Study Abroad in Japan as a Suffolk student!

By: Mingyue Lao

Hello, my name is Mingyue Lao. Welcome to my study abroad blog! I studied abroad in the Spring of 2023 at Kansai Gaidai, Osaka, Japan and I absolutely loved it! In this blog, I will be sharing my experiences with the application process, Japanese school requirements, visa, flight, and other Q&A.

First – Does your program allow you to study abroad?

The reason why I asked this question first is because the credits from studying abroad might not transfer back or they might not fit any of your graduation requirements. For example, I studied abroad in my junior year. I had to contact the marketing department to allow me to take two required courses at the same time in order to graduate on time.

So when is the best time to study abroad?

I would recommend planning ahead as early as freshman year because you should prepare for the application at least ONE semester early. Starting to prepare early gives you more flexibility if you want to study abroad again in another country during your academic career.

How do I prepare?

Meet with your academic advisor and book a 1-hour appointment with a note about making a graduation plan to map out every single class that you should take for each semester. This will help you identify the best time to study abroad in your academic career.

Second – If I want to study abroad, what should I do? Who should I contact?

At Suffolk University, you can study abroad in many places in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. You can find all the programs that Suffolk has affiliated with this link and currently available programs with this link. More importantly, you should attend the study abroad info sessions and talk to the study abroad advisor first. Here is a link to events and other study-abroad information.

1. Do not forget about checking the eligibility and the cost for the program that you are interested in!

2. Below are the eligibility and costs to study abroad at Kansai Gaidai and every program might be different

3. Tuition and Fees

Third – Application

1. Time: Prepare at least one semester early (trust me)

a. The deadline for applications is as fast as your mid-term, you do not have a lot of time to prepare for all this at the beginning of the semester.

 

2. Meet with Study-abroad advisors

Discuss with them the following:

i. Where do you want to study

ii. How long are you planning on staying there? One semester? One year?

iii. Which semester are you planning on studying abroad?

Keep their contact information – in case you have any questions

 

3. Meet with Academic advisors…again

a. Research the program you are interested in.

b. Figure out what courses they provide and what courses you want to take.

c. Find the course syllabus, if it is not available contact the program coordinator or the contact they list on the website.

d. Make sure you have the courses finalized and approved by your academic advisor.

4. Fill out the application on the Suffolk Portal.

5. Get Recommendation Letters and other required materials submitted.

6. Fill out the application on the Japanese school portal.

 

Fourth – If you get accepted into the program, Congratulations!

If not, apply to other programs! I have friends who did not get accepted into the programs they intended to. After that, they applied to the Japanese program and we became great friends in Japan (we are still in contact after 4 months!)

1. Keep an eye on any emails that they send you about visa and academic information, and organize your accounts and passwords.

2. Book your flight, I prefer to book a few days ahead in case the flight is delayed or other problems.

Fun fact: I booked my flight one week ahead and I got my visa the day before my flight! I did not expect it would take so long to mail me the paper that I needed before I could apply for the visa. Also, the Japanese Embassy is only open on certain days during the COVID-19 and New Year holidays.

Fun fact 2: My flight got delayed and they changed my route from Boston to Osaka to Boston to Tokyo. Then I spent a week exploring Tokyo and took the Shinkansen (Japanese Amtrack) to Kyoto. That’s the first lesson I learned while studying abroad, do not let the bad events control you, whatever happens is meant for a better arrangement.

3. Wait for the school to mail you the certificate/paper to apply for a visa, they’ll have the instructions ready, if not google it.

4. This link is a form that we are required to fill out when traveling to Japan during COVID-19, I filled it out at the airport after I arrived. I recommend filling it out before you travel because the wifi at the airports can be really slow.

Fifth – Have fun!!! Have fun!!! Have fun!!!

Since you are already out there, why not make the most of it? Don’t be scared to travel alone! I was the only Suffolk student who studied abroad in Japan during that semester. I went to many places in Japan and Asia. More importantly, I made friends from all over the world and we learned so much from each other. Also, I did snorkeling, snowboarding, scuba diving, hiking, tried all kinds of food that I had never seen, and explored many places.