32 reviews
3.98 / 5 based on 32 reviews
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1
pfaso
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Government assistance
Other sources of funding:
A private grant
Work opportunities:
I worked during my study abroad experience
Personal spending habits
As far as food was concerned, the dorms did not have adequate facilites to cook yourself. Therefore I was forced to eat out all the time. The phone system in Japan is just more expensive than in my country. I spent less in accomodation because I was living in a small one room dorm as compared to a full apartment or house at home. I didnt go out very much in Tsukuba because there were really no places of interest to me. Most of my time was spent with friends. I had some time off to travel while I was there and spent quite a bit of money backpacking across south east asia.
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Telephone, Travel, Food:
was more expensive than at home.
Overall:
was the same price as at home.
Housing, Nightlife:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
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1
pfaso
Academic
Course recommendations
The only reason I studied abroad, academically speaking, was to polish up my language. Therefore Japanese language is the only coursed I took. The setup is pretty straight foreward. You take a placement exam and are put into your corresponding level class. If you are uncomfortable with the class you are in you can request to be put up or down a level.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
I liked the books we used for the first level class. The final two trimesters though we went to a different book. I can honestly say they were the worst text book ive ever used. Myself and every student in the class agree. They were extremely difficult to follow. The layout required constant flipping back and forth of pages. Uses of different fonts, bolds or italics were not used, making it difficult to distinguish one thing from another
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
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pfaso
Overall
I wish I had known...
I wish I had known more of the language. I feel I would have had an easier time of it if I had started to study the language earlier in my studies
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In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Mainly to revamp the living quarters for the students. I was happy with the school and its layout. The living quarters were unexcusable though.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
Tsukuba University is a very well known school throughout Japan. No matter where you go, if you say you attend Tsukuba the normal reaction is, "You must be very smart." It is definately a college town though. The entire surrounding city revolves around the school. If you can be in a constant university atmosphere and can handle poor living conditions, you can have a rewarding academic experienc at Tsukuba
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1
pfaso
Languages
Language of instruction: Japanese
Was learning Japanese a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Japanese
How much did you improve your Japanese?
My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
I had difficulty with the Japanese language, but I wanted to learn it more than anything else at the time. This is why I postponed my graduation for a year to come and study. I had some difficulty in the country mainly because I was affraid to use it and make mistakes. Being an English speaker I was able to get away using it all the time so I didnt use Japanese as much as I probably should have. Overall though my abilities has skyrocketed since I went there.
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pfaso
Student life
Describe host city:
Student life dominates the city
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Activities, Nightlife: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment
Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Tsukuba was a small town so there really wasnt many places to go of interest to me. Most of my time was spent with my girlfriend or friends at their homes or dorms. It is only an hour bus ride to Tokyo from Tsukuba so trips there can often help beat the monotany of Tsukuba life. As far as Tsukuba was concerned, Frontier bar happened to be the popular spot for foreign students. But again, many just chose to go to Tokyo.
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10
pfaso
Housing
Type of housing: On campus
Arranged by: Host university
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
The dorms were extremely unkept and small. Homes in Japan are small as it is so an apartment would make things a little easier for living.
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Personal comments
The dorm that I stayed at was at a good location. It was close enough to classes that only a 5 minutet bike ride was required. Other than that though it all goes downhill. The dorms were never cleaned. I dont just mean messy, but unsanitary. I had friends that didnt even want to come over because of how dirty it was. Also there is no shower in the dorm. That is fine, but at least provide one in the same building. We were forced to go to other buildings in order to shower. And we were charged for our showers at that. Furthermore, during the holdiay season the showers and heat were shutoff for 5 days. I understand that many students go home during the holiday season but for an exchange student, going home isnt always an affordable option. Overall I was very dissapointed with the living spaces provided to us.
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