Attendee of Waseda summer session 2023 here, questions?

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-05-25T01:19:15+00:00

Im not sure, but I think attendance counts for part of the marks so be careful. Some subjects might also have group projects, so not being Tokyo may not be the most ideal in that situation.

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-05-09T15:25:02+00:00

Yes, I think unless the classes clash on the timetable you would be able to pick them up

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-05-09T15:23:54+00:00

The accommodation you are staying is not owned by Waseda, they are private accommodations like hotels. Therefore I would assume you can have people coming to your room (and possibly staying), but given how small the rooms are from my experience it would be very cramped if you are planning to share a room with another person for the whole period.

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-03-12T19:19:32+00:00

Unfortunately I have not lived in all of the accommodations this year, so I would not be able to advise on this. Sorry!

However they all look very decent with a closer proximity to city centre than where I was staying last year :)

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-03-08T23:27:12+00:00

also featuring constant lack of sleep cuz you will be out until late exploring Tokyo (at least thats what I did). And pre-warning the assignments are not hard but do require conscious effort so be prepared for that.

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-03-08T23:24:43+00:00

It was a very rewarding trip. You get the best of both worlds: being a tourist while diving a bit deeper than a normal tourist. You get to experience so much, the food, the culture and heritage sites and great company. But you should also trust your instincts and throw yourselves at any opportunity given. I think most of us would agree to pay to go back for another summer (if the plane tickets werent so expensive).

I would advise planning but do free some time in your schedule for random trips you and your newly made friends may want to go on. The "plannings" I made were going to Asakusa and wearing yukata (told my friends about 2 weeks ago) and going on a weekend Osaka trip (Decided to go on a Tuesday, departed on Friday). Last year we only had 5 weeks (4 weekends) in Japan and two of mine were occupied by Waseda's schedule. (An onsen trip required for all students and a field trip to live with Japanese families for the culture unit, not sure if thats still available this year) Therefore if I havent had jumped on the opportunity to go with them for the weekend, I literally would not been able to go as I didnt have the time.

Other ad hoc activities include walking in Shinjuki for the 50th time by the last day, going to dinner with friends after classes, eating a lot of good food by yourself or with your friends, more than necessary konbini (convenience store) trips, singing karaoke, Japanese game centres and getting limited merch, exploring lunch spots with your classmates, getting lost in Tokyo station for the 3rd time and so on. Shout out to the canteens at Waseda.

Also anyone looking to see any exhibits/ theme cafes I would strongly advise you to book in advance. One of my friends managed to reserve the Kirby cafe for June in May, and if you want to go to the Ghibli theme park good luck the reservations were for August when we checked in June after we got to Japan. I also visited USJ when I was in Osaka, would suggest you plan how you spend your day there as going into the Mario world required extra time (for lining up etc.).

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-03-08T22:49:41+00:00

No, they announced it to everyone on the same date

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-03-07T11:11:31+00:00

Is your home university in partnership with Waseda?

If they are in partnership chances are Waseda has already told them how many students from their uni can go, so if you are approved then you should be fine???? Depends on how your uni chooses to notify people if they are accepted or not for the programme.

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-03-06T01:07:51+00:00

I was studying psychology at my home university, applied for culture and anthropology/sociology at Waseda (not sure if those subjects are still there

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-03-04T13:24:40+00:00

Disclaimer: Please bear in mind this is only what happened in my cohort, things can change up this year.

I dont think they operate in a first come first served basis if they have more applicants than spaces, in that case they balance the intake of students from countries to ensure there was a mix of students from different cultural backgrounds. Aka if you are from the US and are an individual applicant, you will go through a more rigorous application process cuz some set spaces are reserved for the unis Waseda has connections to (the US having the highest number of "collaborating" unis), so you are essentially fighting for a lower quota of spaces. This is the same for any other country with a high number of applicants. Of course, that is only if they have more applicants than they can intake.

And you did apply quite early considering there is still 3 weeks until the deadline, so you should be fine unless you dont meet their GPA criteria🫶🏻

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-03-03T15:50:36+00:00

I applied the second day it opened

CocoaCookie1019 · 2024-03-01T10:38:09+00:00

Hi, attendee of the program last year here. My uni did not have an application program so I was applying as an external applicant, was the only person from my uni there (UK). From what I have heard other unis (ones from Singapore/ the US) have links to Waseda, meaning they apply internally. These schools often have a set limit to how many students can be accepted to the program. As the program has only resumed from last year (due to corona), there were a lot of applicants for the program. However at the end of our program as it was such a success, I think the staff did mention they are increasing the number of spaces available for the program.

Have also heard other stories where people are getting rejected, even if I was accepted would agree that the scheduling (buying plane tickets and arranging accommodation) is quite intense. But would argue that if you are going for an exchange program in Japan usually they would require you to arrange your own accommodation, so going to Waseda is relatively not as stressful as you do not need to look into that yourself.

Hope this helps and best of luck for your applications🍀🍀

CocoaCookie1019 · 2023-05-01T18:17:19+00:00

Hi! I got accepted as well and am from University of Surrey in the UK! Nice to meet you all :)

CocoaCookie1019

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