American University of Paris (AUP). Instruction is in English, but it’s very expensive.</p>
<p>To get into an engineering school, French students go to a prep school for 2 yrs after high school and then take a competitive exam. It is very difficult to enter the schools you mentioned. It really isn’t an option for you.</p>
<p>I can only recommend schools I feel that are pretty good in Japan. I would very much love to study in Japan or any East Asian country to be honest, so I researched some schools I know that take in international students. I doubt that my parents would allow such a thing with the cost but it doesn’t hurt to just research. Hehe ^^;;</p>
<p>When researching Japanese Universities I was specifically interested in Toho University, Musuhashi University, and then Takushoku University.</p>
<p>I did receive an e-mail though from a Japanese University for international students looking to major as a Global Studies Major, the name is Ritsumeikan University. It’s located in Kyoto, Japan. </p>
<p>But where ever you decide to go, France or Japan, it’ll be a great experience!
I already envy you for taking Japanese. My school doesn’t offer Japanese anymore ;;</p>
<p>Can I ask why Sciences Po is on your list? It has absolutely nothing to do with sciences or math, so thus, it doesn’t fit your STEM list.</p>
<p>I’m actually a student at Sciences Po right now. It’s definitely not a place you’d take a gap year between high school and college.</p>
<p>All of the schools you mentioned are extremely difficult to get into and would require fluency in French before attending. On top of that, the French students who go to those schools actually go to a “prep school” for two years AFTER they graduate high school in order to prepare for the admission exam for those universities. So, theoretically, if you were already fluent in French, you’d still need another two years of school before you’d even be able to go to any of those schools, which isn’t what you want.</p>
<p>If you really want to take a gap year, then think about doing something like being an au pair. You work, get paid, and learn the language all at the same time. It also gives you the opportunity to be abroad for more than just a year. (You can au pair for a year, go to school in the US for a year or two, study abroad another year, and then return home to the US.) In that scenario, you could easily spend two years in two or three different countries.</p>
<p>if you want to study science in Japan, I won’t recommend ICU that much… I think that school is really great for non-Japanese people who are eager to study Japanese… but scinence… I’ve never heard of science related stuff from ICU (and im a japanese high school senior!)</p>
<p>I don’t know about international students (sorry) but if you’re really into science, Tokyo University of science (Tokyo rika) and Shibaura Institute of Technology (Shibaura kougyou) has really good reputations! Tokyo university of science especially is known for having an awesome lab.</p>
<p>as i said, i don’t know about international students, but Waseda is extremely difficult to get in if you want to study science. Tokyo uni of science and Shibaura insitute of tech is also difficult to get into, but easier than Waseda!</p>
<p>Sophia’s science also has an okay reputation though the numbers of students are very limited. but i do think Sophia would be easier to stay if you are a native English speaker!</p>
<p>Waseda University is a pretty nice environment for international students since it is eager to get many int’l students almost desperately each year. Also, it’s more competitive than any other private universities in Japan. Japanese universities do not have liberal arts education like that in the U.S. So, for example, if you want to major in math, you don’t need to take any classes other than math. Of course, you can take other classes, and it’s totally up to you. The following universities are internationally well-known for their science research:
University of Tokyo
Kyoto University
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Tohoku University
Kyushu University
Nagoya University
Tokyo University of Science
These universities are in top 100 in world’s best universities, so I think you will be satisfied with quality of their education. Yet I’m not familiar with their application process and acceptance rate. I think there would be intense competition in admission for these universities due to influx of Chinese/Korean int’l students. If you are enthusiastic about science, the choice definitely must be Japan. But if you focus more on cultural aspect and amenity of daily life, I can’t say which is better.</p>