For Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship applicants, winter can be a nerve-wracking time. You have passed the Primary Screening, acquired your LoAs and turned them in to the Japanese Embassy or Consulate and . . . heard nothing but silence for months.
Understandably, that leaves a lot of applicants worried: Am I going to get the scholarship? Will I be placed in my first-choice university? Will I go into the Japanese language program? When am I going to hear any news?
Well, first things first:
At this point, you are practically certain to receive the MEXT scholarship!
I have never heard of any applicant that passed the Primary Screening and submitted at least one LoA that did not ultimately receive the scholarship. So you do not need to worry about that. Time to move on to the next important question: What comes next?
Secondary Screening Results
After you submitted your Letters of Acceptance to the Embassy, your application went to MEXT for the Secondary Screening. But don’t worry, this is not a competitive screening!
The Secondary Screening is only making sure that all of your paperwork has been completed correctly and there are no problems with your application. If you have passed the Primary Screening and turned in at least one Letter of Acceptance, then you should have nothing to worry about at this point.
The only way I know of to lose the scholarship at the secondary screening is if MEXT determines that your research subject is into weapons technology or dual-use technology (which should have already been caught at the Primary Screening level), or if MEXT uncovers a deliberate lie in your application materials or a criminal record that would prevent you from being able to get a visa for Japan.
Again, I have never heard of any of those things happening. You should have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Secondary Screening Results: When Are They Available?
Unfortunately, like so many other things in Japan, the answer is, “It depends.”
In 2017, applicants from several countries (Albania, Angola, India, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Turkey, US, UK) reported receiving confirmation of passing the Secondary Screening by the end of November.
If you have received your confirmation of passing the secondary screening, please share the date and your country in the comments below!
It is up to each individual Embassy or Consulate to decide when, or even if, they will tell applicants that they have passed the Secondary Screening. Some may wait and announce the Secondary Screening and University Placement results at the same time. The timing may even differ between consulates within the same country. The only way to find out when – or if – you will get notified is to check the application guidelines for your embassy and, if the answer isn’t written there, to contact them directly.
Again, it is not a competitive screening and you should have nothing to worry about, so there really is no need, but I understand that your future is on the line here and you might be a little nervous!
University Placement
After you pass the Secondary Screening, MEXT will start contacting the universities on your placement preference form to ask them to start accepting you. MEXT contacts universities one at a time in the preference order that you gave, except that if your top choice(s) are private or public universities, MEXT may contact your highest choice National University, first. There is really nothing you can do about it.
When MEXT contacts the universities, they will ask if the university will accept you, what status they will accept you as, and whether or not the university wants you to participate in the semester-long language training program, first.
Enrollment Status
By “status”, I mean, whether the university will accept you as a research (non-degree) or degree-seeking student at first. As I wrote in a previous article, the university has three opportunities to designate your status (or upgrade you from Research Student to Degree student – you will not be downgraded). The first is when it issues your LoA. The second is the University Placement phase. If you were initially given an LoA as a research student, but passed the university’s entrance exam before the placement phase, the University can upgrade your status to degree-seeking student at this point.
The third opportunity will be when you arrive in Japan. You still have a chance after the university placement to take and pass the entrance exam and arrive as a degree-seeking student.
Japanese Language Program
If you have relatively low Japanese language ability, the university may decide to assign you to spend your first semester in an intensive Japanese language program before starting your studies. This program is designed to help you learn day-to-day Japanese so that you can accomplish tasks like shopping, traveling, and communicating with your landlord, etc.
It is not an academic Japanese program. It will not help you improve your Japanese to the level that you would be able to take classes or conduct research in Japanese.
If you have a moderate level of Japanese ability already – and especially if you are enrolling in a program taught in Japanese – then you are unlikely to be enrolled in this program.
Depending on your assigned university, the Japanese language program may be held at the same university where you will study or (especially in the case of private universities) it may be at another university in the same city.
University Placement Results: When Are They Available
Once again, this varies based on each embassy or consulate.
Typically, they will not release the results for any applicants until all applicants through that embassy or consulate have been placed. That means that if everyone gets accepted by the first university that MEXT contacts, you may find out your results early. However, if even one applicant does not get places in the first university and MEXT has to contact a second or third university, everyone’s results could be delayed.
The important thing to take away is that just because your results are slower than someone else’s in another country, that does not indicate that you won’t get the scholarship or that you won’t get your first choice. There are many other factors at play!
As of the 2017 application cycle, a large number of countries saw their results released during the second week of January. For that year, at least, that seemed to be the default date if everyone got into their first choice. There were also one or two examples of consulates where the one person who handled MEXT scholarships was out sick that day, so results came later.
In the case of India, at least one embassy or consulate had announced that results would be available in February, but then ended up releasing them in late January.
University Placement Results: How Are They Released
Embassies or consulates typically contact applicants by email.
If you have received your university placement, please share the date and your country in the comments below!
University Placement: Unofficial Results in Advance
There are two ways that applicants often find out their university placement results before the official announcement (sometimes even before the Secondary Screening results announcement). Technically, neither one should happen, but if you do find out this way, you can consider the results to be correct.
On the other hand, if you do not hear unofficial results, do not take that as a bad sign (and do not ask for them). It just means that the university is actually following MEXT’s rules.
Adviser Leak
If you have stayed in touch with the professor that you asked for an LoA, then sometimes that professor will tell you directly that you have been placed in his or her lab. That could even happen before the university confirms your acceptance to MEXT, but there is no reason to think that they would change your name.
If a professor that issued you an LoA contacts you to say that you have been accepted to his or her lab, consider that to be unofficial, but accurate.
Housing Leak
In the case of students who will arrive in April, sometimes the university’s housing office will contact you before you get the final MEXT results to invite you to apply for housing.
The only reason that the housing office would have your contact information would be if you were on the university’s list of students to enroll in the spring, so you can consider this to be confirmation that you will be assigned to that university.
I also recommend that you follow up on those emails and apply for housing if you are interested. The chances are good that by the time you get the official results, you may miss the housing deadlines, so do not delay!
What To Do After Getting Your Official University Placement Results
First contact any other university or professor that you had been in touch with about letters of acceptance, tell them that you have been placed in another university, thank them for their support, and say that you still look forward to working with them in the future.
After all, you will still be a scholar in the same field in Japan, and there are a limited number of universities teaching in each field in English, so there is a good chance you will cross paths again in the future.
Preparing for Your Departure
The timing can vary significantly, depending on when you will start your timing in Japan.
If your future university has contacted you about housing and you haven’t followed up yet, do that right away.
The university will usually contact you and tell you what day that they want you to arrive. Later, a travel agency will contact you to arrange your tickets, so be sure to arrive in time for the dates assigned by your university!
You will also have to complete a visa application, but there is a special Student Visa application process for MEXT scholars, so look for instructions from the Embassy or consulate about that process.
Share Your Experience!
If you are applying for the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, please let us know when you got your notification, as well as the country your are applying for, in the comments below.
Of course feel free to ask any questions below, as well.
Special Thanks
Special thanks to the TranSenz supporters on Patreon, especially Daimyo Supporter Kenzo who pledges $10 per month to show his support! You can show your support for TranSenz on Patreon for as little as $1 (0.08% of a MEXT monthly stipend) per month. If TranSenz has helped you in your application process and you want to “pay it forward” to keep this site running to help future applicants, every contribution helps!
If you want to show your support but Patreon is out of reach, I’d appreciate it if you say hi on social media or in the comments below to let me know if you appreciate these posts. You can find me on facebook at @TranSenz or on Twitter at @tagsenzaki. I look forward to saying hi!
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Hi Travis. Results announced in Armenia on 30th January 2020 for research. I got first choice Uni, it’s NAIST. I’m VERY VERY VERY Thankful for this kind of info about MEXT scholarship. Because, I could find no one from Armenia who won as the Embassy was opened here on 2015. Although during this years they sent some students to Japan but they can’t answer to all my worries. We were 6 person at application process (from late April to 14th June), after the interview (19th June) the only one who passed was me. Hah… Then, I had a difficulty for LOA, because they announced me very late on 4th August 2019. But they gave me passing certificate on 8th August 2019. Though, that was vacation days for most of Unis. Anyway I could receive answers from all professors, because of your great forum. I prepared everything carefully and could get 2 LOA late August. I was reading your blog every day for 2-3 times to not miss any important details. Then, the international affairs division of NAIST announced me that I won (on 16th December 2019) , they checked with me preferable dates, like arrival date, Japanese course place, etc. . Finally, now 30th January 2020 I’m very very happy. Your blog was like a guideline everything was well explained. Other applicants didn’t know about your blog, I don’t know why, maybe because of they’re poor English, usually we used to search in Russian. But for me your forum was the best one. I see that in my country people aren’t well informed. So, if you will decide to write the same content in Russian and Armenian. I will be as a volunteer… You know why? Because your blog gave me a big hope…. if I will do everything properly… sure I’ll won… You make my dream become true. THANK YOU TRAVIS. 🙏👍🤩
And Japan I’m cooooming… 🎉🤗
Hi Ani,
Congratulations on earning the scholarship!
Thank you very much for your feedback, as well. I am very glad that I was able to help in your application process.
I hadn’t thought about translating the blog into other languages. Usually, it’s all I can do just to get the English articles out in enough time to be useful. But if you wanted to share a translated version of some of the articles, I would certainly be happy to post them and credit you, of course.
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
This is not my first time commenting here, but I don’t want to lose an occasion to thank you for your awesome work.
The results for France came today, and I was selected in my first choice (national university).
Your blog has been of immense help, and you really did motivate and inspired me to give my best for the application.
This has been a long ride, but very worth it!
Hi Naam,
Congratulations!
Thank you very much for your feedback, as well. Comments like this are the reason that I keep this site going!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I had received confirmation that I passed the second screening and been placed in my first choice university. I did hear that 3 candidates weren’t chosen in second screening. For what reasons I don’t know, with all MEXT secrecy and everything.
I couldn’t have done any of this without your articles help. Thank you so much for being such a guiding light for many of us who were lost. Thank you again and again.
Hi Hsu,
Thank you for kind feedback and for letting me know about the situation in your country. Congratulations on earning the scholarship and for your placement in your first choice.
I am very surprised to hear that three candidates in your country did not pass the secondary screening. So far, I had only heard of three candidates in that situation, overall. (But yes, MEXT does state in the application guidelines that no explanation will be given if applications are not successful.)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello everyone,
I just received an email confirming that I passed the second screening! I want to say thank you to Travis for your guides, I could not have made this far without your guidance. Also, congratulations to the others who have passed!
Hi Erin,
Congratulations on earning the scholarship!
Good luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis and All,
First of all, congratulations for getting accepted I am happy for you all!
Second of all, thank you people for your encouragement and don’t worry, my will is still strong!
And again, don’t get discouraged Mike we still have many options to consider 🙂
Also, special thank to Travis for his awesome thread and guidelines.
Best Regards,
Samer
Hi Samer,
Thank you very much! I wish you good luck in pursuing your future options.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Samer and all other commentators!
Thank you all my unknown friends for your empathy, encouragement and support! I hope I can make a fierce and suprising comeback this time! Good luck to everyone! I wish success to every winner this year!
All of the people here, you are very special!
Hey Travis,
You are doing a solid job giving us hope; the hope to crack this arduous journey towards securing the scholarship. I and all my fellow scholars received the confirmation about the secondary screening today (Jan 29th) here in Nepal.
If I ever tell the stories of how I landed myself the MEXT scholarship, you would be the central part of that. These blogs have been a haven throughout this journey. Thank you so much and keep up the great work man. Also, I have been placed in Tokyo Tech; if there are any other students placed in the same University, you can contact me via mail.
Hi Aavash,
Thank you very much for your feedback and kind words!
I have stripped your email address out of the text of this message, because I didn’t think it was a very safe idea to have it out there. But if someone replies to this comment saying they’re going to Tokyo Tech and want to get in touch, I will connect the two of you.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis, team
Finally got an official communication today on 29th of January that I got the scholarship. I will be leaving for Japan (NAGOYA UNI) in April. Thanks Travis for your help in every step of the scholarship. And I would also like to thank you all for your brilliant questions and contributions. Thank you
Dear Gerald,
Congratulations and thank you for sharing your results, as well as for your kind words.
Good luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis
Just like the other hopefuls in the comments, yesterday (Jan 28th) I received an official email from the Embassy of Japan informing of my approval in the 2nd screening. No wonder I feel ecstatic right now.
I might be the only one who passed from my country. Usually 2-3 MEXT scholarships awarded per year is a norm for my country, but seems like this year there has been massive cull of candidates even going as far as rejections during the 2nd screening.
Travis, your website has been of tremendous help throughout the whole process, I cannot put it in words how thankful I am to have found your MEXT guide. It has been my secret weapon of sorts throughout the whole thing. Thank you million times, Travis, and wish you best of luck in all your future endeavors, and to us, soon-to-be research students, can only say hit the ground running and 頑張れ!
Hi Daulet,
Congratulations!
Thank you for sharing your experience and also the number from your countries! So far, I know of 3 applicants around the world who were rejected during the secondary screening, but I’m not so vain as to think that every MEXT applicant reads my blog, so there must be several more. Your numbers are very helpful.
I’m very glad I was able to be a help during your application process.
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi all,
First of all, I want to say my deepest condolences to both Mike and Samer. It’s absolutely devastating to get this far but not get the scholarship, but I have to say both of you have wonderful outlooks and I know you will be successful in the future no matter what.
I just received notice that I passed the secondary screening and my placement for the research student scholarship. I am in the United States and received 3 letters (Todai, Tsukuba, Tokyo Metro). I was placed at my top choice.
For purely data collecting purposes, because of the situations Mike and Samer have outlined, I do want to note that my Japanese test was abysmal. I did answer all questions on the first section of the test, and some on the second portion but I believe I only got a couple correct. It was bad enough that my test score was brought up in the interview, and why I don’t speak better Japanese after working for a Japanese company for 3 years (in their US office). However, I think this was a mitigating effect, since I had many multi-week, bi-annual business trips to Japan on my application.
This year had so many changes and delays, it was nauseating. I suspect there will be even more changes for this coming round.
Hi Diana,
Congratulations on earning the scholarship! Thank you for sharing your experience, especially regarding the Japanese language test.
One thing that occurred to me is that the eligibility requirements require that applicants have an interest in learning Japanese, not that they necessarily already know it. Maybe this year, they started looking at a blank Japanese test as an indication of having no interest in the language. On the other hand, making an attempt to fill it out would clear that hurdle.
I do suspect that next year will offer some challenges and changes as well, especially given that the Primary Screening overlaps with the Tokyo Olympics and MEXT is related to both.
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I am here to share you guys of the news I just received from Embassy. I have passed the second screening and got accepted into my first choice university.
I am thankful to you Travis for helping me through this stressful period of time. The way you help the students with their pressures are very kind and remarkable. I wish everyone best of luck in the future endeavours and feel free to ask me questions. I will do my best to answer.
Again, Thank You so much Travis.
Hi Hsu,
Thank you very much for your feedback and kind words. Congratulations on earning the scholarship!
I look forward to hearing about your success in the future.
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello everyone,
I applied for the Embassy recommended MEXT Scholarship in my home country. The quotas for successful applicants were released in my case and I was fortunate enough to be one of the two, who passed the Primary Screening. I managed to acquire a Letter of Provisional Acceptance (LoA) from a national university I intended to attend and sent it to our Embassy. Unfortunately, recently I have too been notified, that I did not pass the Second Screening. I just thought at this point to share some of the details I found might be important to share.
I did not read through in detail every comment in this section, but It seems that it is important to state that I did not have any Japanese language proficiency at the time of taking the written test. The candidates have been informed that the Japanese test does not play an immensely important factor regarding the final decision. I strongly believe that we have been instructed to fill out the names on the Japanese test – but I definitely do not recall being instructed to write random answers, so I did not.
I was written an email after a month and a half of silence, that I have been rejected. I traveled to our Embassy in the capital to inquire further. The lady at the Embassy has given a heartfelt apology, insisting that something like this has not happened in her around 17 years career of working with these Scholarships. They issued a formal document stating only my name and that I have been rejected. It does not contain the specific reason for this development (they did not seem to know either). I forwarded this document together with an explanation to my potential supervisor and the International Affairs Division at the Japanese University I received a LoA from, and they were in quite the shock too.
It is hard to put into few sentences the effort and struggle that went into the preparation for this. It is hard to explain to my colleagues and advisors what went wrong without having an official statement. The situation makes one feel guilty and sorry about neglecting the activities and communities one cares about during the time of preparation. I too was told, that I was practically certain to receive the scholarship after handing in the LoA. In retrospect, I wish I knew better overall. My sympathies to the other rejected during the Second screening and good luck in the future.
Hi V,
I am very sorry to hear about your experience, but I want to thank you for sharing it.
You are the third person I have heard from who did not pass the Secondary Screening. The way you describe the Japanese language test instructions (just fill in your name) sounds exactly like what was done in the past. I think it’s ridiculous that they changed it this year without giving proper notice.
My sincere sympathies to you and everyone else who has gone through this process. I have a good idea of how much time and effort goes into preparing for what should have been a successful application. But you should never feel guilty for trying to improve your situation, even if it didn’t work out in the end.
I hope that you will consider trying again or finding another opportunity!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello everyone,
My name is Alec, and I am a Brazilian candidate for the 2020 MEXT Scholarship. I am here to share my part of the story and to show my support to Mike and Samer.
First of all, I think we can all relate to what Mike and Samer have been experiencing. To Mike and Samer, I want to say that as devastating as this situation is for you, I want you two to keep strong. I know you have put a lot of effort into this, and this is likely your dreams as it is for all of us. I am sure you two are highly capable individuals as you’ve shown to be able to get to this stage of the process, and I am certain that your skills are highly needed in the scientific community. Please, don’t let this event bring you down. Take this obstacle and whatever feeling you have right now and put everything into this year’s process. I am sure you guys will make it!
As for my part on the process, today (Jan 28th, 2019), I have received a call from the consulate agency informing about my approval on the second screening.
Feel free to ask questions, and I will respond as soon as I see it.
Travis, thank you very much for your support. I can’t express in words how much I am grateful to you.
Sincerely,
Hi Alec,
Thank you very much for your information and for sharing your results. I am thrilled to hear that you earned the scholarship after all the work that you put into it!
Thank you also for being willing to answer questions.
I look forward to hearing more about your studies in Japan in the future.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thanks again for all the guides and information. I would have been lost without them!
This is to let you know that we just got the results in Argentina, and all 5 postulants passed. I hope this will be the case in the rest of the countries as well.
To everyone still waiting, don’t despair and good luck!
Hi Salome,
Thank you very much for sharing this. Congratulations!
Good luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello everyone, Travis!
I just received an email from the embassy (middle east) confirming that I’m accepted for the MEXT research 2020. Due to the delay and the change in the rules, I suppose everyone also felt very stressed this year. I hope you all get the good news soon! I’m very sorry for Mike and Samer for their rejection and also feel very thankful for their contribution to the blog. I hope the best for you in the following years!
Since this website helped me in all the stages of the application (thank you Travis!), I would like to share my experiences with everyone, I hope it would be beneficial.
– This was my second try for the scholarship. At the first one, I was shortlisted but couldn’t make it through the first screening.
– This year, before the Japanese language examination, the officials in the embassy informed us that MEXT wants us to “at least” show our interest in the Japanese language. I was unable to answer the questions but I typed some romaji correspondings for some characters that I know. I’m sure half of them were wrong. But since this was a new rule, they probably thought that it’s acceptable. If I were to apply the next year, I would definitely be more prepared just to be on the safe side.
– I got accepted from only 1 national university. The university sent me an email regarding the housing information and the student cards in mid-January. But from Mike’s situation, we can tell that it’s not a guarantee for acceptance.
So far, I was very stressed and rejected some other great opportunities for this scholarship. It’s finally great to relax now. I wish the same for everyone! Good luck!
Hi Zara,
Congratulations! Thank you very much for sharing your results and information about your application process. It’s a very useful reference for me and, I’m sure, for all the other applicants who will read this article in the future.
For one thing, I will certainly be recommending that applicants study Japanese as much as possible in advance!
Thank you again.
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
I just want to update that we from Indonesia just got our result today. Almost all of us got in and only one in “pending” status.
Thank you so much for everything. Your blog and the comments here always give me great information and encouragement. I am very grateful for all the information you’ve provide.
I guess other country’s announcement will be following soon.
Hi Maygreen,
Thank you very much for sharing your results and update!
From the comments I’ve been seeing, it sounds like today was the release date around the world.
I hope your one pending fellow applicant gets good news soon! In my experience, that can sometimes be an issue of placement, with MEXT trying to negotiate with universities to accept the applicant, especially if they have to contact multiple schools from the Placement Preference Form.
Good luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
I have just received an e-mail from the embassy in Poland with the positive results of the Second Screening. I think this is the time when the whole machine started to work!
Hi Michal,
COngratulations!
Thank you very much for sharing your results.
Good luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Just now the embassy annouced 2nd screening results for my country. 31 people including me are listed from my country.
Just want to let you know that during the japanese exam we were also instructed not to left the paper blank. So we did answer even if we just randomly filled the paper.
Thanks for your website. It really helped me go through all of these process.
-Chriss
Hi Criss,
Congratulations! Thank you very much for sharing your results, as well as your experience with the language test. That’s a helpful reference.
Good luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
first of all, thank you for your immense support and help since the very beginning! I just got the phonecall from my local Embassy that I passed the secondary screening and I was placed at my first choice University. I’m super happy now ☺️
Also I would like to share my experiences so far, maybe it will be helpful for future applicants.
1. As I heard from so many people and reading the comments about the Japanese language test, that may be an eliminating factor. I can’t deny it but also I’m not sure at all. I took the exam with very poor competences, around level N5 or even less. But I spent there 3 hours and wrote/translated as many things I could. But, another applicant with N2 JLPT certificate (and I bet she got a very high score) wasn’t accepted. I have no idea why since everything is kept in secret. All I know that our majors are different, mine is medicine, the other candidate’s is humanities & languages.
2. Despite I talked on weekly basis (email, Skype) with my prospective professor, he had no idea that I was placed in his lab until today. So about the communication between Mext-Universities-Embassy ….either isn’t flawless either they simply keep things in secret.
3. I haven’t received any emails regarding to housing or anything else from universities. So that isn’t a sure sign of being accepted or not.
4. As far as I know the Embassy first called the unsuccessful candidate(s) last week, meanwhile I was informed just now.
If you have any questions I try to answer, I wish good luck for everyone who is still waiting for the results!
Travis, thank you once again, I have no words how much I appreciate your kind efforts and guidance.
Hi Junglefrog,
Congratulations on earning the scholarship and on your placement at your first choice university!
I appreciate your feedback on your experience, as well.
1. I have seen applicants with terrific language scores, but very poor research plans or only mediocre grades in the past. So, it is entirely possible for a person with lower Japanese language ability to get the scholarship over someone with higher ability.
2. In many cases, professors don’t work directly with the administrative processes, so once they give their assent to the Letter of Acceptance, they might not hear anything else. I know that some universities try to keep the information from their professors to prevent it from leaking to applicants 🙂
3. Thank you for sharing that!
4. Thank you for sharing that. Since this is the first year that I have heard of students not passing the secondary screening, I hadn’t really considered when the Embassy would be contacting unsuccessful applicants, but that is very useful to know.
Thank you again for your feedback!
Good luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Junglefrog, congratulations for passing the secondary screening. I’ve been taking this scholarship 2 times in the past 2 years so I think the difference in study field is matter.
In language exam in my country, my rival is not the whole candidate, but I need to be the better half compared to other fellow candidates from the same field. So my guess is you’re passed because you’re better from other half of medicine candidates that took the test. While the fellow humanities candidate did not pass because there’s much more other humanities candidates that do better in the test.
Also, I think humanities & language major has stricter requirement in Japanese language ability and at least N2 is a great leverage.
I hope this info could help others who want to take Mext scholarship in the next period.
Hi Maygreen,
That’s a good point. Some embassies do set a quota for the number of students in each field, like you said. National interests do play a factor.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I know this is a long shot and I know it is in writing that passing the first screening is no guarantee and that they are not obliged to give any explanation, but what happened to Mike and Samer is so unfair. Could their embassies possibly intercede on their behalf suggesting to headquarters, that since the explanation of not passing the Japanese portion of the written exam is not a valid one because , if that was the case, they should have not been called for the interview , the slots they EARNED should at least be reserved for them for next year, without having to repeat the whole process. Wouldn’t that be a fair resolution on a problem they caused themselves for deciding on the number of slots available only AFTER communicating the first screening results?
Hi Martiza,
Thank you for your comment, but I’m afraid that once the Japanese bureaucracy makes a decision like this, there is no going back. They always had the escape clause that nothing was guaranteed until students passed the Secondary Screening, so they had not promised anything.
The same thing happened last year with the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship.
The best they, or the other applicants in similar situations, can do would be to learn from this situation and apply again next year.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Vinayak this side. I want to apply for the MEXT Undergraduate scholarship this year. I am getting a bit of a problem in the ‘field of study’ area. I want to become an animator as I love anime. So what field does it come under- Information Engineering or Others? I also wanted to ask as to what level of maths paper is gonna come as I have heard it is quite difficult.
Thanks
Hi Vinayak,
My specialty is in the scholarship for graduate students, not undergraduates, so my experience here is limited.
I would recommend that you make sure that training as an animator is available as an undergraduate course in Japan. I do not have any direct knowledge, but that does not strike me as a college program. It might be something that you would find at a college of technology, instead. (Of course, if you have already found a program that teaches anime, please disregard that comment).
Information engineering would typically be computer systems design and data manipulation, as far as I understand. If you’re talking about producing anime, that may only be peripherally related.
To check the test levels, you can find the old tests on JASSO’s website.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
I followed your website for a bit when I was applying and for the interview. It was very helpful. I just received an email from you about people getting rejections and came here to read.
I’m currently waiting on a reply from the Embassy myself.
Things to note:
1) In the Japanese test, we were told not to leave anything blank.
2) I was only able to receive provisional acceptance at Kyoto.
3) Kyoto University has already instructed me to apply for accommodations that I have done.
I’m supposed to hear back from the Embassy this week. I hope they have some good news.
P.S. The Embassy had kept my passport and original educational documents all this while. They’ve only just sent them back to me.
Hi Taha,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I’ve been hearing that many applicants already got their results this week, after your post. I hope you’ve heard good news, too!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Thank you so much for all your articles and taking the time to answer questions.
I am from Canada and passed the primary screening and am still waiting on my final results. I was contacted by a professor about housing, he said there were available rooms in international housing. However after hearing abut Mike I am concerned that the university may have put me on an incoming students list by mistake. I haven’t heard anything from my embassy about the second screening or placement. I don’t think Japanese language abilities are an issue in my case since I completed the exam to the best of my ability. I wonder if I should be concerned, can there be any reason other than language to be rejected at this point? For instance, on my application I listed my job at the time but I have since quit that job. Do you think that would be an issue?
Hi Erin,
Based on what Mike shared, the housing email is no longer the “confirmation” that it once was, I’m afraid. But overall, I have still only heard of two applicants falling into this situation, so if you have made it this far, I am still confident that your chances are very very good of receiving the scholarship in the end.
As far as I can tell from the feedback I have seen here, nobody has received their final successful results yet, though it sounds like the end of January was a target date in many cases.
Quitting your job would not be a problem and I still do not think that this issue of not passing the Secondary Screening is going to expand significantly, so you should be hearing good news soon.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis, i am currently waiting for the second and final screening from MEXT and i was told by the embassy that the result should be coming at the end of January.
I had 2 LoA from 2 different universities.
One of My Universities, NAIST , let me know that i was among the finalists for the Mext Scholarship and that they were verifying my enrollment schedule by reconfirming my arrival month etc..
I took that as a positive sign and resigned from work in December (company rules stipulates that I have to give notice 3 months before my last day, else, big fine to pay)
i am waiting calmly for now. i just hope i get it. This is my experience so far.
Hi Shuffle,
Thank you for sharing your experience. When was your message from NAIST?
In general, if MEXT has contacted a university to ask them to formally accept you (usually around November or possibly later), that would occur after MEXT completed the Secondary Screening, so you should be past the point of all danger.
At least, that has been my experience, so far. Even this year, with the issues of at least two applicants not passing the secondary screening, that still came before MEXT contacted universities, as far as I can tell.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
thank you for your great efforts to help keeping this article updated.
In regards to the japanese language proficiency, in the case of choosing an english course.
I can confirm what maygreen said, upon taking the japanese written exam, the supervisor specifically told us to NOT leave the exam sheet blank, as it will result in our elimination
Samer has mentioned that he didn’t write anything in the japanese exam sheet, which support this.
I hope mike can tell us if he did the same, if he did i guess that would confirm it, since the mext comittee said so themselves.
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your kind words. I’m going to be emailing my mailing list about the scholarship to try to get more people involved in this conversation, too.
Both Mike and Samer have reported that they left the Japanese language test completely blank, but neither were told in advance that it would eliminate them to do so.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Actually, when I took the exam I don’t remember being told not to leave the Japanese Test section in blank. Now I am worried because I could only complete the elementary part of the exam, leaving the rest in blank, and on top of that Mike, mentions he is getting information about housing. Now I can only wait for the final resolution and prepare myself mentally for a potential rejection. I don’t know if it’s already too late to apply for University Recomendation, anyway, this year I will turn 35 and won’t be able to re-apply to the scholarship, so whatever it’s going to happen, I can only accept it.
Hi Georgi,
Have you heard back about your results yet? From what I understand, a lot of embassies released their results over the past couple of days, after your comment.
Unfortunately, it is almost certainly too late to apply for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship this year (though specific deadlines are established by each university), but I hope that it hasn’t come to that!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis. Actually by today we haven’t heard anything from our embassy yet, but after knowing that results from Brazil and Argentina are already out, I may think results here are not far to be released, and the prognosis I think is good. I would also like to ask you if you think that the coronavirus outbreak in China may somehow cause trouble. Cheers
Hi Georgi,
I’m several days behind on these comments, so I hope you’ve heard something over the last week.
So far, the Coronavirus has not caused any major disruptions in Japan. The primary focus has been on preventing its introduction to the country in any significant numbers. The only applicants I can see it affecting would be applicants from mainland China.
Ultimately, MEXT will book your ticket to Japan, but to the maximum degree possible, I would recommend a flight that does not transit through China, at all.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear sarah!
Actually, I would say that embassy coordinator told me to write just my name and surname, beacuse we are also told that our Japanese would not play a major role, but rather LA and test results would do. I don’t want to blame others for my mistakes, but that was totally their requirements. All in all, It is not the case here! Please read comments below attentively!
Hi Travis. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge on this matter with all of us, even since I found the blog when I was far ahead in my process, I still find this information really useful.
I’m writing from Colombia, right now I’m still waiting for the second screening results, I could only manage to get one LoA from University of Tokyo, which was not in my three first choices. I went through all the process smoothly, but two weeks ago I got an e-mail from the Embassy that the results may delay until the end of this month or beginning of February due to the high amount of applications that Japanese universities are processing, however, the very same day I got another e-mail from the University regarding the application to International Dormitories. After reading this article I was a little more confident about my results and completed the application right away, but now I am really concerned about the Japanese language level. By the time I took part of the first screening, I could only managed to complete the first part of the Japanese test, in which I could only get 55 points. Now after reading the comments from Mike and Samer I am feeling a little bit worried about this issue. Here in Colombia the quota for scholarships was supposed to be 5, for both 2019 and 2020, and to my knowledge, many applicants were turned down in the first screening even when their Japanese proficiency was good and some of them have already been to Japan.
Anyway, I just wanted to share what has happened on this side so far, I have realized that the delays in the results are occurring in many countries and somehow the bad news come first. I will let you know if I have any update regarding my personal case. Cheers.
Hi Georgi,
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your experience.
Based on what I understand from both Mike and Samer, they’re applications were declined at the Secondary Screening phase, which comes before MEXT reaches out to universities.
The fact the University of Tokyo has already contacted you about housing indicates to me that MEXT did reach out to them to ask them to accept you, which would mean that you had passed the Secondary Screening phase.
I understand your concerns about applicants with higher Japanese language ability being rejected during the Primary Screening. But while language ability is important (more so now than ever!), it is not everything. I work at a university where language ability is an important screening requirement for all applicants and we end up getting a large number of applicants with high language ability but poor academic ability or an unfocused application. In that case, the high language ability can’t save them. You have to have a combination of both. And it sounds like you’re in a great position for that.
Please let me know how the results go in the end.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Warning! This is totally my view to this topic and, please, before considering my thoughts familiarize yourself with articles of the website’s author.
Hello everyone! Here is Mike! The Mike)
I think I’ve become the first person, who failed from the second screening! So, there are some mistakes, I think, were made during the whole process (I applied to MEXT non-degree (research student) program), I would like to share with you my thoughts:
1. Do not spend your time excessively on thinking about scholarship (i.e. what will I do, if I win or don’t win), this can end up with pretty good depression and health problems.
2. If your family matters, do not tell your parents and close people that you 99% passed (because it did not happen in the past), until you do not hear the results of second screening.
3. Be prepared for Japanese language, it is advised to have N4 or N3.
4. In application form: in terms you wish to study write – up to completion of master’s/professional graduate program (if MEXT have cut financing, they would probably choose those who’s stay not long)
5. Do not forget about yourself, love and respect yourself for everything you made, even if you did not win the scholarship, this should not shatter your confidence. Try meditation, this helped me enormously.
6. If you failed, try one more time. Life is full of challenges, never know what will happen in the future, we just need to continue our way!
There are opportunities everywhere and in everything!
Sincerely Mike!
Hi Mike,
I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you have been so willing to share your experience and advice for future applicants.
There is a lot that I need to consider as I prepare to rewrite this article for next year, but I think all of your points are very good ones and would recommend them to anyone, especially your approach to mindset!
I would add a few comments, though:
3. This is not to say that you cannot apply if you do not have N4, but I would agree that as soon as you decide that you want to apply for this scholarship that you should start studying Japanese and do your best on the Japanese language test during the primary screening. Know that a higher language ability will increase your chances.
4. What you write in this section is not binding in any way. You are free to apply for an extension to a doctoral program later if you change your mind, so it doesn’t hurt to write Master’s Degree, regardless of your plans. (However, if you fill in Master’s degree here, make sure that your FSRPP does not imply that you need to continue to a doctorate.)
Those are just minor comments, though. In general, I think your advice is spot on, in the context of understanding the rest of the process.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
By the way, Travis, one more point! Even though I did not pass the second screening some universities were and are still eager to know my accommodation choice! This sounds crazy, but this is true. I don’t know, but maybe there is lack of collaboration between MEXT and universities that they even do not know about those who passed and who didn’t!
Hi Mike,
Thank you for sharing this. Once again, you’re bringing up something I have never heard about before.
I’m very surprised to hear that the universities are still asking you about housing. In the past, my understand was that you would only get added to the list of incoming students (and therefore in need of housing) after MEXT contacted the university to ask them to officially accept you. Maybe your universities added you to their list of incoming students at the Letter of Acceptance stage instead.
The housing email used to be another one of those almost-certain signs that you were getting in. I guess we’ve lost that, too.
Thank you again.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis and Mike!
Travis, Thank you so much for your information and time to answer each of us. It so scary and stressful to hear that some of the applicants couldn’t pass. Mike, wish you good luck next year! I like your determination. I’m sure you’ll get it next year!
I have a question regarding the housing. I’m still anxiously waiting for the results. At the beginning of January I got an email from my first choice university about housing. What i’m Worried is that the email was just asking me whether I want to stay at the dorm or not if I was enrolled that University and was asking this question from all applicants. No personal information nor any form to fill. I just replied “ yes, I want to stay” and asked to send information how to apply. But they just gave me the dorm website.
Can I consider such kind of email as an indication of passing the second screening? Or was that just a general info about housing which they send to all applicants? Now that I read Mike’s message about housing, I’m more worried.
Travis, would you please tell me what a housing email of passed applicants looks like?
Thank you very much!!!
Ozi
Hi Ozi,
In the past, I would have considered an email like the one that you received to essentially be confirmation of your acceptance. But like you said, Mike’s message has made me think twice.
It sounds like some universities are reaching out about housing even if they don’t have MEXT’s final confirmation.
Unfortunately, I’ve never seen any of the housing emails to successful applicants directly, so I don’t know what the contents look like. Since Mike’s story is the first time I’ve heard of housing contacting non-successful applicants, I don’t have any basis for comparison. Perhaps he would be willing to share what he received.
In any case, the final results should be out soon. MEXT is running out of time to handle visas and tickets, so there is only so much longer they can wait!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hello , Im yolanda from Angola who is also waiting for the second screening results , my question is did you leave the Japanese exam section blank
Hi Yolanda,
Yes I left the Japanese exam blank. I thought filling it randomly or at least writing the meaning of the words I knew wasn’t going to do much. Maybe it would have made a difference (no clue). But I think it is better to write something from now on.
Hi Samer,
Thank you for sharing this! Every little bit of information helps.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello everyone.
I am also waiting for the second screening results here (research student).
I just wanted to add a piece of information:
I am French and when I went to take the language test, the jury told us before the test started that leaving the Japanese test blank would be eliminatory. So people have to fill the test even if they have no language ability.
From what I saw in the comments this seems to be the case in other countries.
I just find it extremely bizarre that applicants could have made it past the interview AND first screening and then be eliminated over something they did way before.
Fingers crossed for everyone!!
Hi Naam,
Thank you for sharing this. The rules around filling in the Japanese language test seem to be a common theme here. I will keep following up to see what else I can learn!
I agree with you that if they were going to eliminate applicants for this, it should have been during the primary screening, not at this stage of the process.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
If it was question for me, I would say yes. I did write only my name and surname in English in Japanese exam test.
Hi Travis!
First of all, thanks a lot for this thread and your website as they provide a lot of insight into the scholarship program from someone who is very experienced.
I applied for the MEXT 2020 postgraduate program and passed the first screening and have been waiting anxiously for the second screening result (like everyone else).
Also, I acquired three acceptance letters from University of Tokyo, Keio University, and Tokyo Metropolitan University.
Today I received an email from the embassy which, to be honest was very shocking.
The embassy informed me that the reply came as negative from headquarters. When I called to further inquire about the reason behind the rejection, the embassy officer told me that it was because I hadn’t written anything on the Japanese written exam (which we took well before the first screening and interview stage).
I went along with the conversation and stressed out that Japanese language was not a major requirement and that this was pointed out in the interview before getting even the primary acceptance. I demonstrated that I was willing to learn Japanese back then (and indeed I have been hard at work learning for the past few months) and they explicitly mentioned that the program accounts for Japanese courses for people who need it. I also tried convincing the embassy officer that I am much better in Japanese now, if there was a possibility to reconsider or even retake the Japanese exam, but it was futile and they said they already tried to talk to headquarters.
Note that, as you mentioned above in your article I am certain I was not rejected for misrepresenting information or for a research plan related to weapons (which I should think would have also been accounted for in the primary screening).
Do you know of any way that I can appeal to the program to reconsider the decision?
I am willing and ready to do anything to fix this devastating blow. I have been working very hard for this and this way I will have wasted two years on this scholarship which I thought I already had in the bag!
Thank you very very much in advance for any help you can provide me.
Hi Samer,
Thank you for sharing your experience here. I am very sorry to hear what happened to you.
In the eight years that I have been working on this scholarship, you are only the second person to report that you were turned down at the second screening. The first person was also this year (look for the comments from “Mike” below on this page). It has never happened before that I am aware of.
Unfortunately, there is no appeals process that I am aware of and no way forward but to try again next year.
But both you and Mike received the same information from the Embassy, that your application did not pass because of insufficient Japanese language ability. Like you said, this has never been an issue in the past and I know many applicants have gone through without filling in any part of the Japanese language test.
As you might know, during the Primary Screening phase, MEXT suddenly reduced the number of slots available to embassies around the world. It was one of the reasons that the responses to that screening were late. I suspect that your situation is related to that reduction. Even though they reduced the numbers, they probably still did not have enough budget and had to cut more applicants, so they are using Japanese language ability as the means to do that. I do not have any solid information to back up this theory yet, but since both you and Mike shared a common reason, that seems like it might be the case.
I will keep doing more research into this situation and revise my articles for next year based on your information.
Once again, I am sorry to hear what you went through, but I appreciate you sharing it.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Samer,
Currently I’m very anxious too in waiting for my MEXT result and I’m am very sorry to hear about this. I’m thankful for your willingness to share your experience. And it actually made me remember something that I want to share to Travis and everybody too.
When we’re taking language exam, our embassy actually stressed out the difference between this year and last year exam. First, we need to use pen, not pencil, all questions became multiple choice. The year before there’s a small segment where we need to write kanji, there’s none of that for MEXT 2020.
Second, our embassy stressed out that even if you no nothing about Japanese language at all, you have to fill all of the question. Different with the year before where they ask us to not input random answers, this time they said random answer is okay.
But I never thought this matter will still take effect in secondary screening.
Hi Maygreen,
Thank you for sharing this!
You are the first person to bring that change to my attention and it could be an interesting clue. Do you mind if I ask what country you are from? (If you want, I won’t publish your answer). I’m trying to figure out if this is a worldwide issue with the Japanese language ability this year, or if it is just a few countries.
Like you said, I never thought this would have been an issue in the secondary screening. If anything I thought it might impact the primary screening.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Samer, Travis and Maygreen,
Thank You so much for telling us about your result Samer and Mike. I am sure it wasn’t easy. I would like to add on to what Maygreen mentioned in the previous comment. We were told to do the same at the embassy in my country as well. There were around 50 students selected for the written exam and only 2 or 3 people raised their hands when asked about their knowledge of Japanese language. The rest of us did not have proficiency in the language. Nevertheless, we were instructed to not leave the Japanese multiple choice questions empty. So all of us attended the Japanese language test. I do not know how many people passed the primary screening but I can guess the number was less than 10 I think. I am not completely sure of the number though. When I called my embassy a few days ago, they told me that they do not know exactly when the results will be announced as they haven’t received the final list from the headquarters yet. Having read the experiences of Samer and Mike, I am now fully mentally prepared for a possible rejection because I haven’t received any information or email from my choice of university as well and it’s already late January.
In the future I plan to be mindful of such an unexpected possibility of rejection despite coming this far. I would like to thank Travis for all his hard work and the effort he has put into creating this website. This platform has also allowed us students to share our fears and experiences without judgement. So I thank Travis once again.
Regards,
Sarah P
Hi Sarah P,
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your experience. “Leaving the Japanese Test Blank” seems to be an important theme here.
I know in the past that it was possible to do so, but I will certainly be changing my advice about that in future articles.
As far as I have heard, nobody has gotten official information about passing yet. But don’t let the lack of communication about housing bother you. That is not a sure sign one way or another.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis and Samer,
I am really sorry to hear extremely bad news from you. The rejection must be a devasting blow and I am also now seriously worried about my Second Screening results. It is necessary to find the real reason for both rejections and my thoughts are heading towards Maygreen explanation. When passing an exam in the embassy (I applied in Poland) we were also informed not to deliver empty forms, what was the major change from previous years. Anyway, I was aiming to do at least two out of three parts. Maybe in 2020 MEXT is trying to limit applications without the Japanese language abilities? I hope that this is the only reason to reject some people. Whole July was deadly stressfull time for me and I did not expect that January would be the same…
Do you know maybe until which time they are required to provide us with the results of Second Screening?
Hi Michal,
So far, leaving the Japanese language exam blank seems to be a common thread.
I think the underlying reason is a budget crunch and needing to reduce the numbers this year and the Japanese language test being a relatively easy way to filter and achieve that goal. If it was a strategic goal to reduce the number of applicants with low Japanese language ability, then they should have been eliminated during the Primary Screening. (Although I would not be surprised if that happened in future years).
Typically, the Secondary Screening and Placement results should be out by the end of January, and in past years, many have come out earlier – it seems to be country-by-country most times, as each country announces the results when they have them for each of their applicants. But this year, I have not heard of any results. It might be late, and even into February, but they can’t wait too long. There are still visas and flight tickets to arrange.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Its shocking the same thing happened during our exam , we were asked to do just that. I dont know if the cut back , but we are 3 thats waiting for the secondary screeing , But lets all stay hopeful.
Thank you Travis for your reply.
It seems that it’s a budget constraint though the timing is awful. As you said, they were relying on people not getting LoA and thus reducing the number of applicants more (only explanation why it was announced at this stage).
Honestly, I am thinking of contacting the professor at the University of Tokyo as I already have acquired a LoA. Probably the professor has some kind of funding or anything of this sort. Any advice ?
Again thank you for this page and GOOD LUCK ALL !
Hi Samer,
Thank you for your feedback. I think budget has a lot to do with it this year – between the Olympics in 2020 and the Japanese government also offering free higher education to (domestic) students from low income brackets next year.
Hopefully, they’ll be able to plan slots better next year and it will never happen again that they reduce the numbers partway through. But like you said, the timing is horrible for you.
Contacting the professor at Tokyo isn’t a bad idea. I doubt that he will have any funds equivalent to a MEXT scholarship, but there might be some opportunities, and it will certainly help keep the lines of communication open in case you plan to try again next year!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis and Samer,
I am very sorry to read this. I was already very surprised to read about what happened to Mike, but I was not expecting to read about this happening again in the ongoing secondary screening. Apparently, and perhaps due to budgetary reasons, Japanese language proficiency has become an important selection tool this year. I wonder if this only happened in countries that usually have many slots available (for example some Asian countries) or rather in countries with few slots per year.
My Japanese language proficiency was poor as well during the Embassy test, so I can totally relate to your situation and how you must feel right now.
Once again, I am very sorry for this outcome and I thank you for sharing your experience. I wish you all the best.
Hi Ayu,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I was very surprised, too, and am still trying to figure out what happened. At first, I thought Mike’s country might have recommended more applicants than they were allowed and needed to reduce the number, but now that it has happened in another country too, I am trying to figure out what could be the cause and whether this is a new standard or just a one-time cull.
I will continue looking for answers and publish new articles about anything I find. Please let me know if you learn anything new, too.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Samer
Sorry to hear your rejection. I understand how frustrating is to be rejected after all you have done. Could you please tell us which embassy you applied from?
Don’t give up bro and I wish you best in Future.
Dear Samer!
I am really disappointed that you also was rejected ! It was heartbreaking and shocking news for me, so i understand you, dear friend! I was also learning hard Japanese language for couple months, but as you can see MEXT decided to change their policy this year! Even my professor whom i contacted said it was unfair to do so… but as you might know we are not allowed to appeal. Dear friend, i wish only one thing, to become better and crush the committee this year by knowledge and language ability!
Best regards Mike
Hi Mike,
Thank you for your feedback. I love your attitude and determination to get it next time!
Do you mind if I ask what country you applied in? Now that this seems like it might be a trend, I want to try to learn everything I can about what happened so that I can help people avoid the same problem in the future. I am clearly going to have to revise my articles for the next cycle. . .
I wish both you and Samer good luck in the next attempt!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
First of all, I would like to give you my truly and deeply thanks for all the support and patience that you have, helping different students abroad. Blessings for you.
I wanted to ask you two questions sir, but I will give you the background first. I’m applying for master/Ph.D. studies in Japan, and I have already passed the first screening, but second screening results are not released yet. For this reason, I have written to my Prospective supervisor and he told me that he heard that I’ve succeeded in being an awardee of the scholarship (this happened in late December).
After this, some days ago the graduate school office have sent me an email asking me for a document that needs to be filled. They told me that they are sending this document to each prospective MEXT scholar (that means I’m still not an awardee?) to proceed with their internal procedure of acceptance of Research students.
So my question is:
In the case that I’ve been an awardee of the scholarship at this University, they can still reject me in their Research Student application? or is this just an internal/formal procedure?. That’s what is worrying me so much… and also I would like to have the final results at hand because I feel extremely anxious.
Thank you for everything Travis, and sorry for the long message!.
Hi Zed,
Thank you for your kind words.
If your prospective professor at your university has said that you succeeded at being an awardee of the scholarship, then I would think that your scholarship award is all-but guaranteed at this point. The Secondary Screening occurs before placement, and MEXT would not have contacted the university to ask them to confirm acceptance of you as a scholar unless you had already passes the screening.
The reason that the university is still calling you a “prospective” MEXT scholar is that they’re not allowed to tell you the results until after MEXT releases its final announcement through the embassy. (Your professor really shouldn’t have said anything, either, but many do).
I do not know what document the university might have sent you at this point, so I can only guess. In my experience, we never had any paperwork for applicants to fill out at this stage. However, I would guess that it is an internal formality or perhaps paperwork to determine whether they will accept you as a Non-Degree Research Student at first or as a Degree Student. I do not think there is any possibility that you would be rejected at this stage, but if you think the paperwork they sent you is particularly suspicious, let me know.
You should be hearing good news from the Embassy, soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Thank you so much for the quick reply.
Well, this document is only asking me to fill the name of my supervisor, personal data, birthday, academic background, experience and research theme, plus copies of photos.
I was told when I stablished contact with my professor to have preparatory education in Japanese, and I did, but I would like to have the 6 month language studies of Japanese plus being a Research student too. However, they haven’t told me anything about the 6 months of Japanese preparation.
Do you think I should be calm? I expect everything to be ok Travis, thank you so much again!
Hi Zed,
If the document is that simple, then I do not think that there is any way it would impact your acceptance decision. It just sounds like some record keeping, or perhaps to satisfy the paperwork requirements of the university’s admission process.
Since the professor already told you that you were accepted, I think you can be calm and assured that it’s going to work out in your favor!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for the article. It had helped me through the deadfully long period of selection process. I am now waiting for the announcement of second selection. Along with everyone here I am really worried about it. I tried contacting our embassy regarding the results but they only reply it will be announced soon. They been telling that since December. So anxiety is reaching a new high. I am currently working so I need to give at least a month a notice beforehand and plus I intend to take IELTS before leaving. Not knowing what is going to happen is really dragging on my nerves.
Hi Hsu,
The embassy is only going to tell you when they are ready to release the results. They won’t give you any information or guesses about when the information will be available in advance, so don’t be worried by that response.
I am very glad I could be helpful in the meantime!
Typically, the end of January is the target time for the results release, so your anxiety-inducing condition should come to an end, soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you for your reply. After reading your reply, I got some strength to hope on. But then I stumbled on your article about how your GPA is necessary for the eligibility for the scholarship.
I actually didn’t have good GPA during my university years. Is this going to be a problem in second selection?
So sorry to bother you again like this.
Hi Hsu,
Your GPA calculation should have occurred during the primary screening and you would not have passed that stage if it was too low.
Have you tried to convert your GPA? Sometimes applicants are surprised that the converted score is very favorable.
In past years, I had never heard of anyone not passing the secondary screening. Although this year, I have heard about it for the first time, in both cases so far, it was not the applicant’s GPA but rather their Japanese language ability that was an issue.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you so much for your blog. It’s been a great help and give me so much encouragement.
Currently I’m waiting for the research student final result. My embassy said it will be announced at most by the final January. But when I read about my first choice university’s dorm information, their application deadline is actually in the middle January. So I ask the university if I should apply before or after the official announcement.
Somehow they give me the dorm application form and ask me to submit before the university deadline. So is it safe to I assume that I’m accepted?
I’m a bit worried because if I’m accepted I need to resign from my work by this January (I need 2 months preparation due to personal circumstances). I’m not confident enough to give my resignation letter before the official announcement, but I also don’t want to bother my company by giving the letter too close in the end of the month or more.
よろしくお願いいたします。
Hi Augustine,
I would recommend that you wait for the official announcement. If your university had reached out to you to ask you to complete the housing application, then I would take that as a sign that you had been accepted and placed there. But since you asked them for the form and they gave it to you, I’m not sure if that is a sure of an indication because I have never heard of that situation in the past.
Almost every applicant I have ever heard of that has made it this far in the scholarship application has ultimately earned the scholarship. I only know of one case where an applicant passed the primary screening but did not pass the second. That was this year, and the applicant found out around the time of the secondary screening (which comes before MEXT contacts universities, anyway).
So, you should be almost certain to receive the scholarship, but still, I would recommend waiting on official paperwork at your job until you receive the official announcement from MEXT.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I’m grateful for your advice.
The professor said they’re processing the document, but I do feel it’s better to be safe by waiting for the official final result. I will update again as soon as I receive the final result. Thank you very much.
Hi Travis,
Thank you so much for all the information you have provided. It helps a lot especially to reduce my anxiety of waiting the second screening result from MEXT,
What worried me the most is, I contacted my 1st choice professor yesterday to know if he or the university received any contact from MEXT regarding the final result, however, he said he still not receive any info and will inform me if he receives any. But, some of candidates (5 to 6person) in my country already received dormitory or admission application request from their universities through this week.
Is this because I have not yet passed my second screening? Please help me.
Thank you.
Hi Anna,
There are a number of possibilities. For one, the international office might be handling your paperwork and may not have had to contact your professor.
Another possibility is that if your first-choice university was a private university, you may have been placed in your second or third choice (particularly if they were national universities). It costs MEXT less to place scholarship winners in a national university, so they may favor national universities, despite your priority list.
Or, it is possible that your professor knows and just isn’t telling you. They’re supposed to keep it secret, after all!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you so much for your response.
For your information, my first and second choice are both national universities.
I’m really worried now, we have sacrificed almost everything for the journey. Although there are 99% we will get selected during 2nd screening, but there is still 1% right?. Have you heard anyone from Southeast Asia got rejected in 2nd screening? And do you know why?
Thank you.
-Anna
Hi Anna,
I am sorry I don’t have anything else to tell you at this point. But universities (including professors) are not supposed to contact applicants at this point to tell them anything. So, I would not say that the lack of improperly leaked information should be a strong indicator of your result!
I have only ever heard of one applicant being rejected during the secondary screening. That was this year, and he did not say where he was from. In his case, it sounded like the Embassy had nominated too many applicants and needed to reduce the number. He ended up getting eliminated because he had the least Japanese language ability.
But this situation is the only time I have ever heard of this happening – nobody else has mentioned it happening to them this year either – an in his case, he already found out the result. So I do not think that something similar would have happened to you.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for your reply.
I will update you the result later.
Thanks again!
-Anna
Hi Travis,
I will be applying to multiple universities (e.g. MIT, Caltech, Tokyo). Most university results come out in February to April, but MEXT 2nd round result comes earlier in January. If I receive MEXT, can I still withdraw if e.g. in April a better offer arrives? What would be the consequences?
I’m looking forward to hearing your experiences.
Thank you very much and happy holidays!
Hi Jack Song,
You can withdraw at any stage of the process and the only consequences that you would face personally would be that you would have a significantly more difficult time if you tried to apply to the scholarship again in the future.
However, you would be hurting other applicants and your country as a whole be withdrawing that late in the process. Each year, there is a set number of scholarship spaces available to each country. If you withdraw from the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship after the primary screening process (usually the end of July/beginning of August of the year before you start your studies), then your scholarship slot goes vacant and the Embassy would not be able to nominate a replacement for you, so they would lose one scholar. And, of course, the applicant that would have earned that scholarship slot would lose their opportunity, too.
I would encourage you to think about the path you want to take and what your priorities are, then try to apply in a way that you are minimizing the risk of having to withdraw late in the process.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I’ve been waiting for the final result from the Embassy of Japan in Thailand and they said that the final result will be announced at the end of January 2020.
What I wanted to ask today is the email about the dorms. I’ve heard that normally, people will receive their information about the dorms from their advisor or the university before the announcement of the final result. But in my case, I haven’t received any e-mails from the university at all. Does that mean that I will not get the MEXT Scholarship? Is it normal to not receive any email from the university about the dorm?
Hi Morris,
I would not say that it is “normal” to hear from your university about the dorms. It does happen sometimes, but only in a small number of cases.
It would only ever happen if you were planning to arrive in April and your university offers a dorm that you would be able to live in for the full semester. If you are arriving in the fall or if your university does not offer housing, then there would be no reason for them to contact you.
Even if you are arriving in spring and your university does offer housing, do not be concerned if the university does not contact you. While getting contacted is a clear indication that you will be accepted there, not being contacted does not indicate non-acceptance.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello everyone!
My name is Mike, I am from Central Asia. I was on my way to 2020 research student.
Despite getting high scores , guys I failed to pass the second screening of the MEXT scholarship due to insufficiency of Japanese language (at the time of application i totally did not know Japanese). When author says not to worry about second screening, it is not actual nowadays. The selection policies must have changed, I should warn everybody, these days MEXT is choosing according Japanese proficiency rather than professional background. Good luck everyone, I hope my failure will help others to avoid my mistake!
Hi Mike,
What was your research field? And did you apply to degree programs taught in English or Japanese?
I have never heard of MEXT making Japanese language a factor for applicants to degree programs taught in English before, so I am very interested if the process has changed this year.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
My research area was economics. I applied to non-degree program (research student, not masters) taught in English! Unfortunately, dear Travis, this is true and I am really confused too. But embassy coordinator said that this is new rules, and MEXT wants to see language-able students in Japanese rather than in English. A lot of confusion and misunderstandings, they initially said that it was ok without Japanese, but in the end they just changed the rules. Maybe this is only in my country, I can’t say anything firm about the second screening process now in the other countries. Be cautious.
Hi Mike,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I will keep an eye out for similar results from other countries this year, as well.
I have not seen any guidance from MEXT in this area, but it is likely that the communication is directly between MEXT and the embassies and not public or shared with universities at this stage.
I will take your advice to heart and be cautious in my future recommendations. This has certainly been a year of changes for MEXT.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Mike and Travis,
I’m sorry for the bad news. I myself still anxiously waiting for the announcement as I happen to read the issues you pointed out. Is it okay with you if I ask for your condition, whether what university issued the LoA you’ve received (public/private) and if you have any contact with the Professor before the news came to you? I have been contacted days ago by my Professor asking me some information for him to fill the documents to be submitted to MEXT, I just want to know if that happens to you too before and whether if it means something for my scholarship.
Hi Vian,
If your professor has contacted you for information to fill out the forms, that means that you have already passed the Secondary Screening and have moved on to the University Placement Phase. MEXT does not reach out to universities to ask them to complete that paperwork until after you have passed the secondary screening.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Vian!
If MEXT contacted to your professor and your university, it means that you are highly likely accepted, I think. Have a nice day!
Hello mike, thanks for sharing this.
I am just curious. I assume your country’s japan embassy has announced the result for all candidates?
Would it be a bother to tell us how many are accepted and failed in the second screening? I just want to know the general pictures of this year second screening.
Thanks in advance
Hi Chriss and Mike,
Mike, since you’re the first person on here to share a story like yours, you’re getting very popular with requests! I think everyone is curious to know more, if you’re willing to share it, but I understand if it’s not something that you want to talk about.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Chris and Travis!
Dear Travis, I just want to help other people to navigate more attentively in the selection process!
Dear Chris !
Actually, I did not ask about others’ results since I was too busy with my own thoughts. But what I do know is I was chosen out of 5 candidates in the Second Screening!
Dear all,
Mike, am so sorry for the sad news that you could not make it. Travis, you raised a very important issue of being contacted by your professor asking for some information. Does that happen to all those who have passed secondary screening or in some instances the professors do not contact you as they may have all the information? I am asking because a number of my friends have been contacted and some not.
Gerald.
Hi Gerald,
Being contacted by your professor to ask for additional information is a strong indication that you have passed the MEXT Secondary Screening and that university is completing the final paperwork to accept you as a MEXT Scholar. However, “not being contacted” does not indicate that you are not accepted. It is entirely possible that the university already has all of the information that they need and does not need to contact you. For example, at the university where I processed scholarships, we never contacted applicants at this stage because we obtained all the required information before issuing a Letter of Acceptance, and we directed professors not to contact them either.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you so much for your response. I have been in touch with a my possible professor at the university which was my first choice. Yesterday he just told me everything should be in order as he has already accepted me. I hope what he meant was that he has accepted me to MEXT otherwise when he was contacted by embassy in early stages, he also notified me.
Hi Gerald,
At this time of year (or really back in Nov/Dec is more common), MEXT will reach out to the universities on your Placement Preference Form one-by-one to ask them to formally accept you. That is also when they will have to fill their answer about whether you will start as a research student or degree student and whether or not you will need to take the semester of Japanese language training.
So, if he is referring to recent communication, then that should be a reference to the formal acceptance paperwork.
It’s still going to take a while before you hear the final word from the embassy, though. They have to wait for every university processing every applicant from your country to be finished before they can announce the results all at once.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Gerald !
Thank you for your empathy! Only thing I would like to know whether out of accepted MEXT scholarship applicants were there any who did not know Japanese language like me!? It is interesting because I would like to know it is only my exception (or my country) or the case for everyone! Thank you!
Hi Mike,
I would suspect it is something limited to your country and a decision made by the Japanese embassy/your government there, since as of this point, I have not heard that same situation happening anywhere else. But that might change if I hear similar reports in the future.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Mike,
I may be wrong but all I know is that if you are applying for English taught programs, Japanese language efficiency do not matter. I can give you an example where in primary screening in our country, there were some candidates who could speak Japanese but did not make it to second screening. I think if Japanese language was a factor, they could have made it through. Anyway we are all learning here and this year’s experience will help us in future in case the rules of the game have changed.
Thank you!
Hi Gerald,
Technically, Japanese language ability is not an assessment criteria for the scholarship, but I have heard anecdotal comments in the past of embassies using it as a factor when two candidates are too similar in other categories (grades, quality of FSRPP, interview performance, etc.) to make a decision based on those areas, alone. In those cases, it was a judgment call at the embassy level, though.
The difference between those cases and Mike’s is that in the past, it happened by the end of the Primary Screening, so that all applicants who passed the primary screening eventually received the scholarship. I had never heard of it happening at this stage before.
If I had to hazard a guess as to what happened this time . . . This year, there was some confusion right at the end of the Primary Screening process, as MEXT changed the number of slots available (or withheld that information until the last minute). As a result, many countries released their Primary Screening results late, after paring down their nominees to meet the new limits. It is possible that Mike’s embassy did not reduce the nominees at that time, perhaps hoping that some would not get LoAs and therefore make their decision easier, and therefore recommended a larger than allowed cadre, leaving MEXT to have to find a way to reduce the numbers.
I will be following closely to see if I hear about this happening in any other countries or embassies, or if we see embassies calling for Japanese language ability in next year’s application process.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I have just received email from Nagoya University about dormitory. I hope this is clear indication I will end up there. Though I am still anxious but I should say am a bit relieved.
Thank you
Hi Gerald,
In my experience, if the housing office contacts you, it’s because the university has recorded you as a student that will be enrolled there during the next semester. In every case in the past that I know of, that has been a clear indicator that you have been awarded the scholarship and placed at that university!
You may want to wait for the official announcement before celebrating, but at this point, you know exactly what that announcement is going to say, so Congratulations!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you so much for all the tips you post. It has been a long journey but whenever I got your response or read your article, I got motivated to push on. Though MEXT has not yet officially released the results, am glad I made it as we have started some processes with the university before my departure. I should also say your insights on how to choose a school and professor really helped me. I got three LOAs and I have been in touch with all the professors who accepted me. I would therefore encourage others who would wish to apply in near future to take that part so seriously. A big thank you TRAVIS And all colleagues for your helpful questions and answers.
Gerald.
Hi Gerald,
Thank you very much for your feedback!
Comments like yours are the reason I keep this blog going. It’s great to hear that someone finds it useful.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for sharing your situation,
Dear mike, i have a question for you If you may?
Did you write anything on the japanese written exam, relating to the first screening?
Thank you for your time.
Hello Travis,
I hope everything is going alright with you.
I am waiting for the results of the secondary screening and I am hopeful and anxious at the same time. I have searched literally everywhere, but I could not found any information regarding the embassy reccomended scholarship slots for this year (I mean for 2020) for Romania. My embassy did not told me when I turned on my LOAs if the secondary screening is still competitive or not, just that they reccomend their candidates and MEXT will decide who gets the scholarship in the end. I talked to a girl from my country who won the scholarship in 2016, she said in that year 5 candidates were reccomended by the embassy and as far as she knows all of them got it. Also I heard that number of slots has been decreased since then. Do you know somehow how many slots are available for Romania this year?
And another question, based on what decides MEXT -if there are more candidates than slots-, who will recieve it? GPA, research plan, Universities or….? I have no idea….
Thank you so much for your time! I would be so grateful if you could help me out with these questions.
Hi Aruzhan,
The number of slots available per country is not something that is generally made public. Sometimes the embassy shares that information, but if they don’t there are no official channels to get it. I usually recommend that applicants guess based on the numbers from previous years.
As you mentioned, there appears to have been a decrease in the number of slots this year, but my understanding is that was made before the primary screening (that is why the primary screening results were late this year), so the reduction has already been applied.
Since you have passed the primary screening and submitted your LoAs, I see no reason to think that you would not pass the secondary screening.
When the Embassy submitted their list of candidates to MEXT, they would have most likely submitted them in rank order. The order is based on a total composite of your application, including the GPA, research plan, tests, interview score, etc. So, if MEXT were to order a country to reduce their numbers, they would eliminate the bottom person from that list. But again, my understanding is that that process already happened at the primary screening.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Greetings from Syria,
Travis, thanks a lot for all of your support and efforts!
Whenever I feel down or hopeless form second screening results, I enter your page!
All my best,
Hi Almasri,
Thank you very much for your feedback! I am glad I have been able to help. I know this waiting stage can be tough to endure.
I hope you hear your results soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I have passed the first screening and I am now waiting for the second screening results, but the 3 letters of acceptance are all from private universities (Hosei, Doshisha and Ritsumeikan). Because if this, I’m worried that I may lose the scholarship? (because of what I’ve heard regarding mext and private universities) What do you think are the chances of this happening? Have you ever heard of someone losing the scholarship at this point because of this?
Also, I’ve heard people saying that the results for the second screening will begin to be released as of November 28. Is this true? (I ask because most/all the people I’ve heard from in the past state that they got their results in January)
Thank you.
Hi Jovan,
I have never heard of an applicant losing the scholarship because their only choices were private universities in the past. MEXT prefers national universities because it costs less to place applicants there, but a certain number get placed at privates every year.
I have heard that in some countries the embassy will contact applicants to let them know that they have passed the Secondary Screening in November, but usually, they would not have their final university placement yet by that time, so the placement information is not released until January. In other cases, the embassy will wait until January to release both the secondary screening and placement results.
You might also find out unofficially from universities themselves (especially from the professor that agreed to supervise you, if you are in close contact), though they’re not supposed to tell you.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!!!
First of all thank you very much for all you advice and tips on everything about MEXT scholarship.
So I have this problem and it’ s really scaring me. Please give any advice or what to do if you had this kind of problem:
I have passed the 1st screening and turned my Letter of Provisional acceptance to the embassy ( deadline was mid October). And today i have received a call from Embassy that I ( doctors also) missed this part where this candidates health is adequate to study in Japan. It was not checked neither Yes nor No. On the form everything was okay- healthy – except that part. Unfortunately, Embassy staff also missed to double check. And after receiving the LOA and submitting them to the Embassy, they said “ we will hope for best that MEXT will accept your application!” Which they were not sure.
Now i’m Sooo worried that MEXT might reject my application due to that mistake.
Have you heard or had that kind of problems. That after submitting to the embassy the LOAs , but one part missing they reject the scholarship ?
Please advice me what to do?
Tons of thanks,
Hi Imran,
As long as the rest of your Medical Information Form indicated no particular problems, then I do not think there should be a significant problem. Usually, if we detected something like that when I was evaluating these applications at the university level, we’d understand that it was just the doctor’s oversight and would tell the applicant to go back to have that section re-completed, then send us the replacement by email. But unless the applicant had something like a chronic disease, or possible TB in the lung x-ray, or something like that (where there might be a question of the doctor not checking “yes”, it was never a big deal.)
It’s not possible to be sure what MEXT will do, but I would be very surprised indeed if that rejected your application over something so small. I have certainly never heard of anything like that happening before.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello guys! Firstly I would like to thank the website creators for such great content. You did great work! Very useful website for MEXT applicants, thank to all creators and supporters of this website! I am 2019 MEXT applicant, and I want to ask you whether it is a problem if you receive more LOAs than three? And do the recommendations written on backside of LOA affect to your chances to win the scholarship and enter the university?
Hi Mike,
Thank you for your kind words.
It depends on how you ended up with four LoAs, since you were only supposed to contact a maximum of three universities.
Ultimately, you can only put three universities on your Placement Preference form and you will only be able to submit the three LoAs that correspond to those universities. However, this year there is also a requirement that you submit all of your LoAs. So, if you have a legitimate reason for having more than three, I would recommend that you inform the embassy and give your explanation. They may never notice if you don’t, but if they do notice later, it could be considered noy being honest in your application.
As far as I know, the recommendations on the back to not play a major factor in the application process. At this point, acceptance is essentially guaranteed and placement is generally in order of your placement preference form, factoring in MEXT’s preference for national universities.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Mike,
Just wondering if you contacted your embassy and what they told you regarding this situation?
Hi George!
Sorry for late response!
As Travis said at that time i contacted the embassy, and we had a chat long , where I had to explain in detail, why I received more LOA than 3. And finally, they approved my application, because,:
1. it was first time i was applying
2. They understand that I did it because the third university did not contacted for a long time
3. I was very kind and good person(joke)
Hi Mike,
Thank you for sharing this!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
Greetings from Nepal!
I really can’t thank you enough for the the help your articles have been throughout this application procedure. I was emailed by the university regarding lodging on December 21, 2018 and I had to wait till January 11, 2019 to get the official results of secondary screening through the Embassy of Japan here in Nepal. Also, I was asked to apply for the university ID card today (January 23rd, 2019). You have been an important part of my journey and I hope that you keep up this great work and make dreams come true. Again, thank you!
Hi Shashwot,
Thank you very much for sharing your results and congratulations on your success!
I am very happy that I was able to be of some help during your application process and wish you the best as you prepare for your studies in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis,
Just to add to the other comments: I’m from the UK, applying through the embassy in London. I received notification of passing secondary screening and my placement together on the 8th of January.
There was no separate notification of passing the screening earlier, but I was contacted by my graduate school at Todai with instructions to apply for housing just before Christmas.
Funny to think I’ve been visiting your website for almost a year at this point and the process is finally coming to a close. Thank you for all the work you put in to help others get through it all.
Hi Jack,
Congratulations! Thank you very much for sharing your results release timeline, as well as letting me know that you got the unofficial contact early.
I’m glad to have been “with” you here for such a long application, and even more so to here that yours is coming to a successful conclusion and imminent travel to Japan!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you so much for posting these articles so often and with so much detail! They were all incredibly useful as I went through the research scholarship application process, especially since the embassy tends to be vague about everything. I received email notification that I had passed the secondary screening and informing me of my university placement this past Monday, January 7th. I’m in the US and applied through the Boston consulate, though I don’t know who the recipients were from other consulates in the country or what their timelines were like.
Anyways, thank you again and I look forward to reading more of your articles in the future!
Hi Nadine,
Thank you for your kind words, and for sharing your results!
In the past, I have heard that at least the Primary Screening dates were different at different consulates across the US. I’ll have to find out from other applicants if their results were on the same timeline. But your information is very valuable – thank you!
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis and Nadine,
Sharing my results as another applicant from the US: I just received word of my official acceptance from the consulate in San Francisco yesterday, January 23. I had previously received some email inquiries from my university regarding dorms on January 8, but I did not want to get my hopes up until seeing the final results. Thank you so much for this article, Travis, as it helped make the long wait much more bearable.
Hi Ben,
Congratulations! Thank you for sharing the dates of your information and contact from the university, as well!
I wish you the best of luck in your studies here.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I have a question about the visa application process for MEXT students. I was under the impression that, like you mentioned in this article, there was a MEXT-specific visa application and that I would hear about it from the embassy. However, the other day I contacted them asking about the visa and they told me I need to get a regular student visa (which is a bit troubling because now I have to ask for a COE from the university with only about a month before I leave). I was wondering if you knew anything else about the special visa application or what it entails?
Thank you for your help!
Hi Nadine Franklin,
Regardless of whether you are an Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholar or a University Recommended MEXT Scholar, there should be a special visa application process for you. MEXT sends the list of accepted scholars to the Embassy nearest your home (as identified during the application process) and students on that list have a special process since your guarantor is essentially the Japanese government.
However, if you contact them before that list arrives, or if you talk to someone besides the person responsible for MEXT Scholars, or if you contact an Embassy/Consulate other than the one that MEXT anticipates, then the person you talk to might not be aware of what you are talking about. My best advice to you is to wait until they send you directions and to make sure that you talk to the section responsible for MEXT scholars, not the section responsible for visas.
The visa you apply for in the end is a “regular” student visa – there is no special category, it is just that you should have an accelerated application process that does not require a CoE. Sometimes, Japanese embassies can be frustratingly hard-headed about terminology. If you asked “is there a special kind of visa” they might answer “no” because the visa isn’t special, just the application process.
I hope you can get through to the right section or that they provide you with the information soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
First of all, I have read every article of your MEXT scholarship blog series. I cannot describe how much your advice helped me and I am now a recipient of embassy recommended MEXT scholarship 2019 from Nepal. The embassy officially announced that we had gotten the scholarship and our university placement on 10th of January. But all 5 of us had already received emails regarding housing, application guidelines etc from our respective universities since the third week of December. Hence it was not that big of a surprise, but still we were anxious about it till it became official.
A huge thanks to you. Please keep up your good work.
Hi Shirish,
Congratulations on winning the scholarship and thank you very much for your feedback and kind comments!
Thank you for sharing your results schedule, too!
Good luck with your studies in Japan,
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
thank you again for the website and the continuous support to MEXT Applicants. In Finland we got the results for Secondary Screening yesterday (7th of January). I heard that my (Iraq and Cuban) friends had gotten their notifications in the first week of January, so the notification came around the time I expected it would.
I got in my first choice, which means I’ll probably be in Tokyo from next April. Thank you for your support! Even though I got the scholarship already, I’d like to buy the other books in your series once they’re released just to say thank you! I’ll also consider the Patreon once my financial situation is a bit more stable.
All the best!
Hi Tuomas,
Thank you very much for sharing your results and for your kind words!
I am very happy to hear that you were able to put all of the advice into action to win the scholarship. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate hearing back from people like you who succeed in the application – that’s what gives me the motivation to keep working on this site.
I also appreciate your generosity! If that does become a possibility later, I would very much appreciate it! In the meantime, I will keep working on that next book (and the ones after that . . .)
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Greetings from Juba, South Sudan.
I have two things to share.
1. The Time lines, and
2. My Gratitude for your site, information and blog.
I will start with the Time lines.
1. Time lines.
The Scholarship was announced on the 1st of June 2018.
Deadline for submission of applications to the Embassy was 6th of July 2018. Yes, I mean 6th of July 2018. (https://www.ss.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/en_news_20180601.html)
Interviews (Written and Oral) were conducted in the first week of August…
Announcement of Primary Screening results were on the 8th of August 2018
Deadline to contact universities was the 25th of August 2018
Meanwhile the Deadline to submit the LOAs was on the 25th of September 2018.
Notification of Results of Secondary Screening: Nov 2018 – Feb 2019.
However, I received my positive notification on the 28th of December 2018.
2. My Gratitude
First and foremost, I guess for my country, the announcement was a bit late. I’ve been reading queries from other people on your blog page from different countries, we were like a month behind, from the announcement to the declaration of primary screening.
With that said, I just had only a fortnight, to contact Universities. The Japanese secretary at the Embassy was very much helpful, I must say.
But without your blog, I might not have succeeded. Your articles about finding a University and a Professor helped me so much. With your insights, I managed to get two LOA. The third University contacted me when it was already late, about the LOA (So I gave up and considered the first 2).
I just want you to know that your advice “I have never heard of any applicant that passed the Primary Screening and submitted at least one LoA that did not ultimately receive the scholarship” was all that gave me hope from August to the 28th day of December.
Thank you so much Travis for your advice and support.
I will be joining the University of Electro-Communications, in Chofu, Tokyo. The Embassy notified me that the MEXT committee will communicate the Program and Courses as well as Japanese Language Training latter. I guess what I have received is a confirmation about the Scholarship. However, I haven’t heard from the University.
Can I contact the University now and thank them (the Professor and the students support center), or wait for a mail from them?
And can I thank the other University and inform the professor that I got accepted in another University? Or I should give it some time….
Thanks so much. I will await your response..
By the way, *****HAPPY NEW YEAR 2O19, TRAVIS*****
Hi Manzu Gerald,
Congratulations on receiving the MEXT Scholarship and on your placement!
Wow! Thank you very much for your kind words and for sharing your experience in such detail.
Since you have gotten the notification from the embassy, I think it is fine now to reach out to the university where you will be placed – as well as the other two that sent you LOAs (even the late one). When you contact the University of Electro-Communications, I would recommend that you keep your message short and limit it to expressing your thanks to them for their help so far and say that you look forward to working with them as you prepare to arrive in Japan.
At this point, the embassy is still your primary point of contact for the scholarship, so there is not much information that the university can give you directly, even if you ask.
If you are in touch with the professor who issued you the LoA, you can also start working with him or her about your research ideas, if the professor is willing.
Good Luck with your pending move and studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
It’s a pleasure getting the scholarship, thanks once again to your website.
Thank you so much for your prompt reply.
I will put in practice, your wonderful advice.
I am one of those guys who’s looking forward to meeting you in Japan, one day. Once again, thank you!
Hi Manzu Gerald,
I am very glad to hear it and wish you the best of luck as you plan your trip to Japan!
I look forward to meeting you here in the future.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Greetings from Chofu City, Tokyo!
I believe you are doing well.
I just want to thank you again, for everything.
I arrived here on the 3rd of April, and am currently for an intensive Japanese Language Course.
I was wondering, whether there’s a platform for all MEXT Students, to gather and share more among themselves, perhaps after their first 6 months in Japan. If such activities exist, please do let me know, otherwise I seem to have gone out of context, from the Transenzjapan series.
Here at UEC, I am the only MEXT 2019 student though. LOL.
Once again, thank you!
Am glad that am here!
Hi KENYI, MANZU GERALD SIMON,
I have heard of some facebook groups for MEXT scholars and you may find communities on other platforms, as well, but I do not know how to access any of them directly, I’m afraid. I work mostly with applicants and don’t often hear from people much after they win the scholarship and arrive in Japan.
I hope someone else can chime in with some recommendations!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I am from Malaysia and I am still waiting for final result of MEXT Scholarship 2019 (Research Student). In 2017, Malaysian candidates got to know the final result (nomination and university placement notification) sent from embassy on 27th December 2017.
Hi Eric,
I have been hearing from other countries that their Secondary Screening results were released last week – though nobody has reported receiving the official placements, but it’s possible that Malaysia did not get the word out before the New Year’s Break. At this point, I assume the Embassy is going to be closed for a few days (probably through the 3rd, at least), so I would expect a little bit of a delay.
I hope you hear good news soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
All the 24 Malaysia candidates are still waiting for nomination result from MEXT even though first week of 2019 has passed. Some of us did make a call to embassy, unfortunately embassy could not tell when will MEXT notify them regarding the final result, and they are waiting for it.
Hi Eric,
Thank you for letting me know. I hope you hear good news soon!
It sounds like maybe someone in the group had a delay with their paperwork or had to be reassigned to a different university after the first one MEXT approached declined. That kind of situation can delay everyone’s results.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I received the confirmation email (nomination and university placement) on 8th January, and I made it! I will enrol to University of Tsukuba this April as research student. Thank you so much for helping me through this blog.
Hi Eric,
Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your results. I am always happy to hear success stories!
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Greetings from Indonesia!
Thank you so much for writing articles about MEXT Scholarship, you have helped me a lot throughout the scholarship application process. I really appreciate what you have done.
This morning (December 28, 2018), I received the secondary screening result from the embassy, all 30 candidates who passed the primary screening also passed the secondary screening. The university placement will be announced later. I will let you know when the university placement result has been announced.
Hi Alice,
Congratulations!
Thank you very much for your kind words and for sharing the timeline of your results. I wish you the best of luck in your university placement, too, and look forward to hearing back from you when you know where you will be studying!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
I just got my university placement result today (January 4, 2019). I have been placed at Kyoto University, it is my first choice.
Once again, thank you so much for your kind assistance through the MEXT Articles! 😀
Hi Alice,
Congratulations!
Thank you for sharing your results. I am very happy for you and wish you the best for your studies in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
So there is another Indonesian here other than me that also passed the secondary screening with the help of lord Travis.
Anyway, thank you so much Travis for the great effort you put here.
Hi Harry,
Thank you for your kind words. . . though perhaps too kind! I am glad I could help.
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
You’ve been a huge help in the whole process and alleviating fears about this scholarship! I applied through embassy recommendation (I’m based in the Philippines) and I just received a confirmation e-mail from the embassy that I passed the secondary screening. They will inform me of the University placement by January 2019 according to the e-mail. Thank you so much!
Hi Chris Cayco,
Congratulations!
Thank you very much for your kind words and for sharing the your results release date.
I am very happy to hear that I was able to be of some small assistance in your application process.
Good Luck with your placement and studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis,
I just read the above conversations. It helps a lot really. There is one question I wanted to ask you. About the Undergraduate form i did not see any place where you can write the University of your choice. I saw that only in the Direct placement form. Assume i filled the Direct placement form am i going to submit both the forms (Undergraduate and Direct placement forms) to the embassy?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Hi M Ahmed,
This article (and everything else on this site) is primarily about the scholarship application for research (graduate) students. I have not looked at the forms for undergraduates.
I do know that in almost all cases for the undergraduate scholarship, you do not choose your university, MEXT does. Undergraduate applicants go to Japan first for intensive language training and then MEXT determines which language to place them in.
Not everyone submits the Direct Placement Form – in fact, as I understand it, most do not. My understanding is that you would use that form if you already meet all the Japanese language requirements to enroll in a degree program in Japan without going through the language training and you are already in contact with that university, but I would recommend that you double-check the instructions on your own, since this is not my direct area of expertise.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
In 2018 for the MEXT 2019 Embassy Recommended Research Scholarship in India this has been the timeline so far:
1. Mid-May till Last week of May, 2018
Preliminary screening or Document Screening to select candidates for the written test and interviews at the Embassy of Japan, New Delhi.
2. Throughout the last week of June 2018
Written tests and interviews of candidates from different fields of study conducted at the EoJ, New Delhi.
3. Second week of July, 2018
Results of the First Screening are communicated via email by the EoJ to the successful candidates.
4. 6th September, 2018
Deadline to submit the LoAs received from universities in Japan to the EoJ, New Delhi.
_______________________________________________________________________________
From here I shall refer to my application in particular.
_______________________________________________________________________________
5. 21st December, 2018
I received the official Letter of Admission from the University of Tokyo and was asked to initiate the university accommodation procedure(s).
6. mid-January, 2019 (tentative)
Other candidates told me that they called the EoJ in New Delhi and were notified that the Second Screening results shall be declared by the embassy around mid-Jan.
Hi Afraz Khan,
Thank you very much for sharing your timeline, and congratulations on getting in to the University of Tokyo!
Good Luck with your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis for all the help I got through the articles on your website!
Dear Travis,
Exactly like what you have said, I just received an e-mail from the housing office of Kyoto University today. For the official annoucement, according to the Japan embassy here, it is about to come around mid-January next year.
I will follow your advice, and thank you again!
Hi Natthaphop,
Congratulations! Even though you haven’t gotten the official results yet, the housing office wouldn’t be contacting you if you weren’t going to be enrolling there, so you know what those results will be.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
The second screening results for MEXT embassy recommended scholarship Research Students was declared in India on 15th Jan, 2019. The EoJ, New Delhi called the candidates to confirm their postal address to send us documents regarding visa procedure.
Hi Afraz Khan,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience and dates. You are the first person to tell me that the embassy has started working on the visa process this year.
Congratulations again on earning the scholarship!
Good Luck!
– Travis in Japan
Thank you Travis!
I just wanted to clarify that the EoJ still only processes diplomatic/official visas. Those states in India that fall within the jurisdiction of the Embassy of Japan, New Delhi have to go to Visa Application Centres (VAC) managed by private organisations- VFS Global, CKGS.
The consulates however, continue to process ordinary visas but only those who live in states under the particular consulate’s jurisdiction can visit them for visa application.
All of the above information is from the website of the Embassy of Japan, New Delhi. I shall update you of the specific procedure for MEXT Research Scholarship Students as soon as I receive my packet from the embassy.
Regards,
Afraz
Hi Afraz,
Thank you again for sharing such valuable information!
The VAC system is common in some other countries, as well.
However, MEXT scholarship recipients have a special visa application process, since you are essentially being invited by the Japanese government, and I think the embassy or consulate may be more involved than usual. So I would recommend that you wait for specific instructions from them.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Afraz Khan,
Do you mind if you can share the graduate school that you’ve been contacted in Todai?
Sincerely,
Hi Feys,
Keep in mind that Afraz Khan was discussing the procedures from last year and timelines can change from year to year, so if your situation doesn’t exactly match, that is not a reason for panic yet.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Yes, I noticed that after I comment 😀
But thank you so much!
Hi Travis,
In Iran, some students from our group were contacted by their universities in the last two week, so lets say, between mid December and late December. From what has been written in the embassy website, they will announce the placement results about mid January, and the results of final screening in February. I will, tell you the exact days when I get the results :).
also thank you for sharing the article link, and most importantly, writing the article in the first place!
Hi Parsa,
Thank you for sharing the official dates and unofficial information! Please do keep me up to date.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
In Iran, we received the final results of second screening on January 6.
still, 4 of our candidates( out of 14) have not given their final results though.
Hi Parsa,
Thank you for letting me know! Did you get your university placements, too?
I hope the remaining 4 get their good news soon.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Yes, we have got our university placement as well.
We hope so too. The embassy told them as their field of study is not something related to military or something, they should not worry about it, and they will just get the results later than others.
Hi Parsa,
Thank you for the update, and congratulations! I hope you got the university you wanted.
MEXT determines the results of the Secondary Screening (which is when they would check for research related to the military, etc.) before they contact universities for placement, so if the applicants who have not yet heard their placement results yet have not yet heard that their application was rejected yet, then there should be no risk of that. It should just be a matter of university placement procedures.
I hope they hear back soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis,
This is atsede and thank you for your information because this really helped me during my application process…Now i need to ask you about the timing of knowing the results of secondary screening. I have passed the first screening and i have also get three LOAs from three different national universities. now i am worried about the results and if there is a probability to fail the process.
Hi Atsede,
The timing for the Secondary Screening and Placement results varies by country. For this year, I have heard that the results have been released in several countries already, but not everywhere. The best way to find out when the results will be available would be to contact the embassy where you applied.
If you passed the primary screening and submitted a Letter of Acceptance from at least one university in Japan, then I would say that your chances of failing the process at this point are less than .0000001%. I have never heard of an applicant making it this far but not receiving the scholarship in the end!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hey travis,
thank you so much
Hi Astede, when did you hear the results of the document screenig? Was that via email?