My ICU Application Story (September Admissions)

So this September I'm moving to Japan.

For 4 years

Rewind to February 2015. My family friends from Japan was visiting for a few days. (It was crazy because they literally were in Melbourne for about 3 days. The Japanese don't get many holidays around that time, unfortunately). The oldest girl was starting university at the International Christian University in Tokyo and told us that the campus operated under a bilingual system. Mum obviously took an interest in it and also got me interested after many conversations on the topic. 

Long story short, after forgetting about it for the whole of 2015, I decided to apply. I applied with a half-hearted attitude. If I got in, yippee. If I didn't, oh well. 

Then I got accepted. 

I'm making this post because even though I researched thoroughly, I couldn't find much first person experiences on the actual application procedure. This post might be useful for those who are interested in applying as a September student. So here's my attempt to explain the some-what complex application process as a regular September student for ICU. 

Gather all the important documents.

This is SO important, especially if you're disorganized like me. What you'll need are:

• School reports from the past 3 years 
• Your educational certificate (final scores) (In my case, it was my ATAR statement for VCE) - make sure these are certified (signed) by your school if they're photocopies, otherwise they won't accept them.
• TWO letters of recommendation - one from a principal/guidance counsellor and one from a teacher that taught you a core subject 
• Your school profile - I asked my school if they had one, but they didn't. We sent in a document which outlined the curriculum and general essence of the school, and it was fine. 
• Application document - you can download this from the online application portal 

I accidentally sent all the documents without my reports and my ATAR certificate signed. Luckily, with quick action, I sent them all in and I successfully applied. Thank the seven gods that my teachers like me even though I've graduated.

*EDIT* I should probably point out to those of you who are applying from America, that I didn't take my SAT's or have a GPA at the time of application. I'm so sorry if you can't find any advice, but please comment below and I'll see what I can do for you :) 

Pick one of the two application periods 

If you know me well enough, you'd immediately know that I chose the later one. I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter which one you choose though. 

Results 

I've seen a lot of questions regarding results and how people got accepted. Let me tell you my final high school result wasn't that great, but it was good enough. My average mark was probably around B+ to a low A. 

It's worth noting that they ask you for extra-curricular activities, and I was involved in lots of it during my high school years. Write down everything you can think of. I even wrote down my primary school leadership roles. I think it's good that they look beyond academic achievement, they're looking at what you can contribute to the university spirit.

I was super close with my teachers too. They were able to write a lot about me so I'm positive their letters helped. I'm pretty sure ICU takes pretty much everything into consideration so put down as much as you can.

They also mention in the application booklet that approximate 90 students get accepted. I'm not sure how many people apply but I honestly thought I wouldn't get in due to that statistic. So, what I'm trying to say is don't worry about it too much. 

Keep in mind it costs money

The actual application fee was about 30,000 yen ($300AUD approximately). Then I also had to pay for international express mailing, twice. It was all worth it in the end though.

Check your application status and be mindful of deadlines. 

They have a portal in which you can apply online. You can also check if all your documents you've sent in have arrived too. 

Remember that the deadlines for the online application and submission of documents are different. They're usually about a week apart and the online application is usually due first.


To be honest, I can't really remember anything else. Of course, if you have any questions, feel free to comment below. I don't bite :)

Hope this was helpful to any ICU hopefuls. Remember they also have information on their website too. Just make sure when you're googlin', you add in "ICU university". It'll direct you to all these hospital sites instead. It's not the end of the world if you don't get accepted. ICU offers exchange programs and it's not the only university in Japan in which you can apply for. Keep your options open!

Bye for now, I'll be back x