Have you read the article about my preparation for the scholarship? If not yet, you can read it here:

APU Letter of Acceptance and ADB-JSP Final Announcement

After finishing all the preparation and submitting all the application processes, I had to wait for 1 month to receive the acceptance letter from APU (was sent via postal mail directly to my home address) and another 1.5 months to receive the final announcement from ADB-JSP (was sent to my email).

I felt so relieved and flooded with happy tears after reading the announcement because I had been waiting for that moment to come from such a long time. Next, I had to get prepared for the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) and other paperwork to obtain a Japanese student visa.

Both APU and ADB-JSP staff(s), were continuously giving clear guidance on everything I need to know until I safely arrived in Japan.

ADB-JSP Screening Process

My first two weeks in APU were spent for the orientation weeks and the last day of that week was used for a graduate student welcome gathering event. In that event, I had a chance to meet one of the academic staff. Through a short talk with him, I got slight information on how APU's new student(s) finally get rewarded by ADB-JSP.

When they conduct a screening process, three professors involved to help giving each student rank based on their application (their personal statement, English proficiency test score, research proposal, etc.) and to look for the student whose research proposal is matched with ADB-JSP criteria (I already mention about this in the last part of my article).

Based on the rank and research proposal result, the professors then put several students on the awardee list and send that list to the ADB-JSP team. They make the final decision on who and how many students will be rewarded.

Thus, the bitter truth here is that there will be some cases where not all the students listed in the awardee list will get awarded in the end.

My Experience as an Awardee

I have been receiving the scholarship for almost 7 months now and I feel very blessed to receive it. What I get for monthly allowance is more than enough to cover all the bills (tuition fees, living expenses, health insurance premium, etc).

I can focus on my studies and I do not have to worry about everything other than studying. I do not have to look for a part-time job since doing baito outside campus is quite hard for a non-Japanese speaker like me.

I also had a chance to get invited to the ADB representative office in Tokyo last year, to attend the Awardees Welcome Gathering. There, I met brilliant people such as ADB Japan Executive Director, other staffs, and fellow awardees that coming from various countries.

I also could learn more about SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and worldwide issues that we are currently facing and trying to solve, from the gathering given tasks. I feel so honored to be a part of the world's development for the sake of our better future.

As an awardee, I must comply with these rules: sign the attendance sheet once a month, submit a progress report at the end of every semester and submit a tracer form at the end of my study.

And the most important rule I need to always remember is to return to my home country and give my contribution to any kind of social and economic development program that aligns with ADB's visions and missions.

Now it's time for me to utilize my time here, absorb a lot of knowledge, and experience many different things, as many as I can.

Receiving ADB-JSP is such a one way to study in Japan with a full scholarship. The detailed information of ADB-JSP like its eligibility, application process, application period, list of Japanese institutions, and program studies, can be found here.

For those who are about to apply or even are in the middle of the application process, ganbatte kudasai ne! My prayer goes to you... Hope everything will be fine in God's will :) :)