There wasn't too much English assistance provided regarding the payment of the National Health Insurance. Otherwise, orientations provided accurate and informative materials.

I never used any of the three insurance plans I was required to buy at any medical facilities in Japan, but I know some friends had positive experiences going to the university health center, although most help was provided in Japanese, which could be a concern for some.

Safety in Japan is the best that I have ever seen. the location is especially wonderful (nakano campus) and transportation is amazing. Trains come once every 5 to 10 minutes and are never late unless there is an accident or rain. Everything is extremely clean even though there are no public trash cans ANYWHERE. Excursions that you choose to go on and look up are once in a life time opportunities. I got to see the emperor make a speech, be in hot springs with snow monkeys, go skiing, visit a traditional Japanese house, etc. Coolest activities ever.

Japan could be considered the safest area to travel alone in the world, and the public transportation (trains, buses) was fairly easy to figure out and very clean and safe.

Every class except language classes are once a week for 1.5 hours
Most classes do not have midterms.
Almost all classes grading system is based only on attendance, participation, and the final.
(Finals are almost always essays)

Meiji University's Japanese classes were more difficult and more informative all around than those at UGA, but the other classes offered in English were often lacking in academic rigor, instead seemingly acting as practical English for Japanese students. Most classes were easier than UGA classes, but full-time students make up for this by taking more credits than would be usual at UGA (around 20 credits per semester). Meiji's difficulty level is really up to the individual to decide for themself how much they want to study.

Tokyo is a huge place with an incredible number of things to do, with a multitude of parks, shrines, museums, restaurants, shopping centers, etc. all located within the city proper. Just outside the city in any direction, which can easily be accessed by train, you can find mountains, beaches, ski resorts, forests, temples, volcanoes, and more; any other parts of Japan or Asia that you might possibly want to visit are just a short, relatively inexpensive flight away.

I had my own apartment

My dorm, the Izumi International House, was a great place to live, with adequate facilities and a good sense of community built together with the other international students. Cleaning staff came in once a week to help out. The location is very convenient, in a nice residential neighborhood right next to grocery stores, restaurants, a train station, and Izumi campus. If you're not used to sleeping on a futon, the bed might be slightly uncomfortable, but the private room with a private bathroom and shower, air conditioning, shared kitchen and laundry room, is much nicer than the UGA dorm I stayed in my first year.

The cafeteria offers decent food for a relatively cheap price,but I often opted to buy boxed lunches or eat out at cheap-ish restaurants near the campus.

Quality of food in Japan was excellent overall. No meals were arranged for me by the program.

The university offers many events targeted towards international students, and there are clubs that promote Japanese-international friendship and language exchange. One of my favorite experiences in Japan was being part of a traditional Japanese festival organized by our dorm and neighborhood community.

In my host university, there was many opportunities to interact with the local students through events and clubs.

It was easy to get any assistance necessary, and the university exchange student farewell program tied everything together nicely. Information was easily accessible.

Although I never went, the university made sure to inform everyone of the guidance counseling services offered, and took us all on a tour to visit the offices. The staff all seemed to be very caring about any student questions or issues in academics or personal life.

In my case, since I was fortunate enough, along with many others I knew, to receive the generous JASSO scholarship, I had virtually no financial issues while I was in Japan, and I believe my overall cost of the school year was cheaper than at UGA, which is a great value already due to the scholarships and in-state tuition I receive. Without the JASSO scholarship, which is provided by the Japanese government to foreign undergraduate students studying abroad in Japan, the cost might have been a little more than I would have liked, and I might have felt the need to get a part-time job. I know a few students for whom this was the case, and they mostly all took jobs tutoring English in some form. Even so, I think the experience is definitely worth it, as long as it's feasibly affordable to the student.

Everything was great, as mentioned above, and pretty much as I expected it to be. The only thing I might have expected would have been living in housing with Japanese people, which would have given me more opportunities to practice Japanese, but living with English-speaking international students was certainly fine by me.

Tokyo is a fun place to study abroad at so I highly recommend coming here if you want to study abroad in Japan. Just make sure you're okay with crowds and other things you'd find in a big, bustling city.

Always plan ahead. Also, get to Japan before school starts so you can travel. They have no breaks once classes start.

Studying in Meiji is an amazing opportunity. Don't worry about missing a few classes and travel as much as possible. If you don't, you'll really regret it.

Meeting people and making connections was definitely my favorite part about studying abroad. I learned so much from the friends I made while abroad and made so many unforgettable memories traveling and exploring Asia together.

"Don't be afraid to try new things. I had the time of my life and met such amazing people because I branched out from things I normally do."