MEXT Application:
My Journey and Experience back in 2023–24

Hello, World!
Every MEXT Application cycle (which usually begins around April every year), I tend to receive a lot of messages asking me about the application process, or tips and tricks to improve one's chances of getting accepted. While I do try my best to keep up with all the messages I receive, it gets very hard to reply personally to every person. I have also been trying to compile some articles on LinkedIn, it appears so that no one has been reading them that often. This blog is an attempt to consolidate all the articles in one place so that I can just share a single link to everyone reading them. Starting with this first article, I want to talk about my experience as an applicant back in 2023.

My Background and Preparation

I learned about MEXT scholarship probably when I was a second-year Engineering student from Dr. Shreya Santra, a former MEXT scholar who finished her doctoral studies at Tohoku University. She had written an article back then talking more about the scholarship, and her path to obtaining it. She is an amazing person, who has been helpful with a lot of questions I asked. Unfortunately her article isn't around anymore, but it is definitely one reason why I chose to write articles of my own. I would also like to thank Dr. Aditya Baraskar, Mr. Dishanand Joyeprakash, and several other MEXT alumni who were patient enough to answer my questions back in the day.

Coming to me now. I would describe myself as academically average, from a not-so-big university, but curious and proactive. If you take a look at my About Me page, you'll know more about Team Avadhi, Ardra, Airhaven, and also about my other projects. As a prospective aerospace engineer, I was interested in studying Astrodynamics, and Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC), very challenging fields to enter as an undergraduate student with a huge knowledge gap. These are the very fields which helped humankind land a spacecraft on distant worlds like the Moon and Mars! As a second-year undergraduate student, the best I could do was study the interesting courses related to Space Flight Mechanics, Spacecraft Dynamics and Control, Automatic Control, and some more related courses to prepare myself. I must also mention that my grades were 8.78 on a scale of 10, and I only had two conference submissions listed in my research publications.

Based on my interests, I had a few professors lined up according to my interests. I first had professor Yasuhiro Kawakatsu from ISAS-JAXA (also appointed at the University of Tokyo), followed by professor Yuichi Tsuda (also at ISAS-JAXA, and UTokyo), followed by professor Shinichi Nakasuka and Associate Professor Ryu Funase (from the Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory, UTokyo, my current laboratory :D). I also had other professors, such as Professor Shinji Hokamoto, and Professor Toshiya Hanada (both from Kyushu University) in my mind. However, I had very little confidence in my chances of being accepted at UTokyo, and was trying my best to be accepted at Kyushu instead. I also began preparing my applications for the first screening (unaware that there's a preliminary screening before that) almost a month before the applications began, somewhere in March 2023.

I had also been preparing a research plan based on some research publications I read and the courses I had studied over the past few months. I was intrigued by what is referred to as the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP), a simplified model of the Three-Body Problem with applications to spaceflight. Past studies and several missions had demonstrated that the third-body "perturbation" forces from the Moon acting on a spacecraft can actually help reduce the amount of fuel required to reach the Moon. A book by Professor Shane Ross at VirginiaTech even talks about using a much larger model, called the N-body model could be leveraged to create similar low-energy transfers to different parts of the solar system, and even represented in a "Metro-map" like system. I found this idea very interesting, and wrote about it in some detail in my research plan, talking more about how I intended to investigate the possible nodes in the proposed Interplanetary Superhighway, which could potentially give us an easier pathway to the most difficult to access positions in the solar system. I proposed some results I was expecting, followed by a planned timeline of my two years, starting with a literature review about 2 months long, followed by months of research, result consolidation, conference submissions and thesis completion. I do not remember the specifics now, but I did make sure to add a lot of details I thought were important.

When the applications opened, I learned about the preliminary screening. Thankfully, it didn't need any extra preparation as such, so I was able to submit my application fairly early (I recall submitting it just 4-5 days after the applications opened). I chose to list Professor Kawakatsu (from ISAS-JAXA), Professor Nakasuka (ISSL, UTokyo), and Professor Hokamoto (Kyushu), and I submitted the necessary documents as listed in the preliminary screening, making sure to not leave anything behind. If you do know me from LinkedIn or have read some of my previous articles, you probably already know what happened next...

Preliminary Screening Results :/

I hope it wasn't a big cliffhanger from the previous paragraph. I was not selected after the preliminary screening, and the Japanese embassy in New Delhi does not give any application feedback or any official reason for non-selection. Given the amount of time I had taken to prepare my application, it was certainly heartbreaking to not be selected in the very first step of the process. It also took me a while to accept that the other candidates were just better than me, and that I had a lot to work on myself. Honestly, I had also given up on my hopes of studying in Japan when the dust settled, and I had begun preparing my applications to American and European universities by then.

A Glimmer of Hope?

Somewhere around September 2023, I came across a very sketchy article online talking about UTokyo's University-recommended MEXT Scholarship positions. Despite all my previous research, I wasn't very clear on the University-recommended route, and I tried to surf through the web to find anything related. That's when I accidentally stumbled upon the International Multidisciplinary Engineering (IME) program's website. I spent a couple of days going through it, and at some point I noticed Professor Tsuda, Professor Nakasuka and Professor Funase's names on the website as faculty members accepting students! When I applied in 2023, the IME program offered an admissions route that did not require me to appear for the regular entrance examination in Japan. At the time, the application process was fairly similar to that of American universities, where one is required to submit GRE and TOEFL scores, and also write essays similar to the Research Plan I submitted for my MEXT Embassy-route application.

Having already been preparing my applications for several other universities, I redirected some of my efforts to prepare my IME application. I learned about the program near the very end of the application cycle, and had just weeks to submit all my documents, appear for TOEFL, and also approach a professor to obtain provisional acceptance. Admittedly, submitting the docs and writing TOEFL was the easiest part of this process. I must also mention that I obtained a GRE waiver for financial reasons.

Getting accepted by a professor is the challenge no one talks about. The IME program application process prohibits students from approaching a professor before submitting their preliminary application and obtaining a certain "Form 0". I followed this, and began reaching out to Professor Nakasuka, and Professor Funase around the last week of October 2023. Unfortunately, they turned me down back then because the lab was too full to accommodate any new students! (Like, what???)

I then reached out to Professor Tsuda, who then turned me down due to his affiliation with ISAS-JAXA, which had recently amended their policy on the intake of international students. Given my nationality, I was told that my export-control clearance would take a really long time, and it would be inconvenient for me to pursue my studies under those conditions. Both my first choice laboratories had turned me down at this point, and I was almost giving up hope.

Suzuki Laboratory

Frustrated and helpless, I discussed my next steps with Professor Allamaprabhu, my mentor back at Jain (Deemed-to-be University). He suggested changing fields and exploring other allied areas, such as those involving Aerodynamics. If you recall the brief period I spent preparing myself back in my second-year, I did also spend a significant amount of time studying Rocket Propulsion and Gasdynamics. Following his suggestion, I looked at the Aerodynamics laboratories at UTokyo, and found Professor Kojiro Suzuki's Laboratory, which focuses on flows in all regimes, from subsonic to hypersonic. The lab also has access to a hypersonic wind tunnel at the Kashiwa campus, UTokyo. Given my desperate circumstances, I first tried reaching out to Assistant Professor Max Berthet, an IME program Alumni and at that time an Assistant Professor at the Suzuki laboratory. I reached out to him through an unconventional route, messaging him via ResearchGate asking about his research related to combining Aerodynamic control methods for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) based Satellites, an idea which Allamaprabhu sir and I discussed just days back! Dr. Berthet was very kind, and replied to me the same day. He also confirmed that student positions were available at the Suzuki lab, and also gave me some kind words of assurance that I could make it to the lab. I emailed Professor Suzuki almost immediately. Suzuki sensei replied a couple of days later, with some concerns related to my research interests and the logistics of doing my research at the Kashiwa campus, while attending some lectures at the Hongo campus (both campuses, some 1.5 hours apart by train). After some back and forth discussions, Suzuki sensei also suggested that I write a research plan related to modeling spacecraft-regolith interactions using computational tools since I was a little indecisive on my research theme, and also because I couldn't possibly access the hypersonic wind tunnel due to export-control regulations. Lastly, and probably the most important bit of the process. Suzuki sensei sent me a five-question quiz related to hypersonic aerodynamics, after submitting which I would be interviewed by sensei himself.

The Interview and the Results

The quiz I was sent was not that hard. It had five theoretical questions, where I was required to derive a result in three of them, and draw and visualize hypersonic flow around a sphere for another question. I don't recall what the other question was. The interview that followed is something I hold dearly in my memories (for a reason you'll know later). I distinctly remember that the interview was at 4 pm Indian Standard Time, which would be 7:30 pm Japanese Standard Time. Suzuki sensei was still in his office, most probably at the Kashiwa campus. He was a very calming presence, gently asking me to introduce myself, followed by asking some questions about my family and my background in India, such as my university, and the type of courses I had been studying back then. He then asked me about my revised research plan, including the methodology I proposed and the potential long-term benefits of the research. I was a little nervous during the interview, and often stammered throughout the call. However, Suzuki sensei gave me all the space and time to answer the questions at my own pace. Towards the end of the interview, I was also amazed to see Suzuki sensei take a look at his watch and try to calculate what time it was in India as we were closing, to say "Thank you for joining a meeting so late".

Months later, on February 20th 2024, I was informed of my acceptance by the IME Office! I was initially informed that I was accepted to enroll as a self-supporting student. However, just weeks later (somewhere in March) I was told that I was being considered for a MEXT University recommendation spot. I was then asked to fill the application form (which is the same form as what one fills during the first screening in the Embassy route applications), followed by several months of waiting to hear anything about the results. I was only notified of being awarded MEXT in the first week of September, which was just weeks away from my arrival in Japan. Weeks later I was in Japan, and this is how I got there.

Concluding Remarks...

The article has gotten very long and sentimental, with me reminiscing over some of my most cherished moments from three years back. I must also admit that I wasn't very optimistic with my chances at entering the University of Tokyo. I had applied to several other universities, and I had been accepted to New York University, University of Padua, Pisa, and waitlisted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, while outright rejected from MIT, Colorado Boulder, and Politecnico di Milano. Thankfully, I had already decided that I'd be heading to Tokyo even if I got into the other places since Japan is a relatively cheaper place to live in compared to New York or Europe.

As for my thoughts about my journey. I got lucky at every step of the way, where I met someone kind enough to give me an opportunity. There were also instances where I was at the right place at the right time, cue, the sketchy article about MEXT, and also being recommended for MEXT by UTokyo (something I wasn't expecting or asked for myself). Scholarship availability and application routes may change between admission cycles, and some universities may suspend or revise their university-recommendation programs. Prospective applicants should therefore consult the latest MEXT guidelines and the official announcements of their intended universities. This article is centered around my journey, because I get a lot of people asking me about it quite often. I often don't explain it in detail due to how complex it was, and how much effort I had put into preparing. I may have gone into more detail than necessary, but I hope sharing my experience has been useful.

Lastly, my interview with Suzuki sensei is my most cherished memory because it unfortunately also happened to be my last direct interaction ever with him. Suzuki sensei passed away in December 2024, but he was battling an illness well before my feet landed in Japan. I never got to meet sensei ever in Japan. I often feel sad about this, but I also often look back at that moment, reminiscing how it changed my life. Suzuki sensei is the reason I got anywhere over the past two years as a graduate student in Japan, and he'll remain the reason I achieve anything going forward.

If you made it so far, thank you for your patience and for learning about my journey. You may also find my other articles on LinkedIn listed here.

1. About MEXT Application process
2. How to write a good Research Plan

If there's something more you would like me to talk about, please feel free to add it in the comments here in this blog, or even text me on LinkedIn or my other socials.
Please note, if you're reaching out to me on Instagram, please drop a message stating that you found me from my website because I prefer to not accept anonymous invitations. (I hope you understand this).