Hey yall! So I'm not applying just yet as I'm still in college. However, there are a few places I've been considering to put for my placement requests (I know they aren't definite but still wanna hear thoughts) was wondering what people think of them and if anyone has personally been sent there.

First is shimane prefecture, more specifically, matsue. To be completely honest my reasoning for this one is a little silly as it's just the location of a game i played and i grew to like the representation of it.

Next is aomori. Ideally aomori city but anyplace there would do. Chose this because I really enjoy cold weather and snow and I heard there's a lot of snow there.

Finally, I'm not even sure if they do the program here but kusatsu. I saw some imagery of this place and I instantly fell in love with it. Additionally like aomori, I enjoy snow and I've seen this place covered in it.

Another place I was considering was beppu.

Again, I know these placement requests are not definite but these are just where I would ideally like to go.

Would love to hear thoughts, as well as recommendations for other places. Additionally I would LOVE to hear some stories of where any current or former JETs got sent and what the locations were like. I'd like to be in a rural area that still has some city traits.

Have a good one! :)

What brought you to your decision to leave JET and return to your home country? Was it a difficult decision to come to, or relatively easy? Did you leave JET but switch to a different job in Japan?

I'm currently on step 7/19 of the Canadian application form, and noticed that at the top it says "Please enter all information in the space provided. Please choose the three most important / applicable teaching experiences only." I don't have enough teaching experiences to fill in each of the lines, so should I put N/A in the blank spaces, or is it okay to keep them empty?

My reference asked how long they should make the reference letter be. I said 200-300 words a paragraph should be good, no more than one page. What do you think fellow aspiring JETs?

I have completed my application. I am ready to submit, however, I question 15-17 I have nothing to vote since I don’t have experience or background in it. Is it okay to put “N/A” or “None”?

Ty in advance! :)

Sorry if this is a silly question! The departure location in Salt Lake, UT is the only location anywhere close to where I live. Since it's only a departure location, the application doesn't let you select it. I know they would prefer you to do orientation and depart from the same location, but I'm hoping I could avoid buying a plane ticket and just drive to Salt Lake. Do I have to travel to one of the further locations? Does jet let some people leave through Salt Lake and do orientations in Japan?

1. Teaching certificate/QTS
2. TEFL/TESOL
3. Japanese language ability (self-study)
4. Japanese language ability (university/JLPT)
5. Classroom teaching experience
6. Experience travelling (Japan)
7. Experience travelling (Not Japan)
8. Experience living abroad

I'm trying to figure out how the embassies and consulates view certain assests by their importance for securing an interview since all I can think about (and all I'll likely think about until December) is the strength of my own application. It descibes teaching certificates/QTS, JLPT and TEFL all as 'assets during the selection process' but the testimonies on this sub give wildly different weight to each one. Eg: I've seen people say they prefer people without teaching experience and others say the exact opposite.

Scanning my documents today and I realized my university diploma is a bit too big for my scanner. All of the relevant information, signatures, and the seal are visible on the scan, but the first letter of my university's name and the "y" in "university" is a little cut off. I've already messaged JET about it but I'm wondering if you guys think this will be a big problem.

There's a spot on the application that asks to list any kind of Japanese language study that you've had including self-study; but given that it's also asking for specific, completed coursework, I'm unsure what to report since:

1. There is no one specific resource that I've used.
2. My study of Japanese is ongoing.
3. Although I first started trying to learn Japanese five years ago, it's been inconsistent and so I haven't actually studied that long nor do I have five years worth of knowledge to show for (maybe more like two).

Any ideas what they're looking for here? Much thanks!

I applied two years ago and got alternate. My SOP was honestly really good (imo) and my reasoning hasn't really changed. Obviously I'm not going to submit the exact same one, but do I have to fully rewrite a whole new reasoning, or can the ideas be overall the same?

Getting my letters of recommendation in order. One is easily emailed/called, but the other isn't really very online. Will JET try to contact them and be upset if they can't? Do they need to verify that they were my professor 20 years ago? I'm just trying to decide if I need to pick a different person to ask for a recommendation for.

Do they ever call or contact the person or just try to verify that they are who I say they are? What if they have a different name now (due to marriage, like my current boss got married this year but her linkedin is still her maiden name, but I'd never send her an email request using that name so it won't match) or aren't on LinkedIn?

I just want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot here.

Thanks

Might be a dumb question but what is the difference between the last question prompt in SoP vs the question in the last section of Teaching Experience: "(14) Proposed Direction of Career and its Relationship to the JET Program. Explain in a few sentences the proposed direction of your future career plans and how participating on the JET Program relates to those plans"?

Should I address different things compared to the SoP or is the same content okay?

I sent my application via courier two weeks ago. I wonder if they will send an email notification that they received my application.

Hello! I’m a JET PH aspirant, and by God’s grace, I ranked among the top in the LET for teachers. For those who are currently JET ALTs from the Philippines, could you share your insights on my chances of being selected with this kind of achievement? I have seven years of classroom teaching experience and one year on various online ESL platforms.

Please be respectful in your responses. I’m currently feeling anxious and trying to assess my likelihood of advancing to the second screening. Thank you!

So happy I finally got my application away. There's a few things that worry me in regard to my acceptance. Namely my ADHD (not currently medicated), lack of teaching experience (TEFL and TESOL qualified tho), my character references were only from a former colleague and employer (wasn't able to get an academic one), and my physicians statement was done very... not neatly by my GP. barely legible actually. So if they bounce my application back on that, I'm making a complaint to my GPs office lol. She also took 4 weeks to get it done and only gave it back to me yesterday so there was no time to get it re-done. Bit annoyed on that last one as you can tell.

So the uk application seemingly closed a minute early and I couldn't click send in time due to waiting for a reference but all else was uploaded.

Will my application still be considered? Is there a chance my reference was uploaded but didn't show on my end?

As the title reads, I won't have my Statement of Physician here on time to submit with my application, so I've submitted the blank statement letter in hopes I can just correct it and say that I've sent the wrong letter, or hope they come back to me saying I've sent the wrong one.

It's not ideal, but my doctors have delayed and delayed again getting this to me, so it was either this or submit nothing at all...

Does anyone have any advice? Should I follow up with the actual statement as soon as possible, or wait for the programme to get back to me about the incomplete document?

Thanks

Does your Personal Statement require a title?

And, should you thank the reader at the end?

Does my experience of teaching neighborhood and underprivileged children in my free time each week count as teaching experience? I dedicate my time to help children who lack access to quality education or struggle with schoolwork. Since I do this voluntarily without any payment, I'm unsure whether to include it as work experience or mention it in my Statement of Purpose.

I have under other teaching experience a sumer camp I taught at and was wondering if I should also keep it on the work experience page. I would like to do this as the work experience page has the larger space for description and employment summary.

Hello everyone! If this kind of post is not allowed, it’s ok to remove it. I’m just needing some assistance.

I’m a current JET ALT placed 2.5 hours away from the Kanagawa/West Tokyo area. I received news this weekend that I would need to visit two very specific hospitals (one in Shinjuku, one in Yokohama) for my (extremely) rare disease. I will need to visit these hospital pretty frequently (maybe weekly/biweekly) and may even need to overnight at some of them.

Before I give up completely and have to go back home, I thought I would at least TRY for a transfer close to my hospital(s). I know some people may comment that it’s nearly impossible and there has to be people leaving and the CO must accept it. I’m aware of it.

For now, I want to try anyways as one of my options. So, I’m looking to see if anyone knows of any ALTs leaving the west Tokyo/Kanagawa area.

If so, please let me know! Thank you in advance.

Also, if anyone has any contact information for the Kanagawa discord, FB groups, etc. will you please let me know!!

Been looking over my SOP and I'm wondering how much I should mention as to why I want to go to Japan to become an ALT. From my understanding, the SOP functions as a cover letter so obviously the people at JET don't want me droning on about why I like the country - frankly they probably already know I do like it given I've spent so much time applying to be an ALT. But I'm wondering if I haven't mentioned it enough. The reasoning I gave as to why I want to go to Japan was two lines in my introduction where I said something to the gist of "being interested in Japan from childhood because my dad worked there in his twenties and had good things to say and I want to follow in his footsteps in this regard". Is this a valid reason or should I place a bit more emphasis?

Hello, I have a question about the application. The Proof of Graduation guide says that a transcript is a suitable document, but the Education section notes that "Applicants with a Master’s or a Doctorate degree should include a photocopy of their diploma with a copy of their Bachelor’s degree". My transcript contains information about both my Master's and Bachelor's degrees, but are diplomas also necessary, or does that info box apply to transcripts as well?

I’m from California so being used to the cold was never my strong suit lmao. I got placed in Hyogo and I’m already freezing; the JTEs were shocked to know I’m already wearing heat tech, gloves, and using heat packs to keep warm but I feel like it’s not enough. 😭

In my apartment it’s also extremely cold (I do have a heater so that helps) but I was hoping for recommendations on an electric blanket, I’ve never used one before and I’ve seen from past threads that it gets recommended a lot! Also any extra tips on keeping warm would be appreciated thank you!

Hi all,

I have a few questions about my Jet application. I’m nearly finished, but I am hoping to get some clarification on a couple of points of confusion.

1.      Regarding my essay- one of the questions is about what I plan to do after my JET placement comes to an end. Would it be detrimental if I mention that after the JET, I plan to pursue further teaching opportunities in Japan/pursue a PhD in Japan? I know this might be a weird question; I only ask because when I was applying for a Fulbright a decade ago, I was told never to mention wanting to stay in the host country long-term, as the purpose of a Fulbright is short-term exchange.

2.      Regarding transcripts- I have my undergraduate transcripts, and will upload them. I have ordered my graduate transcripts, and that is the challenge. I went to grad school at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR). I ordered my transcripts a week ago, but a power failure and politics (it was also a general election for PR’s governor) resulted in the admin office shutting down for over a week. They don’t reopen until today, and they refuse to give digital copies of official transcripts. I’ve already placed the order for them to mail the transcripts to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, DC, per the instructions provided in the online JET portal. I have two questions:

a.  Should I still upload an unofficial transcript to submit with my online application, along with an explanation that the official documents are on their way to the embassy, as well as proof of receipt that I ordered the transcripts?

b.  Prior to attending the UPR, I attended a nearby university to take a couple of classes, and then transferred those credits to the UPR. I was unable to get transcripts from this university, as their site has been down (the university system in Puerto Rico is… not great) and I’m living abroad. The UPR transcripts provide all information required by JET. Do I just need to upload a small statement saying something to the effect of, “Please see UPR transcripts”?

Thanks to anyone who can provide clarity, aside from these concerns my application is ready for submission.

With my app submitted I figured win, lose, or draw it can’t hurt to study some Japanese while I wait. I am looking for kanji work books or apps for intermediate learners. If anyone has any books they found particularly helpful, I would love some recommendations. Thanks!

Hello everyone! JET Programme Applicant here from Philippines.

Just want to ask (as it was not stated in the application guidelines), do I need to seal the brown envelop containing all my required documents for the application? Do I also need to write something on the brown envelop (ex. Name of Applicant)?

Thank you in advance for the replies!

Partner has a BS in computer gaming and simulation design. It’s a coding degree that is founded on similar stuff to a CS four year degree.

Does she put: computer science, science (other), or select “other major”? Thanks!

Hi all. I finished and submitted my application yesterday but there's one thing that's still bothering me. I ran my SOP through a proofreader and it flagged me for AI. I didn't think much of it at first; I know my essay is my own writing.

Out of an abundance of caution I ran it through a couple different AI checkers and it came out different each time, from 0% to 50% flagged as AI usage.

I have an academic and professional writing background, so my writing style can sometimes appear a little more technical/less flowery.

Now having submitted it, I'm having second thoughts. Does JET use AI detection software? What happens if my own writing gets flagged as AI? Am I overthinking this?

Truly hate the fact that this is our new reality, but any help/consolation is appreciated haha. Thank you!

Basically the title, I just want to tell people who understand JET what my situation is, and ask if it's dumb for me to have this program as a main goal. Extremely sorry for the length but I would really appreciate input. 🙏

I'm in my mid 20s and didn't graduate high school (not due to struggling with any subjects, just other issues and deciding to work to move out). But I'm really close to finishing my HSE tests (high school equivalency). Since 19 I've worked crappy jobs that involve food/customer service or physical labor. I don't have any full concept of what I want to do to get a more stable job with better wages, like anything to not end up still working in a grocery store in a state/country that I hate when I'm old. I've already been very burnt out from the pointlessness and the physical exhaustion and corporate bs. (Also badly injured recently so I can barely do it and I'm staying with my dad.)

I've literally always been paycheck to paycheck. The only unique-ish marketable skill I can develop is my semi-decent level of Japanese. I can get by when it comes to listening/reading and looking up just a few words depending on the topic, but I need to work on completing vocabulary/kanji/comfort level while speaking. So for one, I think being immersed would help me become fluent. Plus I'm basic and I always wanted to visit Japan, and I've never been able to afford to leave the country even just on a short vacation.

I do really like kids, babysat a lot in my teens, and I've always ended up teaching people things, or training, tutoring friends with stuff I know about, etc. I interview and communicate well. I especially enjoyed and excelled in stuff like understanding spelling and grammar and how language works. I'm confident in my ability to tolerate a big life change and hard work, I've moved probably over a dozen times in my life and I did put myself through a culinary program while working enough to pay my rent (didn't last in food service because the industry's culture is insane).

So, I'm thinking I'll get that HSE, do some self-paced affordable online bachelor's program as speedy as possible, while working enough to save up a bit and continuing Japanese practice, and then apply to JET. Having any degree is probably a good idea anyway, and I think I'd enjoy studying English/languages/teaching. I would like to stay in JET as long as possible or until I find some other position, whichever happens first. Maybe translation or continuing some other teaching or I'll find another possibility along the way.

So is this a terrible idea or putting all my eggs in one basket or something? I know the degree and applying will take a long time and I might not get accepted right away, I accept that I'll probably be at least 30. I've seen some people talk about the program as like a dead end or just a way to spend some time or whatever, so I don't know. If I'm being delusional just tell it to me straight.