Poor choice of program, good choice of country Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Some classes were good, some were not so good. If you do take this program I recommend taking one or more classes at KUIS university. DON'T just do the IES provided classes. They very American style and you won't get the experience of a Japanese classroom.

On-site administration of your program

The administration at IES Tokyo is extremely bad. With them, I ran into everything from simple bad attitude to threats and bullying. - One of my friends was told she was 'juvenile', 'did not understand Japanese society', and was 'wasting her time here' when she broke a minor IES policy. Her life dream has been to learn Japanese society and come to Japan, so she was understandably very upset. - Several administrators have a very bad, 'it can't be done' attitude. Seriously, ask them a question and that's all you'll get: 'it can't be done'. No explanation, no problem solving skills, no compromises. - On the other hand, you may be threatened. I asked about dropping a class and was threatened by the director. He told me, in short, that he would kick me out of the program and have my visa revoked if I dropped the class. All I wanted to know is whether it was a possibility ... - Obviously these drawbacks made me very wary of approaching IES for help with any issue, so basically they were worse than useless in that capacity. - This is not to say everyone is all bad. There are several very helpful and likable people too, but on the whole my experience was very negative. - For this reason alone I would recommend not taking this program.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

If you must go with this program, and I don't recommend it, then DO NOT STAY IN THE DORMS. No matter what. They are ancient, stinky, the girls one has no air conditioning in most of the building, and you WILL BE TREATED LIKE YOU'RE LIVING AT YOUR PARENTS HOUSE BY THE MANAGEMENT. Seriously, they seem to think it's their job to check up on you all the time and will call IES if you don't come back early enough at night EVEN WHEN YOU TELL THEM NOT TO. - They are overpriced. For the same money you can rent a small apartment. - They are both at least 1 hour from school. - NO VISITORS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX ARE ALLOWED. None whatsoever are even allowed to come into the building, even in the common areas. If you want to hang with your girlfriend/boyfriend or just friend, forget it. This is enforced with security cameras and an ever present manager sitting in front of the door. - If you don't want to do a home stay, then I highly recommend checking out apartments independent of IES. I rented one with the help of Aonissin real estate (www.aonissin.net for English website). They speak english, instantly reply to emails, are very helpful, and will set you up in no time at all. - One last time, DON'T STAY IN THE DORMS.

Again on the dorms, the food service is very inadequate for most guys. Girls seem to be more okay with it, but for guys there is not nearly enough food served. It's also very low quality so you won't feel like eating it anyway. Worse, IES TOKYO DOES NOT ACCOMMODATE DIETARY RESTRICTIONS. The dorm food menu is set and always serves something with meat or very occasionally fish. Yes, there is a section on the IES application asking about dietary restrictions. No, they will not actually serve you according to those restrictions. One of my friends has a peanut allergy, was served peanuts, and had to go to the emergency room. Another friend is vegetarian, could not eat the dorm food at all, but received no monetary compensation or help from IES to pay for outside meals.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The program seems to nurture a disconnect between you and Japanese culture. All the students eat lunch together in the IES center, speaking English and go to IES classes in the center which are nearly all in English. On the KUIS campus it is possible to get involved, but IES doesn't really push students to do so. They do have an epal program, but very few IES events involve the epals, so it's pretty much up to you to hang out with them.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Like I said, one of my friends had to visit the emergency room for a serious peanut allergy. He ended up going there in a taxi because no one called an ambulance for some reason, even though he felt extremely bad. - It's worth noting that Japanese ambulances often to not have well trained paramedics. Usually they are staffed by retired firefighters or policemen who may have a very basic medical training, but can't really do much for you. Also, if it looks like you may die, hospitals can (and sometimes will) not allow you entrance to their facilities in order to keep their death rates down. Just something to keep in mind :) - I went to the doctor because I got the flu and rather than the modern breath detection method I'm used to in the states, they stuck a probe down my nose which was very painful. This is because new medical technology usually has difficulty gaining acceptance in Japan and doctors usually stick to older methods. - National medical insurance is mandatory, but pretty cheap.

Japan is pretty safe since everyone more or less minds their own business. However, Tokyo is a very large city and has some seedy patches just like any other. Americans will typically be fine because we're used to that sort of thing.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world. I read all about that and didn't believe it could be that bad. I was wrong. Expect to have extreme difficulty spending less than $100/week. It's very easy to spend over $200. Home stay students had a better deal since their meals were better and they did not have to pay for quite as much food. - Food, very very expensive for anything with protein. The Japanese love carbs and I found myself having to buy a lot of extra protein food.

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• Dorm
• Apartment

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• Local Students
• Americans

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• Local Students
• Americans

• nothing, seriously, I can't think of one thing IES did right.

• DORMS, get rid of them they suck
• STAFF, the center directer is flat out unsavory
• COST, IES charges too much and gives too little