Tokyo University

and for whatever reason the football club guys lift him in the air. congratulation, dear nerds, the next big exam is picking up your first girl :)

I wonder who his parents paid?

Moderator: Why do you post rubbish like this?

Congratulations, guys. (Why can't we see any gals?) Enjoy the next four years!

Cool, this guy is now assured of a highly-paid job and a steady stream of girls for the rest of his life.

I still think this system of doing things is far too stressful on the examinees, and completely archaic. Seems more like an outdated popularity contest.

Still, the kiddies that passed deserve congrats, so congrats, guys and gals... and good luck!

Altria - for "girls" see "hostesses"

Congrats to him all the same.

My daughter has passsed the entrance exam!!! It's not even 4pm, and I'm drinking! Relief more than happiness at the moment.

Cool, this guy is now assured of a highly-paid job and a steady stream of girls for the rest of his life.

That is so true! I've seen the example at my work place. But I certainly won't marry those boring men...and I don't understand why my J women colleagues are so heads over heels about them...lol

Congratulations, guys. (Why can't we see any gals?)

They show women in bikinis, you want men. They show men in the air, you want women. There really is no pleasing you, Cleo.

My daughter has passsed the entrance exam!!! It's not even 4pm, and I'm drinking! Relief more than happiness at the moment.

Congrats!

What about women in the air in bikinis? I'd settle for that.

How about a photo/story on the 6,870 unsuccessful candidates?

steen -

Congratulations! Maybe Miss Steen will bump into cleoSon on campus....

Great, in four years he'll be hired by some company where he'll shuffle papers and move up the line of desks/offices until he's at least 65, and then retire to an unfunded pension. I'd be pretty happy too -- if I'd been accepted to a college outside of this declining country.

steen, congratulations!

For good or bad, the kids got into the top rated college in their native country, so props to them. If they can learn something and become better people, good on them. For those who can only complain about EVERYTHING here, just return to your country, it's getting old.

Wow- so many of you have kids at Todai? I didn't realise I was mixing with the Tokyo elite on this site........

This photo is depressing on so many levels. The Todai Myth is the title of a book I am writing about the complete failure of the Jp education system, as epitomized by Todai. Until the entire system is totally scrapped, and Todai burnt to the ground, Japan will make no progress toward becoming a relevant, free-thinking country.

Did someone mention Todai? Reminds me of the Olympics - gold.

That is so true! I've seen the example at my work place. But I certainly won't marry those boring men...and I don't understand why my J women colleagues are so heads over heels about them...lol

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the Japanese culture, there're the 3 'highs' of a man that Japanese women (in general) look for right? like high educational qualification, 'high' in height, and high financial stability? So it makes sense, since these guys are only from, like, the highest institute in Japan haha

Competition is not that tough only 1 in 3? at my uni we had a 1 in 5 entrance rate when I was admitted (for every person admitted there were 4 to5 rejected)

ben4short.... agree with you about the jpn education system, and especially Todai...... but a free-thinking country is the furthest thing from the minds of the rulers here....

Am i the only expat in Japan who didn'T grace"Uni". Done alright for meself, work for myself and don'T answer to any divvy boss. Universities are usually to get a degree so they and their mama and pap's can show off about it. Japanese universities are even worser in this respect.

Competition is not that tough only 1 in 3?

In Japan you only get to apply to one public university. If you fail to get in, you don't have the option of going to the next best; you're stuck with either going private, or trying again next year. Most folks reckon they aren't going to make it to Todai anyway, so they don't apply in the first place. I'm guessing here it's the above-average-but-not-quite-top-grade places that appear to have the fiercest competition.

thenewfront-Universities are usually to get a degree so they and their mama and pap's can show off about it. I disagree on this.uni shapes you,a platform for knowledge acquisition,research among others. unless you want to refer to some uni's in particular.though,it might not be the only way to success.

Congrats to all the students that passed the test for today and all the other fine institutions here. My son was accepted this year at a second rung college and having watched him struggle, I am deeply impressed by the 3000 odd kids that made it in to Todai. I never had to study like that to get in to my college in the US. I have no doubt that he is a finer man because of it.

There are plenty of odd things about this little island country, but I dont blame it on the colleges.

That young man is about to embark on a tremendous adventure and will have the privilege of studying and forging relationships with the future leaders of Japan. His will and character will lead him to be either a paper pusher or a world changer. Japan is full of energetic creative people if one were open minded enough to see thru the fog.

Personally, having not graduated from college due to an odd twist of fate that left me unable to register for my final term, I am green with envy!

thenewsfront it teaches you to put question marks at the end of sentences that are actually questions AND it lets you know that "worser" isn't a word. Otherwise, I agree, it isn't a complete necessity. Getting an education as a plumber works just as well in the end.

MeanRingo: Worser is how i talk with my mates and family, i couldn't give a toss about speaking queens English. If people get the gist of what i'm saying it's alright.

I don't need a university to teach me about life or how to treat others.

Some go to University to be doctors and all that, but many , just to look good and boast about it. I'v emet loads of them here in Japan, bunch of tawts the majority, if i'm honest.

My student was accepted into Todai last year and became concertmaster of the Tokyo University Orchestra as a freshman. I was surprised how the mood and atmosphere changed overnite in my violin studio!

The best way to get high at school perhaps.

Thenewfront:

bunch of tawts the majority, if i'm honest.

I'm sure they were, as in...

"What did you learn at school today son?" "I wuz tawt how to spel."

thenewfront-the fact that u did not go to uni but you made it means uni is irrelevant.to me ,my sociology major shaped me and helps me make informed choices and decisions.pls comment constructively

I am so so so so so glad I never had to grow in Jpn & go through what mostly is utter nonsense, this guy now can coast till graduation & probably beyond

This is the beginning of elitism and segregation of society - not what high education used to stand for: the betterment of society.

samsarks: Use vtour superior education and reread my　post. I said most go to UNiversity to look good, for them and their family, obviously some go to persue careers invoving their subjects.

People like many i hav emet in Japan , who laugh at how i talk, especially Americans who claim to not understand me S lOndon accent.Some like me have to leave school and home at 16 , because they don'T have supportive parents. I learnt from the school of life not textbooks, and sod my spelling, i have alot more general knowledge than most who went to UNi here, especially any Japanese who amy be on here. So less of the sarcasm please from those who don't even realised they are from a priviledged background.

iraira Take a pill friend. Some of us are well invested in this country and want to make things better. Sorry, it is not perfect, nowhere is, but that doesn't mean people should just give up and roll over like a dog. There are so many problems with the university system in Japan, I don't know where to start.

thenewfront-i read your earlier post and the word "most" is not there.i might not be wrong on my understanding.you might be so pompous to believe that you are better than any japanese on this board who went to uni

steen: Congrats, amigo. Don't care one wit about what anyone on here is saying to the negative, this is your kid's day to shine, and yours as well. Let's hope the kid does you even more proud in the future.

samsarks: Working class persons like me aren'T pompous. It is the over privilidged University mummy and daddies boys who got to Universities who are like that.

And i would challenge any Japanese UNi grad to a test about world curent affairs and recent political history anyday of the week. University is for most, note, i said most, a status symbol, whwre they have 3 years of high jinx and drunken parties usually at mum and adads expense, the twats.

GReat posts Thenewfront. Most of these kids that go to universities like Tokyo are pampered rich kids. I've dealt with many in my career, whilst many may know what they learnt from their syallabus, their general knowledge, common sense and inintiative was generally very poor.

Most are assured of employment by family or family contacts and networks. These kids don't know the meaning of having to work the hard way up without anything at all handed on a silver platter.

Tokyo University means nothing outside of Japan, it certainly is not an Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard.

thenewfront-knowing current political affairs and current world history does not give you the impetus to believe u r better than a jp uni grad.i ve met numerous jp grads and i must confess they r great scholars.you r just a great loser panting over nothing meaningful.as i said,uni is not the only way to success but it really counts

samsarks: I brought myself up unaided since 16, have my own business, look after my family and care for an elderly relative. Oh, but i din'T go to Uni so i',m a great loser, you are the fool sonny jim.

Tokyo University means nothing outside of Japan, it certainly is not an Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard.

It's ranked 17th worldwide, 1st in Asia.

As i said certainly not Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard.

Funny that someone who's so proud of not having been to university is suddenly a connoisseur of higher academia.

Funny too that you're claiming the words of another poster. Split personality?

cleo, meant to say as was said. If you look atall the Japanese cram schoolls, the extra hours spent at school, and the 2nd biggest economy, 17th place is something to be ather ashamed of not be boastfull of. Maybe Grammar scholl level, (and i did pass 11 plus to go to one), so i aint as thick as you imagine.

Tokyo University means nothing outside of Japan, it certainly is not an Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard.

What University you went it means nothing outside of old school companies, with archaic hiring policies.

Number one in Asia is nothing to scoff at. It's a good bit higher than the university I went to, and that was certainly no hole-in-the-wall place or anything to be ashamed of.

i aint as thick as you imagine

I don't imagine that you're thick at all.

But you're wrong when you claim that university is nothing but a status symbol for over-privileged daddies' boys. My Dad was as working-class as they come, left school at 14 and went straight down the pit, educated himself and crawled his way up to a good job. We were poor (no one would have ever called us 'privileged' - more like 'dirt poor') but he made sure all his kids had a better start than he had, by sending us to university. Like it or not, there are lots of jobs where you won't get a foot in the door if you don't have at least a bachelor's degree. It's not just a status symbol, it's the path to a career. Good on you for making it without the benefit of a university education, but I hope you see to it that your children get to start where you left off, as I was lucky enough to do.

Cleo: Well done top you and your family. Mine were very old fashioned working class, who believed their responsibility for me was over on my 16th birthday. They were also heavy drinkers, and not responsible.

I never wanted university anyway as i hated education, left school with 4 o'levels, though i usually bunked off, and used common sense to get anywhere.

Ranked 17th by whose rankings? The ones I have seen have Kyoto ranked higher.....

Congratulations to this happy young man! It looks like the "Warriors" football club wants him to join!

I've got to post in defense of Tokyo U. -- sure, it's popular to deride Todai students as drudges and plodders, and then again as the next generation of government wonks, but the university also attracts a large number of extremely creative, fascinating people that I'm very, very glad to have met. You don't hear from these people in the newspapers because they're off researching obscure languages on other continents, or in science and industry designing fantastic new technology, or anywhere other than the government ministries.

Todai kids aren't the rich and overpriviliged -- anything but! National universities like Todai only charge about Y550,000 per year in tuition: a fraction of what the big private schools demand. So if you're a smart kid and your family is on the poorer side, you really, really want to be accepted by a institution where you can get a good education for a moderate price.

A bunch of years ago it was my number, 12101, that was up on one of those white panels. I'll never forget the feeling of satisfaction and vindication that came from seeing it there. Congratulations to you posters whose kids are attending!

Well-said, Thon. My neighbor's boy went too, and they're an average family. Most of the kids at our son's juku were not rich, in fact. Another well-drug out ;-)chestnut on these threads is that rich families pull strings to get their kids in. It's against the law to bribe school officials, you're booted out as soon as anyone gets wind. Some may get away with it, but it is not the norm. Tell me how they supposedly fix the mark-sheet exam scores...

Are those who go to Harvard any less well-off than Todai students allegedly are? Faulting people for having money seems a little stupid, you still have to have the grades, and pass the entrance exams and you have to do that on your own, no matter how much money your parents may have.

Surely it's Keio where the rich and priviledged go, and they always want to make a big hulabulloo about it with the "oh, I went to Keio you know; it's one of the best universities in Japan ....". Very boring, most of these Keio people I've met.

The really smart kids go to Todai and most of the grads I've met have actually impressed me quite a lot. More like Cambridge grads than Oxford. That is, quietly confident in their intelligence and knowledge, but not ramming it down your throat. I always find that rather admirable.

Congrats to that guy. He looks stoked

omedetou ne! gambatte kudasai minna san.

I really wish that day to come. I am a student at architecture at 10th grade in Romania. I really want to come to study in Japan at university but I am soo scared because I don't know if I can do it. But I will do my best!

You know you go some clueless individuals here who believes Todai are for "pampered rich kids"