Heads up: This post is 19 years old. My thinking may have evolved since then — read it with that in mind.
Besides writing about my failures and personal experiences, I will also document the process of admission here. The first step is to gather information and to inquire about department specific admission procedures. Here, I’m writing to University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies. I will post more information about this graduate school in a later post. When I receive more info from the staff over there, I’ll also post them here, so look forward to it. Academic Affairs Division (学務係 Gakumu Kakari) gakumu@iii.u-tokyo.ac.jp Tel: 03-5841-8769 Fax: 03-3811-5970 —– Forwarded Message —- From: Nicholas Wang To: gakumu@iii.u-tokyo.ac.jp Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 7:08:51 AM Subject: 外国人研究生 Foreign Trainee To the Academic Affairs Division, 初めまして、ニコラス ウォンと申します。 ワシントン大学の卒業生で、Microsoft MSN.comとYahoo.comなどのネット会社で八年間働く経験をもっています。今は修士課程を探しています、来年の四月入学希望です。
I am very interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies / Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at University of Tokyo. Through your website, I have gathered the admission requirements. I believe it is in my best interest to first apply as a foreign trainee between Oct. 1st and Oct. 31st of 2007. My plan is to become a foreign trainee and come to the University of Tokyo by April of 2008. While I serve as a trainee at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, I should be able to attend Japanese Language courses at the University of Tokyo International Center. I will then be able to take the entrance exams for the master course in July of 2008. Can you please provide me with any additional information in order to successfully complete all the application requirements? One specific question I have is regarding the 日本語能力証明書. Where can I be tested for Japanese language proficiency in New York? Thank you very much for your help. Sincerely, Nicholas Wang Yahoo Inc. 45 W 18th St., 6th fl., New York, NY 10011