How to think about college: The Tokyo Academics Approach

It’s May, we’re in the middle of testing season, and we’re receiving many questions from parents asking: what’s next? What should my child be doing this summer? How important is the SAT? All of these are variations on one overarching question: how should I think about college?

At Tokyo Academics, we’ve been working on this problem for quite some time, from getting ourselves into our own schools, to the past few years of helping families around Tokyo and Greater Japan think about their children. 

This is the first in a series of blogposts which will seek to sketch out the most important pieces of the college admissions puzzle, particularly with the lens of applying from our home: Japan. Over the next few posts, we’ll be talking about the following topics:

1. Overview (this post)
2. What are colleges looking for?
3. SAT/ACT – When and how should you think about them?
4. GPA – When and how should you think about it?
5. What is the X factor?
6. The admissions essay
7. Recommendations
8. School fit
9. How to think about the right major
10. School visits
11. Study habits

​We’re looking forward to sharing everything we’ve learned from our experiences.

1. Overview

​If you look at college admissions packets or websites (or parents, if you look back at your own application processes), you might think this is how admissions works:

At Tokyo Academics, this is a rough sketch of how we think it works:

Why is it this complex? One of the biggest reasons is that the process has gotten incredibly competitive compared to when we at TA were younger (even just a few years ago!). Parents always tell us: “I wouldn’t be accepted at my school today!” We assure you: we feel the same way about ourselves. 

We’re going to get you through this and explain each piece over this set of articles. But there are a few key takeaways that we want you to carry with you through the rest of these articles, as well as through your child’s preparation for school.

• The application process begins in ninth grade, not in twelfth. From that moment everything becomes a part of your academic or personal record.
• Don’t try to be everything to everyone. The “well-rounded” applicant is a boring candidate. Be exceptional in a few focus areas and passions, rather than average across the board.
• You are too young to feel bored or plateaued – always look to do more than what is expected of you, whether in a class, in a club, in a sport, in a hobby, or in the rest of your life. Always strive to be the most exceptional version of yourself. 

Follow these rules, and you’ll find yourself in a better place than if you start thinking about college in junior year. More in the next post.