My name is Seokjun Na. I’m a Korean student, currently studying at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. In the photo above, I’m taking a commemorative photo at the award ceremony with my fellow Saionji Scholarship recipients. I’m in the second row on the far right.

Private universities, such as Ritsumeikan University and Doshisha University, tend to have very expensive tuition fees of over 1 million yen. However, they also have various scholarship systems that make up for it. Also, the scholarships available for international students aren’t too difficult to obtain, so approach them with confidence.

As for my scholarship performance (based on Ritsumeikan University’s standards), my average GPA is around 4.5 (with a maximum of 5 points).

1^st year: 20% tuition reduction (approx. 200,000 yen) + EJU exam Jasso Scholarship approx. 50,000 per month for 1 year (approx. 600,000 yen)

2^nd year: 100% tuition reduction (approx. 1,100,000 yen) + Saionji Scholarship (150,000 yen lump sum)

3^rd year: 100% tuition reduction (approx. 1,100,000 yen) + Saionji Scholarship (150,000 yen lump sum)

If you add up all of these scholarships, you’ll find that you’re only paying a small tuition fee while attending college.

I received most of my scholarships based on my academic performance. Since my EJU scores weren’t particularly high, as a first-year student, I only received the 20% tuition reduction, which most students get, along with the JASSO scholarship.

But don’t worry, I didn’t just stay in the library and study all the time. I also engaged in various activities such as Kyo-cultural experiences, Japan-Korea exchange activities, volunteer circle activities, trips, and I made many friends. I usually aimed to do my studying on the spot as much as possible and I prepared for my exams two weeks before the exam period.

Scholarships can be obtained from each university’s international center office or department office. In my case, I visited them about once a month to check scholarship information and application periods. You should pay special attention to scholarships, as the application deadlines can be as short as one week.

In addition to the school’s office, I saved a website on my computer’s desktop that shares information on scholarships for international students, and I checked it frequently.

Also, as I’ll discuss later, the scholarship information available from the community is tremendous. In particular, if you belong to an international student community, they’ll send out information several times on LINE and other social networking services, so it’s easy to find. In the end, the key is to consciously seek out the information yourself.