Study Abroad half a year- 1 year costs?

[AceofspadeZ]

So I would really enjoy to Study Abroad in Japan for a year in college but from what I have heard it gets expensive and you have to put it all on a visa. I can't even work for money in Japan unless its under the counter and I hear getting any type of work there is just a pain. What to do? Will this be my life savings and debt for long time? I already have college to think about too.

Ps. I was going to ask in the thread someone posted about them currently studying in Japan but I can't find it...=/

[annie]

Are you already in University? If so your college should have a study abroad office and you should consult with them. I did an official exchange program with my University and paid no more to study abroad for a year than a year's tuition at my college in the States.

It's difficult (but not impossible) to get admitted to a Japanese University on your own, so if that's your goal look at the exchange programs- either through your current school or public universities in your home state. If you're not an American, I have no idea how things are different elsewhere.

You can legally work with a student visa. Check out gaijinpot.com for an idea of part-time English teaching opportunities, but you'll find better stuff once you're here.

And you'll get better money finding private students on your own. If you're in a city of any decent size you'll have no problem finding a few hours a week of work. Seriously, I live in the middle of nowhere and get emails from strangers asking for English lessons. When I lived in Tokyo there was far more work than I'd ever want to do. And I was earning 3500-5000 yen an hour, as a 19 year old.

If you want to find work using your Japanese, then yeah it's a lot more difficult and the wages are a lot lower.

I never charged anything in Japan, blew at least $1000/month on lunches, clubs, and other frivilous things and while I don't think I got back to the States with a lot of cash, I wasn't in debt either.

[AceofspadeZ]

Are you already in University?

No I am in the middle of my junior year in high school.

You can legally work with a student visa. Check out gaijinpot.com for an idea of part-time English teaching opportunities, but you'll find better stuff once you're here.

Now that, I didn't know, I thought it was a visitors visa or something like that but that makes a lot more sense. I was intimidated by that thread on how much it was to stay in Japan for 2 weeks but if I can work part time, that would be great.

I will probably just do an exchange program, I am not fluent at all in Japanese. Also, how did you like your stay and what is better those college dorms or the foster family? I am leaning towards dorm now that I know I can afford the meals . Anything else I should know before I commit to finding a college with a good study abroad program?

[Outkast]

Certain schools have exchange programs set up with certain Japanese schools. For instance, I'm at the University of North Carolina- Charlotte, and we have an exchange with Obirin University and Gakushin University in Tokyo, and Oita University in Oita. What this means is that like the person above said earlier, I only have to pay my normal school tuition to go.

The flip-side of this is that it might cost a lot more to go to a school that does not have an agreement with your future home college. If you are serious about study abroad, you should definitely ask all the colleges you're considering if they have study abroad programs in Japan, and where those programs are at (if you have a particular area of Japan you want to go to.)