jetting

Thanks again to everyone who answered! Decided to go with IUC!

Hi, sorry, I'm a little late. Is anyone else going to Japan this summer?

Thanks again to everyone for their thorough response! Also, kyjin, you've been such a relief since funding is my number one concern. Do you think it would be helpful to inform IUC about about my funding concerns or would it be better left to wait and see? While my family is not hurting per se, and we were able to cover undergrad education with a mix of scholarship, workstudy and savings, there is always a the fear that my father is going to lose his job (photojournalism/newspaper industry is tough right now...) and my mom can't work due to medical reasons. I do have a little bit of savings from various jobs I've done at school and internships, but it isn't really enough to cover tuition. My parents have been very supportive nonetheless and do want me to go to IUC (though I don't want to cause them further financial trouble...) Sorry to bring up so much personal stuff. Right now I have a draft of an email that discusses my family's financial situation more in depth, but I'm deciding if it would hurt more to sent it than to not. (Plus I feel like such a dork still so being depedant on my parents....). Also, I'm sorry to keep asking questions! Regarding the community invovlement you did while at IUC, did you find it was easy/encouraged to become involved in the local community? Thanks again everyone!

Wowza, thank you MangoSmoothie!! Since language learning is a major reason I considered JET....will think hard now. Thank you everyone with your responses!

Thanks yytk for the in-depth response! I guess right now I have two things pulling at me: funding and the Critical Language Scholarship for Japanese. With JET, I will not be able to do the CLS program, which is the equivalent of one year of language learning fully funded by the State Department. The JET program has firmly told me that I would not be able to attend the CLS should I pick JET since the dates overlap. On the other hand, I do have a small bit of student loans left and the JET salary does seem appealing. (Especially in the face of the IUC tuition....) Thank you both for your replies. They have been enlightening and helpful. Though, I would be interested in Kyjin's response to yytk.

Thanks so much for responding! I'm seriously leaning toward attending IUC, the only thing that is worrying me is funding. I'm not affiliated with any graduate program now. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to cover tuition/living expenses. In your earlier posts, I think you wrote that they gave you funding later on? Thanks again!

Just wanted to see if anyone had experience/thoughts about the IUC 10-month program. Right now I am debating between this and the JET program. (For background info, currently I am undergraduate senior who has just been accepted into both the IUC program and the JET program as an ALT. I will graduate in May with a major in Asian Studies and a minor in Japanese language and literature. My primary interest is in Japanese media and I have intentions of attending graduate school.)