"Studying abroad will put you behind on entrance exams..." That's a story from the parents' generation [Thinking about children's educational environments Part 5 - Final Episode]

Over the course of this five-part series, we have re-examined Japan's educational environment and considered the value of middle and high school students learning abroad.

This is the final episode.
The last installment discussed what happens to children in classrooms where no one knows what a deviation score is, but this time, we will face the anxiety that remains after reading this far: "But what about entrance exams?"

"I understand what you're saying. But we have entrance exams to worry about."

These are words that almost always come up at the end of a consultation.

I understand the value of studying abroad.
I can sort of imagine that my child will change.
But there are university entrance exams.

If they take a year off, won't they be left behind by their classmates?
Will they make it in time after they return?
In the first place, won't studying abroad just put them at a disadvantage?

This concern is not entirely off the mark.
In fact, there are cases where it can be a disadvantage.

However, what many parents are picturing is the entrance exam system from when they were students themselves.
Today's entrance exams are quite different from back then.

More than half of the people entering university now are no longer relying on a single test

First, let me tell you about the biggest change.

Currently, more than half of the people entering Japanese universities do not get in through a system where success or failure is determined solely by the score on the day of the test.

Methods that select students based on documents and interviews, or methods that involve recommendations from schools, have increased that much.

From the perspective of the parent generation, there might be an image that "recommendations are for kids who don't have high enough grades."
But that is not the case anymore.

What is the child interested in, what have they done so far, and what do they want to learn at university?
Ways of entering that evaluate these points head-on have become one of the mainstream approaches.

And,this method and the experience of studying abroad are very compatible. After all, there aren't many examinees who have the experience of living in a place where the language is not spoken for a year or two.

"I studied abroad and can now speak English" won't earn you a single point

However, there is something I don't want you to misunderstand.

You will not be evaluated just on the fact that you studied abroad.
What is being looked at iswhether you can talk about that experience in your own words.

Why did you choose that country?
What kind of trouble did you have locally, and how did you face it?
As a result, what did you start to think about?
How do you want to connect that to your studies at university?

If you cannot explain this, it will just end with "I went abroad."

That is why I tellchildren who are going to study abroad that they should write down the things that didn't go well.

The days when you couldn't join the circle of friends.
The days when you couldn't say what you wanted to say and felt frustrated.

Those kinds of stories are much more powerful than success stories.
Because the process of how they overcame those challenges speaks to who the child is.

If you attend and graduate from a high school abroad for two years, there is a way to get into university without competing with Japanese exam students.

There is another, less well-known way to get in.

If you stay abroad for two years or more and graduate from a local high school, you can use the “returnee student” quota at many universities.

You will only be taking the exam with others who also spent their high school years abroad.
There is no need to compete on the same playing field as high school students who have been studying for entrance exams in Japan.

Many schools use English and a short essay as exam subjects, but recently it has become more diverse, with some places only requiring document screening or an interview.
This quota exists at both national, public, and private universities.

Since your local grades are evaluated as they are, you won't have to spend a huge amount of time studying for entrance exams.

By the way, many children who study abroad during high school eventually go on to universities in Japan.
It's not the case that once you go abroad, you can't return to Japan.

To be honest, there are cases where it is clearly a disadvantage.

Of course, it's not all good news.

If you are assuming the method that is decided solely by the test score on the day, the so-called general entrance exam, studying abroad works to your disadvantage.
This is because subjects that require cumulative learning, such as math, classical Japanese, and Japanese history, will have gaps due to the time spent away.

Returning to Japan in the summer of your third year of high school and switching gears from there is quite difficult in terms of time.
That's why some children repeat a grade after returning to prepare.
Depending on the school, you may not be able to return to your original grade after a long-term study abroad.

I am telling you this as a fact, without hiding anything.

The important thing is to discuss with your family which path you are aiming for before you leave.
Leaving without deciding, and then panicking after you return.

This is the pattern that becomes the most painful.

The results will be decided in six months. The experience of deciding for yourself will be effective for a long time after that.

Let me change the perspective a little here.

Entrance exam results are determined in a few months.
Whether it's your first choice or not.
The results will be clear.

On the other hand, deciding for yourself, living in a place you don't know, and asking for help when you are in trouble.

It is difficult to know when this kind of strength will take effect.
But it will continue to have an effect 20 or 30 years from now.

In fact, there is no common standard for the word "useful."
This is because the meaning changes completely depending on what that person values and what kind of life they want to lead.

That is why I hope you will not judge based solely on whether they pass or fail in three years.
When you picture your child 20 years from now, which experience would you want them to have had?

When you think about it that way, the view you see changes.

There are anxieties that disappear when you look them up, and anxieties that do not disappear even when you look them up.

I think some of your anxieties have disappeared because of what I have written so far.
After all, the mechanisms of entrance exams and career paths after returning home become clearer once you look into them.

However, anxieties that do not disappear even when you look them up will surely remain.

Can my child really do this?
Is it okay for them to be away from their parents?
Is my judgment wrong?

This anxiety cannot be dispelled by information.

That is because it is not the child's challenge, but your own challenge as a parent.

Who is the one who ultimately accepts the results of that choice?
When you think about it that way, career paths are essentially the child's own challenge, aren't they?

What parents can do is not to decide for them, but to provide the materials for them to decide.
And to believe in what they have decided and wait.

I often say that you should turn expectations into trust, but this is truly difficult.
However, when you are separated by an ocean and can no longer reach them, you have no choice but to trust them.

That distance actually sets the parents free as well.

A child's curiosity is not something that grows because the parent provides it.

Finally, let me write about what I wanted to convey throughout this series.

Buying illustrated reference books or increasing extracurricular activities will not grow a child's curiosity.
Only when children see their parents enjoying their own lives do they first become interested in the outside world.

A child raised being told that "work is boring" and "society is harsh" is unlikely to look forward to entering society, right?

In the first episode, I wrote about the dinner table where only "nothing" comes back as a response.
In the second episode, I wrote about the circumstances of parents who want their children to quit something but cannot make them do so. In the third episode, I wrote about the reason why children stay silent when asked about their dreams.
And last time, I conveyed what happens to children when their environment changes.

What I wanted to convey throughout this series is not that "you should go study abroad."

I wanted to think together about what we can do now so that children can choose their own lives for themselves.

Studying abroad in high school is one powerful way to do that.
But it is not the only way.

That is precisely why, even if you are just at the stage of feeling vaguely lost, thinking "something feels different" or "I don't know how to think about this," please let me hear your story.
I would be happy to explore the path that suits your child together with your family.

It was my daughter Erin's high school study abroad experience (three years at a Canadian high school) that led me to think about various things as a parent and engage in repeated dialogues with my family.

And over the past eight years, while sharing information on YouTube and other platforms, I have been supporting everyone who harbors similar anxieties and questions.

I have published a book that brings all of those experiences into one form: the book "A Guide to Overseas Study for Junior and Senior High Students: Every Time You Learn, Your Self and Future Expand"!

From basic knowledge about studying abroad to English proficiency, anxieties about daily life, and questions from parents, I speak honestly without holding anything back.
Please do pick up a copy.

Also, for those who want to seriously proceed with study abroad preparations from now on, or who want to consult about specific plans or local information, we are accepting free consultations and free counseling as well.

I, Study Abroad Papa, who experienced university study abroad in the U.S. and supported my daughter's high school study abroad as a parent, and Erin, who studied abroad at a Canadian high school from age 15 with zero English proficiency, will think about your anxieties and questions together with you.

We will never force anything on you or insist that "studying abroad is the only way."
Please feel free to send us a message.

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