Giving My All to What I Want to Do
Faculty of Policy Management
General Selection
Male
High School | Tokyo Metropolitan Musashi High School |
|---|---|
Year | Faculty of Policy Management, 2nd Year |
Main Research Seminar | Miyagaki Research Seminar (from the fall semester of my 2nd year) |
Major of Affiliated Research Seminar | Sociology of Human Services and the Social Sector |
My Research Theme | Improving Japanese education by improving the working environment for teachers |
What I'm focusing on in my student life | Being an executive member of the club that runs the Tanabata Festival, SFC's only school festival. |
High school club activities | Baseball team |
How long were you in your high school club? | Until the summer of my third year of high school |
Favorite subject | Mathematics |
What I focused on in high school | Club activities |
What I'm proud of about my high school | That it has no school rules and is very liberal. |
When did you learn about SFC? | Winter of my second year of high school |
Did you attend the SFC Open Campus (including online)? | No, I did not. |
Did you use a Juku or prep school? | Yes (I attended a prep school from the summer of my first year of high school). |
Did you take a gap year to study for exams (ronin)? | No |
When did you decide to apply to SFC? | Winter of my second year of high school |
Which entrance examination did you pass to get into SFC? | General Selection |
What subjects did you take for the exam? | Mathematics, short essay |
Did you take any other entrance exams besides the one you passed? | No |
What was your preference ranking for SFC? | First choice |
What other faculties did you apply to concurrently? | None |
What other universities did you apply to concurrently? | Yokohama National University, Waseda University, Hosei University, Aoyama Gakuin University, Sophia University |
Why I Chose SFC and My Journey to University
I always took it for granted that I would go to university. I attended a combined junior and senior high school, and I was conscious of university entrance exams ever since I took the exam to get into that school.
I had always been interested in the challenges facing Japanese education. However, as a science track student, there were no faculties of education I could enter with the subjects I was taking for my exams. That's when I discovered SFC. Not only could I apply with mathematics and a short essay, which is possible for science track students, but there were also professors researching educational policy. I decided to apply because I felt I could do what I wanted to do there.
Although I was also accepted into the national and other private universities I applied to, I was convinced that I could best pursue my interests at SFC, so I decided to enroll.
What Are Your Recommended Study Methods?
The short essay exam for SFC is extremely open-ended. For short essays at other faculties, there's often a "correct answer" with specific content that must be included. At SFC, however, what's crucial is how logically you can convey your own opinion. To prepare for the short essay, I think it's important to develop your ability to write longer pieces of around 1,000 characters, which you don't typically do in high school, and to train your logical thinking skills.
The Connection Between My High School Studies and My Current Learning at SFC
In high school, I had the opportunity to research educational issues during our Period for Integrated Studies. I came to university with the intention of continuing that work, aiming to improve education using the tool of "policy." In the spring semester of my first year, I took classes on policy formation and analysis of educational issues. What I realized then was that approaching problems from a policy perspective is difficult from a student's standpoint. This realization led me to explore approaches from other fields like psychology, economics, and organizational theory during the fall semester of my first year and the spring semester of my second year. It was during this time that I encountered Professor Miyagaki, who researches the social sector. There has been little research approaching the issue of teachers' working environments—a topic I am passionate about—from a social sector perspective. I thought this line of research sounded fascinating, which has led to my current studies.
A Message to Prospective Students
SFC is a place where you can devote yourself completely to what you want to do. The environment is set up for you to throw yourself not only into research within the university but also into things like clubs and internships. As far as I know, I've never heard of anyone regretting their decision to enroll at SFC. Another one of its charms is the incredibly broad range of fields it covers. I look forward to seeing you at SFC!