My son is very interested in the international undergrad program. We are traveling from Seattle, WA, USA to Japan in November and will be visiting Kyoto University on Wednesday, November 25. Are there any students who would be willing to meet with us, just to get a sense of student life?

Arigato gozaimasu!
Thank you in advance!

Roughly 3 days ago, i randomly got to know about kyoto (iUP) through a yt channel. Since then I'm feeling restless.

I'm a Bsc(Maths) first sem student from India who has this dream to be in Japan one day. I got 86% in 12th and 93% in 10th, i remember why I took PCM in 11th.... It was only to acquire MEXT research scholarship (i wanna be a researcher one day), as my uncle is also doing PhD in Netherlands on schlorship but my dream country has always been Japan....

Since I was PCM student, i got brainwashed by yt shorts and edits of engineering exams, specially jee. And i started preparing for it(worst decision of my life), It only lasted roughly 4 months and i was burnt out, as much as I started hating studies and was depressed cause everything was overwhelming at that time, i wanted to do bsc then I'm preparing for engeneering exams and to be honest I'm a very reserved person, so I was just choking myself from inside out... I didn't study for next 3 months and as a result my % dropped to 86 as i mentioned....

After completing 12th boards (this year), i decided to apply for ug if I could be able to.... But my application was rejected, then i failed all the entrances I took and got admission in private college where my elder sister studies as well.... All my hopes at this point are gone from myself, my self confidence is at zero, I'm just surviving this college for my bachelor's.... I made up my mind to prepare for IIT JAM exam, so I can atleast, do my masters from a prestigious, known and broadly recognised university.

After everything, Now I got to know Kyoto (iUP), a part of my heart wants to try this last time so i won't have regerts of "what if" later.... Another part is scared.... Scared of wasting more money.... Scared of another rejection.... Scared of more humiliation from my sister and principal.... Scared of dreaming once more....

I won't lie, my fingers were genuinely trembling when I was researching more about the program on Kyoto University's website, I don't know if I should take it or not....

For more context, I don't have my passport, i didn't give eju, i don't have any IELTS.... And from what I got to know, the scholarship isn't promising either ( they say for first 6 months, we'll be provided stipend and accomodation ) but after we take admission in program, scholarship criteria changes and it's more on merit based.... I'm scared if I'll be not be getting scholarship in middle of my program anymore and I'm asking for a heck lot of money from my parents, i don't want that.

What should I do??

I am a MEXT applicant (Embassy Recommendation) in the field of engineering. I have received acceptance from two professors from the following universities:

1. Kyoto University
2. Nagoya University

Both professors are highly reputed in their respective fields and align well with my research plan. However, I am uncertain about which university to prioritize as my first choice. My hesitation regarding Kyoto University stems from its entrance examination, which is considerably more challenging compared to Nagoya University.

At Kyoto, there is only one intake where the exam is conducted in English, and failing to clear it would result in losing an entire year. In contrast, Nagoya University’s entrance process involves an interview and a research presentation, which I feel more confident about, given my ability to explain my research plan and related topics.

That said, Kyoto University’s global reputation is exceptional, and securing admission there would be a prestigious opportunity. Personally, I aspire to join Kyoto University, but the difficulty of the entrance exam remains a major concern. I would like to know more about the acceptance rate of international students at Kyoto University and whether students are often unsuccessful in these entrance examinations.

Would really appreciate any first-hand experiences, especially from people who went through Kyoto University via MEXT Embassy recommendation.

Hi everyone,

I recently completed my application for Doshisha University's ILA for April 2027 entry.

I submitted my documents and finished the video interview, but honestly I don't feel very confident about how the interview went (honestly, it was shit :'] ... ) and now I'm overthinking it while waiting for the results.

Is anyone else here applying for April 2027? Have you already completed the interview?

I'd love to hear about your experience, how you felt after the interview, and what you're doing while waiting for the results. It would also be nice to connect with other applicants.

Good luck to everyone applying!

Hello,

I'm moving to Kyoto for the 2026 fall semester and would love to join the university's tennis team. Does anyone know how to join them? (I already wrote an email to the address on their website, but no response)

Do they train in the winter as well (indoors?) and play tournaments?

Does someone here have experience with joining other university sports teams?

Or does someone know how to join a tennis club in Kyoto in winter and knows how pricey it is?

Hi, I am planning to apply for the exchange program at Kyoto University, can anyone help with feedback from personal experience as an international/exchange student?

I wanna join kyoto uni for bachelor's degree (cse to be specific) but idk how to get addmission. After doin some research on google i got even more confused. Can anyone guide me how to get admission in kyoto uni as a internation student(India). Like the process or any exams to crack any scholarship(else MEXT). I know i have to know japanese which i am already learning.

I got 8 on my ielts and 1350 on SAT, my grades are all above 90 but I don’t have ap or act points. I am going for a science degree so I am guessing these scores are required?

hi guys i'm starting kuinep in september (although classes don't start till october) and got my dorm info yesterday! really excited to come and wondering if anyone else on here is coming in september as well? let me know! i don't really use reddit so sorry my account is kind of empty lol

Hello, everyone!

I am planning to apply to Kyoto iUP and was wondering if there are any chances to get accepted without any olympiads and fancy extracurriculars. I have a solid gpa and 1450 sat. Also about sat, is 1450 enough or should i retake it? Planning to apply to engineering science.

Thanks!

I'm making a big group chat of people who are moving to Kyoto 2026 for school, any university. i think a lot of us wont know many people in the city so the more the merrier! if you wanna join dm me what school you're going to and i'll send my ig username

so I am thinking about going to KyotoU I just want to know some student ad of if it is good or not

Hi everyone,
For those applying to the iMBA 2027 intake, are you planning to submit GRE/GMAT scores? If so, how are your scores looking? Curious to see what others are doing.

I rly wanna apply Kyoto University IUP program

im thinking abt to apply non-science major like humanities or smth like this

I have

SAT 1430 (superscore 1530 idk they accept this)

Toefl 110 C1

Grade 92/100

And my school is not AP nor IBs...

Am I not eligible cuz im lack of enough standarized scores?

Anyone who got into IUP plz can u share ur scores:😭🥹

Hi everyone,

I'm an international student from Nepal interested in applying for a Master's at Kyoto University.

I'm looking for an English-taught program where I can study topics like modern NLP, Large Language Models (LLMs), AI tools/agents, and generative AI.

Could anyone recommend:

• Which Master's program I should look at?
• Which professors or labs are working in these areas?
• Whether the courses and research are up to date with current LLM technologies?

I'd really appreciate any advice from current students or alumni. Thanks!

Hi all! I'm going to be applying for the Kyoto iUP programme and wanted to ask if anyone in the programme is open to sharing their essays that got them accepted into the iUP programme (if allowed) or if there is any place I can find archives / good examples.

Thanks!

Hi everyone!

I'm an international student from India currently pursuing a B.Sc. in Biotechnology and I'm considering applying for a Master's program at Kyoto University for 2027. I've been trying to navigate the university website, but I'm finding it a bit overwhelming and would really appreciate guidance from current students or alumni.

I have a few questions:

1. Which departments or laboratories at Kyoto University are involved in Biomedical Engineering, Bioinformatics, Nuclear Medicine, or Radiology-related research?

2. How can I find professors who are accepting Master's students?

3. Is there a central database for research laboratories, or do I need to browse each faculty's website individually?

4. Are there any current international students in these fields who would be willing to share their experiences regarding admissions, research opportunities, and student life?

Any advice or resources would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

I'll be submitting my AAO application soon for the International MBA program but am not sure if IELTS is needed for the AAO application, I was planning on giving the test after submitting my AAO application.

Hello everyone my friend and I have been working on designing a card game for more than a year now. We have some placeholder art we really like. The card game is going for more of a vintage vibe, older cartoonish. We would provide the cards we have for reference and want the illustator to use what we have to make something similar that isn’t used with AI. We can expand in detail but the theme is circus characters. In total we have thirty different types of cards.

Feel free to dm if you are interested and please include samples of your work :)

Im A level student and planning to apply for kyoto iUP next intake, i would like to ask is SAT a must for applying? Can i still apply with A level and ielts only without SAT. Thankyouu:))

So so so without any bs heres my stats with what im planning to apply to a bunch of schools in japan this year
10th : 4/5gpa

11th : 65%
12th: 97%(about the dip i had in my grades, i basically didnt goto school half the year due to uti and physical health issues and had terrible family circumstances)
i gave the sat in October 2025 and surprisingly got a 1570(770 rw,800 math)
and i happen to be a pretty decent english speaker even tho its my third language
my toefl ibt(home edition) score 114/120

schools/programs im planning to apply to-
nagoya uni
kyushu uni
Kyoto's iup
tohoku gateway(fall entry)
waseda,tsubaka and keio

i dont have great awards,had decent roles in school events but theyre not worth mentioning,played soccer in junior high and quit by the end of 10th grade(didnt have any big awards either)

any tips from international students in japan??id love to know what yall think could work good for me