The Life and Times of a Video Game Design Student

AKA. Andrea gets mail and responds to it!

So, thanks to my article on Game Career Guide and the shout out from JC Barnett of Japanmanship I’ve been getting a few e-mails a week. (I hope y’all have added my RSS feed, ’cause there’s not going to be much of interest here until April!) One of the things that has come up more than once is financial questions: how much is tuition, can you do a part-time job while studying, and is there financial aid.

So, what follows is what I’ve gleaned from the website’s FAQ with some of the information from Evan’s interview on Kotaku.

Tuition

So, the information on tuition can be found here (Japanese only, obviously).

My first semester cost me 1,572,500 yen (about $14,000 USD), which included the 300,000 yen entrance fee, and I know that the fees slightly increase every year. According to Evan, the two year program runs about $22,000 USD. The four year program will probably cost me more than double that.

Financial aid and part-time jobs

So, the answer to the question, “Is there financial aid?” is yes, there is. The FAQ (Japanese only) talks about the various types of financial aid available. Regarding scholarships, there are two listed. One specifically states that it’s for Japanese students, while the other says that it specifically for students who want to be game creators. The latter may be open to international students, but you would have to ask the school to be sure.

Regardless of the state of financial aid, there is always the possibility of getting a part-time job. The school itself has information on jobs, such as computer related work, that won’t impede one’s studies. The job would pay from 800 to 1,200 yen per hour and the amount of hours are negotiable (although they wouldn’t be allowed to interfere with your study time). It also looks like the work times would be flexible, allowing you to balance work and school. However, you need to maintain a good attendance rate and good grades in order to keep the job.

What should I do?

Every person looking to go to HAL should assess their own financial situation. If you need a scholarship and/or a part time job in order to make it work, I wouldn’t recommend committing yourself before you can speak Japanese well enough to discuss possibilities with the school. If you don’t speak fluent Japanese, you’ll also have to figure in the costs for getting yourself up to at least JLPT 2 level proficiency (ie. at least one year of intensive study, although two is recommended).

For a second opinion from a student already attending HAL, here’s the advice that Evan gave regarding money:

3. Money
Get your funds secured ahead of time. This may be pretty difficult, but it’ll save you a lot of hassle and worrying. Try to get enough to cover ALL of your tuition. I’m not 100% sure how it works with colleges in America (as I’ve never been), but HAL required payment of the entire year’s tuition up front. Scholarships are certainly available, but that’s something to investigate individually.

I hope this helps answer the questions that y’all have had about the financial aspect of going to school in Japan!