Keio University: Hit and Miss Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The grading on the placement examination for language is very steep, and I ended up placing into a language class that was around 85-90% review for me, motivating me to transfer out of the language program into the international program after one semester. The professors were very resistant to letting students transfer between levels, regardless of whether the information in their designated level was already known. Also, with the exception of the JLP (Japanese Language Program) core class, each course only meets one time per week, severely limiting the amount of detail any subject could be studied with. Also, many of my friends in levels higher than mine told me that after level 3, all of the upper levels curricula are basically massive amounts of text memorization and little else. In all, I would say that if you want to study Japanese intensively during a study abroad, Keio is not the place to do it. On a positive note, the classes taught in English with specific cultural focuses (Geisha, Cinema, Music, Literature, etc.) were excellent. The professors were much more accessible and understanding than most of their language program counterparts. There were many courses with subject matter that I would not have been able to study at my home university, so they were very helpful and useful for my degree and interests. After my first semester, I transferred from the language program (JLP) into the international program (KIP) and had a much better time in my courses. Also, I was able to continue my Japanese study, but the course that I took while in KIP (Intermediate Newspaper Reading) was more effective and helped me much more in developing my skills than the entire previous semester's language classes did.

On-site administration of your program

The bureaucracy at Keio is legendary for both it's complicatedness and (occasional) slowness. This can even apply to scholarship payouts, which can (and did) cause big problems for my time abroad with regards to paying rent on time. What I would say is to make sure that you have all your bases covered WELL IN ADVANCE, and keep a good-sized amount of cash in savings at all times (probably 1-2 months' rent).

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I did not live in the Keio international student housing, but instead decided to live in a guest house in Tokyo. The first one, run by an organization called Sakura House was a very charming little place near Ikebukuro. There were six rooms for rent and a few common areas (kitchen mainly). I made great friends there and liked living in a traditional Japanese house. All of the tenants of Sakura House are expatriates living in Japan, and most of them spoke some degree of English. We all got along great and really enjoyed our time together - two of my housemates there are still some of my best friends. In the Spring, I moved to a house a bit closer to campus. This one was run by an organization called Oakhouse. I was in the Ryogoku area, right down the street from the national sumo stadium. This place was a bit bigger and allowed both expats and natives to live in the same place. It was a diverse and lively house, and I enjoyed living there for the most part as well. After speaking with many fellow students who had stayed in the Keio dorms, quite a few of them said that they wished they had done what I did.

Aside from the notoriously high prices for food in Tokyo, I was able to eat well and stay satisfied with relatively little trouble. I frequented several grocery stores and found lots of great food - all of which was fresh and very tasty. There are also great little markets and greengrocers that sometimes have the freshest (and cheaper) food. There's also plenty of great snacks and instant meals for those with little cooking ability.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Having a part-time job was easily the best way I was able to connect with the local community and work on my language skills. Many of my best memories were from my job and time living in the two guest houses.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Tokyo is an incredibly safe city - there was never a time when I felt unsafe either in my own home or out in the city - regardless of time of day or night. I didn't experience any health problems during my time in the program, so I can't comment on how they were handled. However, I can say that all exchange students were able to buy into Japan's national health plan, and hospital visits/treatments were much less expensive than their American equals.

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

I got much more out of a single class in the international program (KIP) then I did out of seven in the language program (JLP). As I said before, if you want to study Japanese language intensely, this is not the place to do it.

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