I, 16m, plan on moving to Japan to (hopefully) attend Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Spring of 2027. (assuming they accept me. if not, I have my next dream colleges in mind, no big deal). I currently have a little more than 3k usd saved up after a few months of working, but I plan to increase my work hours to where I'll hopefully be making about $1,500/month. By the time I leave, I hope to have roughly 25,000 usd saved from working. I would also like to bring up that when I was five, my family started a bank account somewhere where they would put money in every month for college for me. I have not a clue how much is in the account, I was just told that it was more than a thousand. If I had to guess, I'd estimate that probably 2k or so is in there, which is a great help. However, because of the unknown amount, I won't be taking this money into account for my savings.
It's also very important for me to bring up that my aunt will be contributing 2k/year to my tuition, which means that I'll only have to pay a little less than 1500/year on tuition. (Yearly tuition is 3,450usd, and there's a one time payment of 1,800usd for enrollment)
When I get to Japan, I plan on applying for the work permit to work part time to make a little extra cash to ensure that I can afford the full 3 years of study there.
As for the language, I'm currently studying JLPT n4, and hope to be at either JLPT n2 or n1 by the time I leave. I have prior language experience, having studied Mandarin to an hsk5 level, which allows me to study aspects like Kanji a lot easier.
I guess the main part I've been worried about is if I'll be okay on money while I'm there. Before I leave I still need to pay for the visa, I need to get a new passport, and I need to pay for the plane ticket. An important thing that I feel the need to bring up is that I am transgender, ftm. I started transitioning when I was 11, and am turning 17 in 2 months. I hope to start testosterone the second I turn 18, (February of 2027), that way that by the time I leave in March or so, I'll be able to get the correct documents from a doctor to allow me to continue in Japan. This will also have an affect on the amount of money I spend over there. I hope to have a meeting with a professional soon to figure out everything I need to do and get ready for this.
As for the cost of living, based off of calculations made (not including the cost of testosterone), I will probably be spending roughly 700usd/month, including the price of a dorm (assuming I take the dorm route. If an apartment that's close to the school is cheaper, then I'll go for that). Honestly, I don't care too much about what I eat or traveling, I am willing to spend as little as possible on that to ensure I have enough money for university. Classic college student life, you know?
So just a quick run down for the prices after the first two years
Starting: 25,000
Enrollment fee: 1,800 (23,200)
Tuition (after the 2000 from my aunt) : 1,450/year (20,300)
Cost of living : 700/month (3,500)
That leaves me with 3500 for the 3rd year, but I'll also be working parttime throughout the years, to hopefully be able to get enough money for the 3rd year. minimum wage in Tokyo is only 7.8usd/hr, and you can only work up to 28hr/week, however I think this is more than enough time to allow me to save up for my 3rd year. Even assuming I was only working 10hrs/week, with 52 weeks in a year, at 7.8/hr I'd still be making at least 4k in the first year alone, with 8k having been saved up by the end of the second year. This would leave me with 11.5k for my 3rd year. None of this takes into consideration of gifts from family.
With 11.5k:
Tuition : 1,800 (9,700)
Cost of living : 700/month (1,300usd left over)
This also isn't taking into account that I'll be saving money while working throughout the 3rd year.
Also, something else to bring up. My family has said that every year during break, they will gift me with a plane ticket home, and a plane ticket back to Japan. This way, I can catch up with everyone for a bit, while also not worrying about paying rent, as well as getting a part time job where I can get higher wages while I'm home. However, just to play it safe, I'm not covering these prices into my calculations.
The only thing that makes me nervous is that there is a small chance that they could reject me from a work permit.
I don't really know what I'm looking for my writing this. Maybe just for the assurance that I'm doing everything right? This just all means a lot to me, and I've been wanting this for years. Is there anything more I can be doing to ensure everything goes well?
by toebix_