Necessity of the Kanji Kentei for grad school

For some background, due to some recent connections I made, being able to go to grad school is becoming a real possibility. I am trying to offset a mediocre GPA by bolstering my potential application with as much qualifications as I can. Of these is of course the JLPT, and I am considering the Kanji Kentei.

For the Kanji Kentei, what minimum level do you guys think will help me stand out? If it helps, I’m looking to get degrees in Japanese history. Appreciate the advice.

It’s hard to say with grad school, since I have no experience there. I mean, taking it at all puts you in a pretty small percentage of foreigners to begin with.

I have level 2, which is generally considered a resume plus even for natives, but no prospective employer has ever specifically brought it up in an interview or anything. I suppose it’s one more thing that gets my resume through initial checks.

My advice would be, if you’re passionate about kanji and writing, then try it and see how far you can go, but if not, I wouldn’t be concerned about it being a make or break thing.

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Thanks for the advice!

Like I said. I had a less than stellar GPA in undergrad because me being a dumb 20-something didn’t take it as seriously as I should have, so I am looking for anything and everything to lessen the impact of that. Thanks again

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Also, assuming you’re limited in the amount of time/effort you have available then do everything you can to try to find out from the kind of people who assess grad school applications whether this is even something they would care about (and conversely what they do look for). I feel like there’s a definite chance that it’s something you could put a lot of time into but which barely moves the needle for somebody making a decision on your application.

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True. The reason I mentioned passion is because I have mostly used it as a jumping off point to show how I’m excited to work with Japanese, etc. It’s something I can point to in interviews or statements of purpose. Having the certificate, but not necessarily being able to tie it to your interests or goals, might not stand out on its own.

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Right now, it’s like a 5 year plan. I’m working on other stuff too. I just thought it might look good since there is no test for Classical Japanese

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That’s essentially how I was going to use it if I get it. Something to say I’m willing to go beyond N1 or joyo in order to read the sources of the period I want to specialize in. Like I have no doubt that it will be a lot of hard work no matter what I do

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You can show how excited you are to work with japanese and come across as sophisticated and intelligent while doing it.

How much I talk about how I chose to spend my time studying and my “passions” is directly proportional to the probability the interviewer thinks im a degenerate.

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Speaking for US graduate schools, it wouldn’t even be in the top 10 deciding factors of acceptance and funding for a Japanese history program. It might get you a “huh, interesting” response from the admissions committee as they sift through your packet materials, but students with N5 language ability will be considered better candidates if their research proposal is stronger than yours. For the amount of time you might study and prepare for kanji kentei, you could craft an extremely focused and thorough SOP, moreso than if you split your attention between the two. Other things that will outweigh a mediocre undergrad GPA are a really strong writing sample, for which you could also invest some time into writing a sample that exhibits key research for your intended specialty, and a good GRE score, which isn’t often necessary these days but it shows a commitment to studying things that aren’t necessarily interesting.

For Japanese graduate schools, I can only speak for the application experience of English-based programs. But similarly to US grad schools, your SOP, manuscript, and evidence of research are all infinitely more powerful for admission than Japanese language proficiency. I could see where it might be helpful for a Japanese-based program, as it would almost guarantee your ability to read high-level research. Otherwise, the time:reward ratio wouldn’t be worth it.

If you’re really committed to packing in as many tiny details as possible that might tip the scales, I would move forward with them but be sure to ask one of your recommenders to mention it in their letter. Admissions committees might feel vicariously impressed if your recommender is also impressed by your effort in language study.

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I would think you would need to be at least equivalent to N5 ability to pass even the lowest level of Kanken, since you need to be able to read and understand the test instructions in Japanese, and know a large amount of basic kanji and vocabulary. It just seems unlikely you could get to that level and not also be able to pass N5.

Unless you just mean “students with an actual N5 certificate” in a bureaucratic sense.

I would personally be more impressed with someone who only had Kanken level 10 than someone who only had JLPT N5.

I’m referring to the fact that if two graduate applications were placed before a committee, one with a generally low level of Japanese language ability but a strong research proposal, and one with a very high kanken score but an okay or even kind of nice proposal, the decision won’t be hinged on language ability/kanken score at all.

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Ah, I guess I misread it. I do think that Kanken won’t decide anything, yeah.

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Thanks for the advice! Like I said to Leebo, this is kind of a five year goal. I hope it’s sooner because I’m already in my thirties, but time will tell. So, in those five years I’m trying to figure out how to best bolster my application.

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I see! With that kind of time, you might consider an online certificate program from a public university. It might take a year to complete, but if it’s online then you’ll be able to take asynchronous classes that fit your own schedule. And if it’s with a public university, there won’t be any question about rigor, accreditation, or transfer of credits. Your new GPA will show up first on your application, it will prove that your study skills have improved, and you have the chance to prime your mind to go back to school for the harder stuff later.

It’s possible you can find some certificates for history, language acquisition, or general research. Good luck, and don’t give up!

That’s a good idea too! I think if I can find some sort of certificate for Classical Japanese, then it will be exactly what I was hoping the Kanji Kentei will prove. Looking at I have to do has been a bit overwhelming. I made a valuable networking connection recently, and the prospect of higher education went from a, “Hey, that would be fun,” to a very real possibility that I want to pursue.

Thanks again for the advice.

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If you don’t mind me asking, what period is that? I’m just curious because you also mentioned classical Japanese.

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Right now I’m thinking of going into Kamakura history. I’m still giving myself a refresher on Japanese history, since it’s been so long since undergrad. It is relatively unknown in the West, plus it’s not as crowded so to speak as Sengoku.

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Cool, I’ve never even heard of that time period, but I’m far from a history buff.

I don’t know a ton of classical Japanese, but my go-to resource is https://www.kotenbunpou.com. It’s the classical grammar version of https://www.kokugobunpou.com, which is also quite handy.

Best of luck!

It’s the period that saw the rise of the samurai, and the Mongol invasions. If you are a gamer, Ghost of Tsushima takes place in the Kamakura period, granted it takes a lot of liberties, which they are upfront with.

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Also, thanks for the website recommendation! It will definitely come in handy!

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