Statistics show that 95.9% of all Japanese students graduating from middle school go on to high school. Different entrance exams are held for the three types of school: national, public, and private. Take, for example, a ninth grader who wants to go on to a public school. Based on the student's academic record in middle school, a shortened list of high schools where the student will have more chance of being admitted will be drawn up before he or she takes the entrance exam. Then the high schools will decide whether or not to accept the student by looking at a combination of his or her middle school record and entrance-exam scores.

When high school students plan on entering college, there are more tests waiting for them. To get into a national or public university, they have to take an entrance exam administered across the entire country. About half of all private universities also require this unified exam. Over 540,000 students took the test in 1998. Universities look at the score from this test, as well as from secondary tests administered by each institution; some schools also use interviews, essays, and practical exams in choosing who to admit. Some universities are very competitive: For the most prestigious departments at big-name schools, there can be as many as 20 or 30 applicants for each opening in the first-year class!

Photo: Nervous students get ready to take their entrance exam. (PANA)