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University of Tokyo chances..?
Hi! So I'm planning on applying here and moving to Japan, as I love how their liberal arts program looks! There is however a slight issue- which is my high school tran… University of Tokyo chances...?
Hi! So I'm planning on applying here and moving to Japan, as I love how their liberal arts program looks! There is however a slight issue- which is my high school transcript. I wasn't an amazing student between the 9-11th grade aside from the second term of my 11th (I was an IB student), and up till then my average was a 5 all around until the 12th where I raised it to a 6.
On my final IB exams I did score a 39 though, and I was on the student council, I was the head of the events committee for two years, I have work experience, I run a small online business and have had work with other small business and have boothed and vendored for events and pop ups, I waitressed, I do volunteer work, and I can get strong recommendation letters as well as present commendation certificates for hard work and improvement.
With those accomplishments do you think I would still present a strong application even with my previous poor grades?
todai is really competitive even for japanese students who went through their own system. the 39 is solid but honestly they look at the whole picture and your early grades might raise some eyebrows depending on the department
if you're applying for the PEAK program in english they're a bit more flexible with transcripts but still expect strong math and science if you're going for those tracks. have you checked if your specific faculty requires the eju or just ib scores
worst case you could look into waseda or keio's english programs too they're still great schools and a bit more forgiving with grade history. the liberal arts at waseda is actually really well regarded here
toudai is a different beast from us or uk unis. they care way more about your entrance exam scores than your high school transcript honestly. your 39 ib is solid but the real hurdle is the eju and their own written tests. i know a few people who got in with worse ib scores because they crushed the exams. your extracurriculars will help with the interview if you get that far though.
the liberal arts program (pforist) is super competitive btw. they only take like 30-40 international students a year. if you're serious i'd focus all your energy on prep for their specific test format rather than worrying about your past grades. your transcript might matter more for other japanese unis like waseda or keio but toudai is its own thing.
39 is actually a pretty good score for Todai, especially since the liberal arts program is still relatively new and they're not as strict about grades as the science programs. your extracurriculars are way more interesting than the typical applicant's too, so lean hard into that
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.