COST, FINANCIAL AID, INSURANCE, and BANKING
Cost
Students going to either Nanzan or ICU pay the St. Lawrence University comprehensive fee. For those studying at Nanzan,
funds for room and board are distributed monthly by the Center for Japanese Studies. For those studying at ICU, St.
Lawrence will disburse a room and board allowance which may not fully cover room and board charges, depending on the
housing arrangement.
Living expenses in Japan (food, travel, entertainment, etc.) are very high and exchange
rate fluctuations can invalidate even the best estimates. At 110 yen = $1,
miscellaneous personal expenses in excess of basic room and board are
estimated at $4,000 for the year. Students studying in Japan should be prepared
to work part-time to help cover their expenses (see financial
aid section below). Students are also responsible for their own airfare
to Japan and must arrange for their own passports, visas, and insurance. Please
see the on-campus program coordinator for up-to-date information about costs.
A non-refundable first payment of $500 must be paid within two weeks of notification of acceptance. The remainder must be paid upon receipt of a bill from St. Lawrence unless some other payment plan has been approved by the University. Participants in the Japan Program are responsible for the full cost once they have formally accepted enrollment. Refunds will be made in accordance with the policy outlined in the St. Lawrence University catalog, minus any money that has been paid out on behalf of the student.
Financial Aid
Life in Japan is expensive. There are, however, a number of
mitigating factors. One is that any financial aid you may
receive from St. Lawrence is automatically applied to your
time in Japan. Students may also apply for financial aid for
airfare to and from Japan. Another factor is that native
English speakers are in great demand in Japan as tutors. Most
St. Lawrence students who want them have little difficulty
finding teaching jobs that pay the equivalent of $40-$50 per
hour. The number of hours that students can teach is limited
by good sense and by Japanese law, but a part-time job can
be rewarding in both a financial and an educational sense.
Finally, the Japanese government has recently instituted a generous scholarship program for Pacific Rim students studying in exchange programs at Japanese universities. St. Lawrence students who attend for the full academic year have been the recipients of this additional source of funding in the past, but it is not guaranteed from year to year.
Insurance
All participants are required to have Japanese National Health Insurance. It costs about $400. With JNHI, There is no waiting time for claims to be processed and reimbursed;
normally patients never see the portions of their bills covered by National Health Insurance; all Japanese doctors and hospitals accept patients with JNHI.
In addition, students receive insurance coverage through the International Student Identity Card (ISIC). Students may also want to continue their St. Lawrence University Accident and Sickness coverage, which provides worldwide coverage and offers the same benefits overseas that a St. Lawrence University student would receive on campus.
Banking
Although Japan is an international financial center, it is surprisingly inefficient at transferring personal funds from abroad into
accounts in Japan. The process of cashing a personal check in U.S. dollars drawn on an American bank is so attenuated that
the effort is usually not worth it. More effective ways to receive money from abroad are to use Mastercard or Visa; to have the
sender transfer money through a major U.S. bank directly into your Japanese bank account; or to access funds via Citibank's
ATMs in Japan, if you have an account with Citibank in the United States. Nanzan University encourages students to set up an
account at the Tokai Bank in Nagoya. That can take some time, however, so students should bring enough cash or traveler's
checks to last at least five weeks. In Tokyo, students have been able to get cash with Visa or Mastercard with little difficulty.
Mitisubishi Bank has an ATM on the ICU campus. Citibank has an ATM a short distance by train from Mitaka, where ICU is
located.