I would appreciate some testimonials and discussion on recent experiences regarding support services that help with getting into a language school in Japan to study for a year. I have done searches on Reddit and the wider internet so I know this has been discussed before, but the latest comparisons I’ve found are at least from 4-5 years ago and appear out of date, so I am checking to see if anyone has recent experience with going to Japan for language school on student visa using GoGoNihon and GaijinPot or other methods.
I may be able to muddle thru on my own but it is important for me to be sure to dot all the i’s and cross the t’s with the school and visa applications (and probably help with housing as well) so I would rather go thru these services. From what I was able to gather, GoGoNihon is slower to respond, but offers more help like housing and organizes student activities, and also tries to build a strong community among their students (not entirely sure what that means). The discussions I was able to find on the web and on Reddit say GaijinPot don’t offer the extra help and activities above, but are more diligent in helping with the applications especially if coming from countries where the visa application is more complicated (I’m coming from the U.S. so that part might not matter as much).
However, those comparisons and discussions I found are all from 4+ years ago and from both of their respective websites, they seem to offer similar things, with GaijinPot also supporting housing help according to their website.
So does anyone have recent experience with either of these services and if so, would you mind sharing your experience and how it turned out? What services other than helping you get the student visa and enrolled in the school do they offer? My long term goal is to find employment in Japan by learning Japanese. Do either of these services offer more help other than setting you up with schools that say they offer help in that regard? Thanks in advance and any comments or advice in trying to decide between the two services (or others) would be greatly appreciated.
by garyF1