Bracing for a Killer Semester

In a matter of days, I will be starting my 1st JTA Semester, which is a special academic calendar for students like me, under the John Gokongwei School of Management, who would be spending a semester abroad. I am pretty sure that this will be a killer semester because I need to complete a 15-unit load in the next 12 weeks (normally it is 18 weeks) that involves "killer" subjects such as FIN 102: Financial Planning, PH 101: Philosophy of the Human Person, CS 175: Introduction to Multimedia, MKT 101: Introduction to Marketing, POM 102: Fundamentals of Production and Operations Management.

JTA stands for Junior Term Abroad. It is a program of Ateneo de Manila’s John Gokongwei School of Management that gives students the opportunity to study abroad for one term. My parents were not initially supportive of my plan to study abroad because of the burdensome expenses. After all, my expensive tuition fee in Ateneo, is already a heavy weight on their shoulders. As selfish as this may sound, I still tried to convince my parents to allow me to go abroad last January during the application period because I have waited for this opportunity since freshman year.

Back in 2006, I initially got admitted in Ateneo for the course, Bachelor of Arts in Management Economics (MeCo) under the School of Social Sciences (SOSS). But after I learned that the Junior Term Abroad (JTA) Program was exclusively for the students of the School of Management (SOM), I shifted majors. My final choice was the course, Bachelor of Science in Management Major in Communications Technology Management (ComTech). 

Now that I am in my junior year, I did not pass up this opportunity. I applied like many other students in my batch. The Dean screened our applications and ranked us according to our academic performance, leadership capabilities and extra curricular activities. Gladly, I got the 64th spot out of the 200+ applicants. When I heard that the Dean was offering financial aid scholarships worth $2000, I decided to give it a shot. I had a spine-chilling one-on-one interview with our Dean. It was one of the scariest interviews I've ever had. But it was all worth it after he informed me that I got the scholarship! Whew! 

My initial choice was Sogang University in Seoul, Korea with a tuition-waived slot. The estimated cost of living was between $3,550 and $5,250. But when a slot for a low-cost Japanese university opened up, I changed my mind. Now, I got the tuition-waived slot for Akita International University in Akita, Japan. The Office of International Programs (OIP) estimated the cost of living to be between $3,000 and $4,000. 

I am very excited to study and live in Japan because I have never been to the Land of the Rising Sun. Moreover, my excitement stems from my past frustration post-high school and pre-college when I missed out on my chance to study and live in Japan for six months under the Hijas de Jesus Sisters' Shotoku Program. Back then, my parents were not so keen with the idea of me postponing college for one year in order to participate in a cultural exchange program. This time around, after I told them about the financial aid I received as well as the prestige of the JTA program, they eventually gave in!

God is indeed so good because he did not stop showering me with blessings even after that. One day, the Dean gave me a surprise call and told me that he nominated me to receive the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) scholarship and that it has been granted. The Japanese independent administrative institution would give me a monthly living allowance worth $800 plus extra money for pre-departure miscellaneous expenses. Alleluia!!