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For those interested in studying in Japan, you may want to apply to the Critical Language Scholarship Program. The due date for the application is the 15th (of November, as in a week from now), so you may not want to do it this year, but it could be an option for next year. Here's the scoop:

You must be a US citizen.
You must be 18 at the time the program starts.
You must be currently enrolled in a degree granting program at a college or university (undergraduate or graduate).
You must be at the Intermediate or Advanced level in your Japanese language ability.
You must also intend to use your language knowledge in your future career.

If you get into the program, they send you to Japan for part of the summer to study the language. Apparently it's 4+ hours of language study each day for 5 days out of the week. Intense stuff.

Enough of me telling you about it! Here's the link:
http://www.clscholarship.org/

I'm applying for this year. Yes, that means I'm trying to get the application materials together in just one week, since I heard about this yesterday. But I have no choice. gonk

At some point. Still don't have a large enough vocabulary and knowing of Kanji.

o_O; Wow. Okay.

See, I got an e-mail from them a few weeks ago telling me I'd made it past the "first round" and my application was still in the running. I thought that meant, "We've determined that you really are over 18, a US citizen, and there's nothing obviously false about your application." Then I heard from a student who got turned away in the first round even though, I'd imagine, he'd made a pretty good application. And now you and your friends. So maybe that first round was more than just rejecting applications on technicalities.

Maybe I have a shot at this thing! eek I hope I hope I hope....

Sorry if this seemed like bragging. confused But if I get it, maybe that will give you guys hope of getting it someday. No reason you can't reapply, even as a graduating senior or a grad student (I am the latter).