On Saturday, June 26, the Overseas College Guidance program hosted its annual information session for all members of our community. This year, we were back in person thanks to everyone following the safety protocols ShibuMaku put in place to ensure the health of participants. It was great to speak with just under 400 members of our community face-to-face after having held this information session online last year. The contributions of everyone involved in organizing and implementing this information session ensured its success.
Vice Principal Tamura opened the information session with a warm greeting to the attendees and thanked the six alumni who participated. After these introductory remarks, four of our alumni made presentations. The first presenter graduated ShibuMaku in 2020 and currently attends Carleton College. She provided information about researching schools to which to apply and life at a liberal arts college.
A graduate of the Class of 2019, and current student at the University of Melbourne, presented second. He presented on taking a Foundation Course and life at an Australian university. The third presenter graduated in 2018, and is a current student at Pepperdine University. He shared his experience attending a research university in the US that is affiliated with an organized religion.
The final graduate-presenter was from ShibuMaku’s Class of 2016, and went on to attend and recently graduate from Pomona College. This presenter now works for the Boston Consulting Group in Tokyo. She discussed her experience at Pomona College and path to finding employment after graduating from an American College.
After the graduate-student presentations, Mr. Crosiar, the director of our Overseas College Guidance program, provided a brief overview of applying to overseas colleges and universities. He touched on the process to prepare for applying to overseas universities, applications to American schools, the support we provide students applying to overseas universities, the cost to apply to and attend American schools, and finally highlighted the differences between applying to American schools and schools in the U.K., Australia, and Canada.
Mr. Toyohsima, chair of the International Department, gave the final presentation. He gave a high-level overview of the “Big 5” scholarships from Japanese organizations for students who wish to attend an overseas college or university. After Mr. Toyoshima’s presentation, we held a Q&A panel with the four graduate-student presenters and two additional graduate students; one who currently studies at Yale University, and another who currently studies at the University of Chicago.
Thanks to the various participants, this year’s Overseas College Guidance information session was a great success. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s information session.