Japanese Preparatory School

I didn't attend a Prep School but I did attend a SAT Prep class for my entrance into college and then a GRE Prep class for my entrance into grad. school.

Attended a prep school to study English a long time ago, didn't really help though.

Ah. The joys of prep school. Here in Asian filled Southern Cali, we have something called Elite... which somehow does a pretty good job of raising people's SAT scores and getting their students 2300+.

Had them, experienced them, never liked prep schools. The teachers were mostly nosy and were too focused on getting money that we didn't really learn much of anything.

Errr.. Prep school? I have tuitions does that count? ^^;

And yummy commercial is yummy ^^

Prep school?
I only learned about them after I ended up in the university of my choice, which I did in my first attempt. I never ever considered the risk of rejection or having a plan B, but my parents forced me to make a 2nd and 3rd priority wish. I did that half hearted because somehow I believed that it didn't matter and it turned out that I was right :D

I remember teaching like that. It wasn't until I learned German that I understood why it's a good idea to know about that stuff. Boring... maybe, specially if you overdo it, but you need the understanding of it in order to master the language, specially foreign languages. Is this stuff important to Japanese too?

Never heard of anyone going to prep school here in Sweden... I don't even know if it exists.

Anyone knows what the song is called in the megane musume video? ^^

Cram school is ridiculous. :/

K I actually have a friend who actually goes to prep school in Tokyo... she wants to get into Kyoto daigaku or Tokyo.. idk. It's like. Your own high school is supposed to get you into your school of choice. Not this "school after school."

Personally I got into MIT and my sister is at Kyoto and we never went to cram school. Prep school = biggest waste of time and a social life; if you're truly dedicated and have encouraging parents, then you don't need anything other than your regular school.

We got LSAT, MCAT prep courses. I heard those are quite good because not only do they teach you the material, they also show you previous year tests and allow you to feel what it's like to actually write the thing (MCAT is 5 hours in front of a computer)

We also have "prep school for grades" which are designed to allow failures to get into the school they want. Prep schools for grades here are a waste of money. Sure you get into the school you want (some schools don't look at prep school grades though), but chances are before the first year is over you're sent packing because you can't keep up with the material.

I'd never do it, if for some reason my mum tried to force me to i'd just bunk it. i don't need two schools.

Had prep classes for SAT and SAT II, but it cost a lot of money and didn't really help much...

I never attended a Prep school...

I have always attended public school, a mixture of different colleges, and that was many many years ago... (between 1965 - 1985) to include (more) college while I was in the service,(1994 - 1995), I have always wondered about them and knew a few who did attend.

I'm curious? What is the BGM on Toshin video?

Attended to get into University for 1 year.

Well, it was pretty hard, study from 6 AM to 10 PM, from monday to saturday. So I didn't remember much from that time >_>....

wow, I do not envy Japanese students in this respect. I luckily never had to go to any of these kinds of things, but I do remember for a few years I would stay behind in my math and science classes after school every now and then to get help from the teachers. *shudders* and I still can't do high level math...

I attended public school, no prep school for me. I think the education system in general is backwards in the way that people are selected for getting into university. Here in the USA, universities generally accept students based on their GPA, standardized test scores (SAT, ACT, etc.), "advanced placement" classes, and extra curricular activities.

Standardized tests fail at what they try to accomplish because people can raise their scores simply by studying directly for the exam. Although I scored well on the standardized tests I took, hardly any of what I studied to prepare for these tests actually applies outside of the tests themselves. The education system should focus more on preparing students for life after school instead of preparing them to take certain tests.

Never heard of it...

BTW, nice girls on the CM ^^;

I personally feel that SAT classes are a waste of time and that I didn't learn anything useful (but I have to admit that I didn't go to one of those impressive SAT classes). A 1920 without studying isn't too bad though. ^^; I remember a girl who took the SAT in her sophomore year who was angry at herself for getting a 2350... But you have to wonder if there's something wrong with having to take classes to prepare you for college when that's supposed to be the job of high school.

Have not been to prep school, I came to US long before I had to deal with college entrance exam related pressures. Thank goodness...
But I was one of these people who pays attention in classes. If I needed extra studies, I'd just study at home. I wouldn't go to prep school.

I like that english lesson video; the instructor broke those sentences down nicely, I thought.

I attended them while growing up. Actually posted pics here when Danny asked for workspace/classrooms:
http://www.dannychoo.com/detail/mac/eng/image/5146/Workspace+-+Summer+cram+school.html

Never went to a prep or cram school or an SAT/ACT prep class. For me I think its a waste of time >>

when I was a kid I attended them, very boring, struggled to stay awake most of the time

In my area, we usually go to tuition center for this kind of stuff. Different name for the same function they provide I think.

Brazil does not have any sort of SAT/ACT systems. Even so the country is filled with preparatory courses ((which we call "cursinho" -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursinho )since most of the people just does not manage to get into college. And I hate to say so, but these courses (which are nothing but a little more detailed view of High School subjects) are incredibly popular around here. For you guys to have an idea, taking my course as an example, from the 60 people who get in every year, I'd say less then 10 have never been to prep schools.

For me, going to such courses would be a shame too great to be measured ( note that this is a personal opinion and one that is restricted to Brazil since I truly do not know a thing about SAT/ACT and other countries' education system). Thanks Heaven I got into the best university I know here in my first attempt, just after finishing high school. ^^

I took an English SAT course during Summer School as make up for a failed English class, while it wasn't a great class it did prepare you for what the SAT was going to be like.

The thing with that Japanese prep school English class is they aren't trying to teach you the language. They just trying to teach you how to pass a test.

I attended a lot of them in the past. English, Japanese, Social, Thai (for entrance, it is difficult as hell!) and math classes. But when I got a university to study, I dropped almost all of them. I might say that in Thai education system , it is necessary for most students to attend prep school to be able to get in a university. So it is very common here for people to attend prep school. Even the new entrance system encourages students not to do so, it is nearly useless.

I went to a similar kind of stuff, named Hagwon. It was more like a private tutoring session, they are there to prep you up for upcoming mid-term exams, etc.

When I came over to the States there was also SAT prep camps and stuff, all ran by Koreans. I can't believe why Obama mentioned South Korea as a model for the educational system.

If America adopts the Korean system, an average high school kid's weekday schedule would look like this:
7AM wake up, shower, and eat breakfast ASAP
8AM arrive at school
12-12:30PM lunch & recess
4PM school's over, but there's this "forced study hall" thingy that the ministry of education put into action in order to get rid of those Hagwons.
6-6:30PM dinner & recess, then back to forced study hall
10PM study hall ends, students released to go home, but hagwons still exist past 10PM.
1AM get back home, crash into bed...

seriously, yes, that's what it's gonna look like. instead of the study hall thing, some students go to hagwons as well.

Back in my country during high school time, my parents always send me to preparatory school which kinda annoys me and quite sick of it until I tell my parents that I wanted to quit since this is a waste of money that always makes me feel sleepy in classes.

Now I'm studying in a language school which was quite interesting in the first semester but now it's getting more boring after I realize that the teacher from the upper level only ask us to cram for our studies with confuse and boring explaination that makes my interest about the language fade away since I always think that school will teach us in a fun and interesting way to get raid our boredom and other school I have visited teaches students in a fun and easy to remember method with was twice better than my current one. preparatory class is also available in my current school and was force to attend 45 minutes of lesson which I find it quite useless.

The most I've done is take a practice SAT test before having taken the real thing to get into college. Otherwise no prep stuff at all and I had no problem getting into the university I applied to.

I've heard this saying, Japanese universities/colleges are hard to get in to, but easy to get out of, while US universities/colleges are easy to get in to, but hard to get out of. Must be at least somewhat true, with how prolific prep schools are in Japan compared to the US.

Never had prep or cram school but did have some tuition - mostly crammed at home a few hours before each paper ^_^

used to take prep courses (if that counted as sort of prep school) back in junior high and high school. But mine dont use such high tech equipment and tend to be more of a group study (teacher and students sit around a big table) :X

it was fun tho, cause it was always turned out to be a place to chit chat with fellow students xD

Way back when I was enrolling to colleges, back in the days when horses were needed to get us to our one room schoolhouse, I only applied to three, and was accepted to all three. I did crappy on my SAT (and I honestly don't even know if there WERE ACT test back then, certainly I didn't take one), even though my mother did pay for a summer session of SAT prep class. But, I had basically good grades, and applied to colleges a little less elite than Mimi's MIT, etc... But I honestly think I was accepted to all three of my applications because we made the effort to have personal interviews with representatives of all three colleges, and I SOLD them on accepting me. I think that if the interviewer can see that there is SINCERE desire by the potential student to go to that college to LEARN what he/she is desiring to do, it's worth at least 500 points on an SAT test, etc... They want students that will attend all four years, that will do well, and most important, will BENEFIT from attending their classes and having open minds willing to adjust/modify their thought processes. So, I seriously think I BOUGHT my acceptance, not by paying stinking money, or having parents that could donate a building to the university, but rather by proving without a doubt in the interviewer's mind that I was "a student" in my own right.

Therefore, I don't think Prep School is a good idea. Tutoring, for people having trouble with a subject matter, certainly is a good thing that should be applied when needed, but not prep outside of the regular school. After all, you can't learn everything about the world by reading about it in text books. You have to EXPERIENCE it in various means and methods, like television, friendship, internet, etc., i.e, all outside of the classroom. And I agree very strongly with what Mimi said above, "if you're truly dedicated and have encouraging parents, then you don't need anything other than your regular school."

Like the CM & the girls in it ^_^

Nope, never needed to attend a prep school, got to university without it just fine:)

I would be eager to go to class too if that megane musume was in my class XD

I don't think there's prep school in Calgary, so never attend one, o well I still got into uni ...somehow

Question, what is the difference between this and the Juku [学習塾] we sometimes see in anime?

I don't think we even have prep schools over here, or atleast they're not very common. But how right you are Danny: I used to fall asleep to in my English class, but now that I study Japanese, those classes are the ones I look most forward to ^^

Not much people in my city really go to prep school unless they have bad grades only.

Good marketing technique to use handsome boy and cute girl for commercial.

just to let you know that video cover the catfish on Chrome

Girls in the CM are cute xD!!

I had something similar (tution) a few years back, but not now ^_^
It's very tiring for me to study all the time...

Didn't go to any prep school. Don't even know whether they exist here. Entrance to the universities are primarily determined by your high school results. A second option for entry is to do some extra activites, though the amount of people allowed to enter trough this method has been reduced some years back if I recall correct.

An average grade will get you into most of the university courses, though a few of the more popular are limitied. Luckily for me, my studies only required a high school diploma, so my grades didn't really matter at all.

I've attended a prep school for a semester. I needed work on my English Proficiency haha.

cost me here in Tucumán michisimo finish high school ...
I'm in college technology XDD
PD: the business is good!

yeah there are a handful here but we're dumb anyways

I dunno if it really counts as a prep school but i used to attend a pay-tutorial/reviews to help me in passing the presitigous University Entrance Exams..

I rather sit down with a book when i feel and want to learn then being forced to (either due opening times of cram schools or whatever) it in the worst time of the day (either morning or noon sucks for me, but i'm nocturnal... so yea - i end up with books at night mostly).

I found out that i learn a lot more if i have peace for myself and just can read a book then being in a noisy class with a teacher who in the worst case doesn't give a ... either.

On the other hand, if all conditions would be met - it might not be that bad.

The lesson video is funny though, somehow... hard to put in words, i sort of reversed it to learn the japanese he was using to explain the english while i was waiting for an appointment this morning. ;)

Never been to a prep school, mainly cause I never had cash for university anyways, so prep school was out of the question.

Cant say it really matters now, cause I got a good job, and taught myself all the skills I need :P

IM GONNA BE A SUCCESS, PREP SCHOOL OR NOT!

Some people would be horrified to see their kids working in cubicles watching computer screens all day long - is Toshin really like that? I think some level of group activities would be nice to see ^^

Prep schools are a mixed bag here bin the US. Most prep schools here do not do as good a job of prepping the student for college as they rely on their status to assist the student in their academic advancement. Prep schools like the Lawrenceville school in New Jersey or the George school in Pennsylvania virtually guarantee admission to the best Universities in the country. They also cost about as much as those Universities. Like most things here in the US, you get what you pay for.

Speaking from a Fine Arts perspective, there are places that offer guidance on how to build a "proper portfolio" to help you get into a post-secondary program.

They actually make things worse. People who take them generally aren't confident in their own work, or don't have any of their own. The latter, especially, annoy me - they tend to be people who find art an "easy backup" that they can go into without lifting a finger.

In any case, these portfolio workshops tend to result in work that look factory-produced, or at least have a certain feel that evaluators can recognize. I went in to my interview with nothing but a few random pieces and pride in my own work, and I made it in.

i dun get it --> wuts those odd symbol?
The only one i get is the "V"

One kind of wonder what the regular school was for.... just to chill and socialize? lol

No Preparatory school around here. Just tons of Tuition classes.

By the way....Impressed with the teacher's explanation of the english class.....

I'd attend this prep school anyday ^^

Prep school is BIG here. It took up two years of my high school life and got me into my current college.

hey... im new to this website and i feel a bit silly not finding it seeing as im a japanese culture freak... gonna be taking japanese lessons for the next year before i do a trip to Japan.. was just wondering what the essentials are to not make an a** of myself when i do eventually get there? (would be great if you could reply as well danny... btw love the website.. glad i found it)