Hello everyone, I’m LIN YANDI. I graduated from UIEC in October 2020. Fortunately, I passed the University of Tokyo and Tokyo Institute of Technology, and I am currently in the first year of the master’s program at the Graduate School of Engineering of the University of Tokyo.
UIEC is a Japanese language school located in Urawa Ward, Saitama City, it takes 12 min on foot from Urawa Station. The rents around this area are relatively cheap, and school offers dormitories with different prices of JPY 27,000, JPY 35,000 and JPY 57,000, and you can live in a single room for JPY 35,000. There is also a direct train from Urawa Station to Ikebukuro and Shinjuku, so you can enjoy eating, drinking and entertainment while living with a low rent.
Not only that, the school also introduces part-time jobs. Even students who have just arrived in Japan and are not familiar with the environment do not have to worry about finding a part-time job. They recommended me to Yakiniku restaurant (Korean barbeque) and I got a part-time job. The manager of the yakiniku restaurant was very kind and helped me practice conversation. Most importantly, included meals! Isn’t this really great??
The teachers are great, and the life guidance teachers are like life troubleshooting specialists. You can talk to them from astronomy and geography to governing and stabilizing the country. For a quiet student, the life guidance teachers are very kind. However, they don’t hide the rigor to mischievous students.
But behind the rigors, there is their love for us. Everyone away from home, you need to follow the teachers.
The last is about the going on to higher education institutions. Regarding the environment, Saitama City Central Library is located near Urawa Station and offers a large and bright room for study. It’s a paradise for those who want to study alone. Half the time of last year, I was preparing for the entrance exam at this room. I passed the exam of University of Tokyo, I think that the person I should be most grateful is the principal. During the exam preparation period, the principal revised my research plan many times and helped me practice the interview many times. When my attitude became vague, I was guided to make the most correct choice. All of these become an essential thing to pass the University of Tokyo.
Whether it’s a Japanese interview or an English interview, the principal helped me with the interview practice three times a week, and he sincerely hoped that I would go on to a good university.
Apart from the guidance for going on to higher education, it is most important that there is a person who can be trusted and consulted when we are getting lost while preparing for going on to higher education.
In the end, going on to school is your own thing, and if you wouldn’t make an effort by yourself, it’s like water without its source, or a rootless tree, and going on to higher education becomes a daydream.
Therefore, everyone should also remember that the only way to succeed in going on to higher education is by own efforts.
Thank you so much.
September 2020, Lin Yandi
Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo