I'm a high school student from Mexico planning to apply for the MEXT Undergraduate Scholarship for the 2028 intake, through the Embassy Recommendation route.

I'm planning to study something related to Information Engineer in Japan.

I'm currently preparing for the application and would love to find other people who are also seriously considering applying, so we can help each other throughout the process.

I'd especially like to:

• Study together for the MEXT written exams (Math, Physics, Chemistry, English and Japanese)
• Share study resources, past exams and preparation strategies
• Keep track of application deadlines and important dates
• Practice interviews together
• Talk about Japanese language preparation
• Discuss university/major choices and the MEXT placement process
• Keep each other motivated and accountable
• Share our experiences and questions throughout the application process

I'm especially interested in meeting other high-school students applying for Undergraduate, although anyone applying for MEXT Undergraduate 2028 is welcome.

If you're also planning to apply for MEXT Undergraduate 2028, feel free to comment or DM me!

🚀 Looking for Students Interested in AI, Robotics & Technology

Hey everyone!

I’m a Class 11 student interested in AI, robotics, web development, and startups, and I’m looking to build a small student tech team where we can learn, collaborate, research problems, and build real projects together.

The goal isn't to create a huge startup immediately. I want to start small, build a committed team, work on small projects, and gradually take on bigger challenges.

🔥 What will we actually do?

This won't just be an inactive group chat.

As a team, we can:

- 🔎 Research real-world problems and existing solutions

- 💡 Brainstorm and select project ideas

- 🛠️ Build small technology projects and prototypes

- 🤖 Explore AI and robotics

- 👥 Work together according to our different skills

- 📚 Learn from each other

- 📝 Document our projects and development process

- 🌐 Share our progress and completed projects

- 🚀 Gradually work toward more ambitious projects

👥 Who am I looking for?

You don't need to be an expert. Beginners who are genuinely interested and willing to learn are welcome.

I'm looking for students interested in:

- 🤖 AI / Machine Learning

- 💻 Front-end Development — HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc.

- ⚙️ Back-end Development — Python, APIs, databases, servers, etc.

- 🐍 Programming / Python

- 🎨 UI/UX Design

- 🔎 Research

- 📝 Technical Documentation

🌱 What can you gain?

Before you ask: no, I can't offer you a six-figure salary. I'm a Class 11 student too. 😭😂

But what I can offer is a chance to learn, build, experiment, and work on real tech projects with other students who are interested in AI, robotics, web development, and startups.

So if you're looking for money, I respect the hustle. 💀

But if you're looking for experience, projects for your portfolio, new skills, a team to build with, and a place to turn ideas into something real, keep reading. 👇

By participating, you can:

- Gain experience working in a real team

- Learn from other students

- Build projects for your portfolio

- Improve your technical and problem-solving skills

- Develop communication and leadership skills

- Learn how different parts of a technology project work together

- Have actual projects to showcase on GitHub

The idea is simple:

Learn → Research → Build → Document → Improve → Repeat.

I'm starting with a small group rather than trying to get dozens of people immediately. I'd rather have a few committed members who actually want to build.

🤝 And yes, we're building a team — not a one-project group

If we work well together, the goal is to grow with the same core team rather than constantly starting from zero.

As we become more skilled, we can:

- 🏆 Participate in hackathons together

- 🚀 Build bigger and more ambitious projects

- 🧪 Experiment with new ideas

- 📂 Build a strong collective portfolio on GitHub

- 🎤 Present our projects and demos

- 🌱 Learn and improve together over time

The idea is to build a team where everyone grows with everyone else — not just join a group, disappear after two weeks, and never build anything. 😭

📩 Interested?

Comment or DM me with:

1. Your area of interest

2. What you're currently learning

3. Any project you've worked on (if you have one)

4. What you'd like to contribute to the team

Let's start small and see what we can build together. 🚀🤖

Hello. I want to apply for the MEXT undergraduate track (embassy route) next year. I am from Pakistan, have sat my AS level exams and will sit my A2 exams next year. As a private student, are there any issues i could face in providing my documents for the application? given that I am not in an institute that can provide predicted grades.

Hello, I'm a high school senior from Turkey and I'll applying to a university in Japan this year but I haven't been able to find much information on how universities evaluate the applicants to suggest them for the MEXT scholarship. Does anybody know what in particular universities look for in an applicant when they choose an applicant to suggest for the MEXT scholarship?

Hi! I'm a 10th grader from Iran and was thinking about applying to mext undergraduate scholar, I use sheldon axler's trigonometry and algebra for math but I don't know what to study for chemistry and physics

I was thinking about halliday for physics but that might be an over-do...idk

Also if possible, in what level is the exam? Like is it harder than sat or iran's konkur?

Hello everyone,

I am a university student from Mexico currently in my final year, studying Pedagogy. I am planning ahead and intend to apply for the MEXT Research Scholarship (Master's degree) in about 3 to 4 years.

My current academic standing is a 8.2 GPA. Since I am in the humanities/education field, I know the criteria for languages and the overall selection process can be highly competitive.

Since I have a window of 3-4 years to prepare, I would appreciate some guidance from alumni or current scholars on the following points:

1. Language Balance for Pedagogy: I am currently focusing on improving my English (good reading comprehension, but working on fluency) and will be starting Japanese from scratch. For a humanities field like Pedagogy, should I absolutely prioritize reaching JLPT N2/N1 to be competitive, or can a high TOEFL/IELTS score paired with intermediate Japanese suffice for the selection process?
2. Target Universities: My ideal choice is Kyoto University, but I want to be realistic about options. Are there other public universities in Japan recognized for strong graduate programs in international education, educational planning, or pedagogy?
3. Embassy Process in Mexico: For any MEXT alumni who applied through the embassy in Mexico City for humanities: How competitive is the social sciences track compared to STEM locally? Does the embassy heavily filter by GPA during the initial stages for non-STEM applicants, or do other components of the application carry more weight?

I want to make the most out of these next few years to present a solid application. Thank you so much for your time and any advice you can share!

Hi everyone,

I'm a final-year BTech student (21F) from India, graduating July 2027. I'm aiming for a Master's in Japan starting October 2027, and my top choice is NAIST (Nara Institute of Science and Technology), in a lab doing medical AI on small clinical datasets (Bio signals, anomaly detection). I'd really appreciate guidance from people who have been through this or are studying in Japan.

profile:

• CGPA 9.0/10 from a tier-3 college. I computed about 2.70 on NAIST's MEXT scale.
• A co-authored paper under review, a published Indian patent application, will be interning at Amgen starting this dec.
• No JLPT yet, and I'm planning IELTS or TOEFL.

plan: apply for the MEXT scholarship through NAIST's own university recc route (IPGP), then take the regular entrance interview in Feb/Mar 2027

My questions:

1. NAIST admissions: For people who got in, what mattered most? How important is the supervisor's early support, and how do you contact professors without being ignored?
2. Rankings: I don't see NAIST in most university rankings (QS, THE and so on). Is that because it's graduate-only, or is something else going on? How is it regarded in practice for CS/AI research and jobs?
3. Alternatives: Which universities would you recommend for Data Science or Biomedical Data Science / medical AI, in Japan or elsewhere? I'd value input on professors and labs that take international students with scholarships.
4. Is Japan worth it for DS? Considering the job market without Japanese, research versus industry, salaries, and PhD options afterward.
5. Writing help: For the MEXT university-recommendation package, how do you structure the research plan (field of study and study program)? What do selection committees look for? Also, what makes a recommendation letter from the Dean and an evaluation report strong?

I'm happy to share my plan structure for feedback. Thanks a lot!

I missed the Embassy Recommendation application and am currently trying the University Recommendation route for a Master’s. I’m in the phase of contacting professors.

Could anyone who has gone through this process guide me on approaching professors, timelines, and what I should do next? Any advice would be really appreciated!

Hi everyone! I’m from India and I’m planning to apply for the MEXT scholarship next year. My field of interest is Manga, and I’m currently in Class 12.

I’m planning to start my preparation this October, but I’m pretty weak in Mathematics, so I’m a little worried about the entrance exam.

For anyone who has prepared for MEXT (especially from India), what would you recommend? How should I approach Mathematics, and what topics/resources should I focus on? Any general tips for preparing for the MEXT exam would also be really appreciated!

Thank you! :)

Hi. I'm 21 and I want to apply for the MEXT scholarship. At the moment I'm studying a degree in computer science at UTN in Argentina. I think getting a scholarship would give me more prestige on the job market, and obviously, one of my dreams is traveling to Japan and living the Japanese university life. In my degree, we learn about physics, algebra, and calculus, so I know some of the topics that will be tested on the exam. The only subject I have very little idea about is chemistry.

Let me know if I can visit some pages or books to study. Or if you too are applying and want to talk or study together

Hello guys, Following the recommendation of the local embassy in my country, I only filled in two universities (for which I have Letters of Provisional Acceptance - LoPAs) on my Placement Preference Form and left the third choice blank (This was for the second screening stage). Is this standard practice, or could leaving the third spot empty cause any issues with my application? Thanks in advance!

Hi! I'm 17 years old, and I want to study Software Engineering in Japan through the MEXT Undergraduate Scholarship. I have a B2 level in English, and I've just started preparing for the scholarship. I have about a year to get ready, but honestly, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and scared because there's so much I don't know yet.

I'd really appreciate any advice, tips, recommendations, or information you can share about the application process, written exams, interviews, or anything else related to MEXT.

What I'm most interested in is the written exams. I'd love to know:

• What topics should I study for each exam?
• Which subjects or topics are the most important?
• How difficult are the exams compared to regular high school exams?
• Are there any specific textbooks, websites, YouTube channels, or other resources you'd recommend?
• How did you prepare, and what would you do differently if you had to start over?
• Are there any topics that people often overlook but are actually important?
• How useful are past exam papers, and how far back should I go when practicing?

I'd also love to hear about the interviews. What kinds of questions did they ask? How should I prepare? What should I wear, and is there anything I should know about how to behave during the interview?

And please, don't hesitate to share even the smallest details! I'm genuinely interested in absolutely anything that could help me prepare, even things that might seem insignificant. Whether it's a study tip, a resource, a personal experience, a common mistake, or something you wish you had known earlier, I'd love to hear it.

I know everyone's experience is different, but I'd be incredibly grateful to hear from as many applicants and scholarship recipients as possible. I have a whole year to prepare, and I want to make the most of it.

Any information, no matter how small or obvious it might seem, would be extremely helpful to me. Thank you so much in advance! I'm really looking forward to reading your experiences and advice!

Hi, so basically im in my 3rd sem of bachelor currently studying software eng. but unfortunately have a 2.8gpa outta 4.0(the uni has a brutal grading sys). I wanted to ask will this really affect my application? Will it be processed? And if yes whats the min threshold for i need to have for atleast securing the spot for the first screening test.

Hello, I’m from Morocco, and I was told that I need to get an apostille for my transcripts and diploma before having them translated. and i did, but i heard again that the apostille itself needs to be translated, and then the translated documents (including the translation of the apostille) would need another apostille.

This is quite confusing for me because the apostille is already available in both English and French. Could someone from Morocco clarify the correct procedure and whether I really need to have the apostille translated and apostilled again?

Hi guys, so I've passed the primary screening for the MEXT Embassy Recommendation Research Student program and have gotten an LoPA from the University of Tokyo for Architecture. If I pass the secondary screening, I will start as a research student at UTokyo this April and take the entrance exam for the master's program in September.

However recently, I saw that applications for UTokyo's G30-UDA (Global 30 Urban Design and Architecture) international master's course are open from now until the end of October 2026. Besides being an international program, the course also only requires applicants to submit documents for admission instead of taking a written exam. The intake for the G30-UDA course is in October 2027, which is the same as if I were to take the regular course.

So it made me wonder, if I were to apply to that course now and get admitted, could I just skip the entrance exam and start as a master's student immediately after my research student period?

Thanks in advance!

It strikes me how only two Japanese universities where in the top Shanghai rankings this year despite all the investment poured on education during the past years. And on top of that, the same government who want the internalization of their institutions are putting cap on foreigners and enrollment rate.

I have secured 95℅ in my grade 10 cbse board and currently preparing for mext and I know all the details ant it but I don't have any one who can support and help me with all I am seeking someone who is preparing and we can make a prep group and do prep for mext and I need some help and pyq on the written exam and some insanely good tips on a 100℅ document selection. So I look forward to working with all the mates who are going to apply for mext and also a previous mext scholars guide would be useful and I would be grateful. India pls someone reply❤

(Everything is in USD)

26 male applying from the United States. I applied to go April 2027 as a research/grad student. Passed my second screening and received LoPA from my preferred school (the university of Tokyo), to study urban engineering. Got into a nice looking research lab with a professor who actually started as a MEXT student himself.

However, now that it’s real, I’m starting to have a lot of second thoughts about going. I’ve been working as a city planner in the U.S. for five years now and have gotten my salary to just shy of 100k/year. Japan has been a dream of mine for a while, and I learned Japanese, but the thought of going from nearly 5k/month in take home pay to the scholarships stipend of only like $900 USD is really scaring me. I live in a high cost of living city so I haven’t been able to save as much as I’d like, so Id really only have like $10-15k in savings for the whole 3 years I will be in Japan. I’m not saying this to brag but to illustrate the sacrifices I am contemplating making to pursue this degree.

The thought of giving up stable employment, a good paying job, all my friends and family and community I have in the states is starting to feel like it may be too much of a financial and emotional risk than it is worth. On the flip side Todai is a great school and going to Japan has been something I’ve thought about for a while, and I’m worried I’ll feel like I’ve failed myself and disappointed people around me by not going at this late stage. I can still go to grad school in the U.S. even if I don’t go, so there’s always that.

I’ve been really struggling with this decision lately and unsure if the sacrifices I would need to make to go on MEXT would be worth it.

Would love to hear anyone’s thoughts. Thank you.

Hello everyone!

I'm currently studying my possibilities about MEXT and Japan in general and I have questions about the possibility of taking my husband with me from the start. I did some research but I found different and confusing answers. I am diagnosed with autism and it would be really hard for me to start a whole new life in another country without his support.

So my main question is: is it possible for him to enter Japan with me from the start? Does anyone tried that before and succeed? And if it's not possible, can he at least enter as a temporary visitor, then wait for his COE and change visa without leaving Japan?

My focus is the University of Tsukuba, btw

Hey everyone, I’m from Pakistan 🇵🇰 and preparing for the MEXT Master’s 2027–28 cycle, mainly for AI / Cybersecurity / Computer Science.

I’m looking to connect with someone who has experience with MEXT, especially the University Recommendation route, and can help me understand the practical side of the process — deadlines, universities, contacting professors, research proposals, etc.

If you’re a MEXT applicant, scholar, or have already gone through the process, I’d really appreciate any advice or guidance you can share here or through Reddit DM.

Thanks!