Day of Reckoning: The University of Tokyo Announces Its Entrance Exam Results
On my way to renew my library books today, I unwittingly stumbled onto a mass of activity the likes of which I’d never seen on the University of Tokyo campus. I’m generally struck by how quiet the portion of the campus near the Akamon seems, so today was an utter shock. Prospective undergraduates piled into see if their exam numbers were on the list of those who passed. The anticipation and excitement of the crowd was palpable as they made their way forward to see if they’d been accepted to the “Harvard of Japan.” School tradition mandates that successful candidates be tossed into the air, as shown below:
This Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons image is from the user Chris 73 and is freely available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tokyo_University_Entrance_Exam_Results_4.JPG under the creative commons cc-by-sa 3.0 license.
If you’re not familiar with the Japanese system, it’s hard to explain just how much these exams mean to students and how hard they have to work to pass them—and college is such an important factor in a young person’s future job prospects that the entrance exam is often seen as one of the most important events in a person’s life. Those who fail often spend another year focusing on exam preparation as rōnin (literally, “masterless samurai”), often in conjunction with special schools called yobikō.
For the lucky ones, however, this was truly a joyous occasion. Many of them took the opportunity to buy merchandise from the campus co-op—in between taking numerous pictures, of course. And representatives of the school’s many sports teams and clubs were present, actively congratulating new admits and perhaps trying to recruit new members. I never really thought about the University of Tokyo having cheerleaders or a football team or a pep band, but it really does:
I particularly liked their drum major, who made conducting look like a martial art:
I took a video of it, it was so amusing:
Because I’m a fan of this sort of thing, I took one more video of the cheerleaders and the band, which you can check out if you’re interested. Another highlight was a group of student musicians dressed in southwest style and playing a style of folk music that I usually associate with Native Americans:
There was also a fellow mysteriously dressed as a fairly creepy rendition of Ronald McDonald. I’m not sure what he was recruiting for—perhaps offering the not-so-lucky jobs in the fast food industry?
In any case, since I spent most of my time hidden in an office in a quiet building full of professors and visiting researchers, it was fun to actually get a glimpse of undergraduate life. For some, this is the beginning of an exciting journey. For others, it’s time to buckle down and try again. The entrance exams have been in the news lately, since a student managed to post questions online while the exam for Kyoto University was actually in progress—he posted on Yahoo Japan’s Chiebukuro and solicited correct answers from other Internet users. It was later revealed that he cheated in a similar manner on the exams for Waseda, Doshisha, and Rikkyo universities earlier in the month, and the 19-year-old was actually arrested, which is an indication of how important these exams are to Japanese society. The incident has outraged other students and shaken universities around the country. With stakes so high, it seems inevitable that students will find ways to cheat, but universities will have to take action to make sure that these exams maintain their integrity in the future.
I always feel so sad for the students who didn’t get in–I know public exam score announcements are a tradition in Japan, but it must really suck to watch your classmate get tossed into the air and have to put on a congratulatory face when you probably just want to go home and cry.
Yeah, no kidding–this kind of things really heightens the emotions of all involved. I’m so glad I didn’t have to go through this process–Americans have it so much easier!
Excellent post. Exam result time is abit special over here.
It certainly seems that way. :) Thanks for stopping by!
Why do they still publicly publish acceptances? Even China’s moved away from that.
Similar instances of cheating happen in China too. Apparently the GRE test had to be administered again because of suspected cheating (and only the written form is available too). My students also cheat. A lot.
Glad to hear you’re making it over to China–we’ve actually been experiencing great weather. Unfortunately I won’t be able to see you. Do let me know if you stop by Shanghai.
Aw, that’s too bad. I don’t think Shanghai is in the cards this time around, but maybe another time–due to the ridiculous visa prices, I ended up getting a one-year multiple entry visa, so I might be back. :p Until when are you planning to be in China, btw?
As for the public announcement bit, I’m not sure how many other schools also do this–my guess is that Todai would be one of the last to stop, given the importance of its traditions.
Looks like quite an event and love your pictures!!
Japan Australia
It was quite a surprise to just stumble in to all of this unawares–that’s the blinkered life of a grad student for you. ;) Thanks for stopping by!
That drum major is ….he doesn’t seem to be connected to the music or the dancers….definitely doing his own thing. Gald to see the American traditions, Football cheerleaders brass band at that school :)
Yeah, it was fun. The drum major fellow was pretty interesting–he went on like that for quite a while, looked like quite a good workout. :) Thanks for stopping by!
that girl in the last pic looks as if she will have to give it another try next year… :-(
Yeah… Amazingly, I didn’t see anyone bawling or freaking out, but maybe I got there a little too late in the day for that.
What surprises me is that students can enter the exam room carrying cell phones. They should be only allowed pencils, erasers and scientific calculators. It’s common sense really, apparently often in very short supply in Japan. The universities are as much to blame for allowing cheating as the cheaters themselves.
Great photos of the euphoria of students who passed the exam! Yes, they are so happy to pass the exam because they are assured not to study hard anymore at the University in Japan until the next exam for being a bureaucrat.
Thanks for sharing.