Hoshino Seminar – Student Interview“Spend time on things that are worth doing – The purpose is not to enter the seminar, but what todo after entering”

Why did you decide to join Hoshino Seminar?
I’m talking about how I felt when I was in the second year, but I was aiming to become an
accountant, and I was studying to pass the exam in my 3rd year at Keio.
After the exam, I knew I wouldn’t be busy with anything related to becoming an accountant for awhile, so as a college student, I realized I will have some time between the summer of my thirdyear until graduation. In addition, job hunting doesn’t take that much time, and I think that there
is still time left to do what I like, and I was searching to find what I wanted to do next.
To become an accountant, I went to a cram school and studied a lot. However, there wassomething wrong with studying at a cram school all the time even though I was in college.
I took classes that I was interested in and studied quite a lot, but I realized that studying in a cramschool and getting my qualification as an accountant would take up my college life. To prevent
that, I decided that I should commit more time to Keio as a college student once I finished myexam to become an accountant. As a result, I decided to join a seminar in my 3rd year.
When I was thinking about what I wanted to study, there was a time when I was thinking about
what kind of study I should do at Keio when I was choosing my major because I hadn’t taken theentrance exam since I am from SFC high school (Keio High School). Then, I became interested
in statistics, and since I was good at mathematics, I wanted to study statistics a little more. WhenI was looking for a seminar on statistics and measurement, I came across Hoshino seminar.
Hoshino seminar had a great environment, but the teacher was also a member of the Japan
Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research,and he was conducting joint research through these two organizations. I had a vague idea that I
would like to make use of statistics in my life as an accountant, and I thought that I could doresearch that suited me, so I decided to join this seminar.

When did you decide to join Hoshino Seminar?
During the first seminar information session, I happened to learn about Professor Hoshino’s
association with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The atmosphere of the students I
met seemed to match, and I thought sensuously that Hoshino Seminar would be the best.
During the second information session, I decided to look at various other seminars, but I felt thatHoshino Seminar was the best.
How was it when you joined the seminar?

When I joined the seminar, although I said I was interested in a variety of statistics, I had noknowledge at all. I took econometrics in my second year, but my other classmates had alreadyunderstood the deep world of statistics. I was stimulated by their efforts and interest in statistics.
I believe that people that join Hoshino seminar already knows what they want to do, knows what
they want to study, and has a strong passion to learn, so in this sense, everyone has a different
background. I have been having a great time at Hoshino Seminar. It’s interesting to talk with thepeople at the seminar, and that’s why I think we are having fun, continuously challenging eachother, studying, researching, and writing research papers with each other. The biggest effect on
me is that the people around me are always challenging me.

What did you prepare for the application process?
The most important advice I can give to the current 2nd year students is to solidify their reasonsfor applying. While I was studying statistics, I wanted to do research that would connect me tomy work as an accountant.
If you have this kind of ambition or goal, you would be able to write your ES on your ambition
as well, so it would be easier for you to write your reasons for applying to the seminar. Also, theinterview is held a month after you turn in your ES, so you may not remember what you wrote.
However, if you have a clear ambition or goal, you can talk based on that. I think you will beable to convey your passion to the interviewer.
You also have to write a report, and I tried my best not to contradict myself with what I wrote on
the ES such as my interests and passion. I wrote my ES and report based on my ambitions andgoals, so I think it was easy to evaluate when looking at it as a whole. I don’t know why I passed,
but I think there aren’t many people in the world who have a clear ambition, and I just have it
because I listen to people around me and talk about it. I think having this will also be anadvantage in my life, and I think that I can match it with Hoshino Seminar.

How much you prepare for the exam must affect the application process greatly, do youthink the exam is important?
I think that the reason why there are differences depending on the person is that the sense ofpurpose for joining a seminar differs depending on the person. If it's an entrance exam for acollege, you're only aiming to get into school, so I think you'll study moderately, but the purposeof a seminar is not to enter, but to enrich the rest of your university life. I think that this way of
thinking is common, and the method to enrich it differs from person to person. For example,
some people join with the desire to create a new community within a seminar and expand theirnetwork or make more friends, while others join for the purpose of doing research and wanting
to solidify their studies in this field. I don't think it's a place where I have a lot of admiration orwhat I want to do. From what I've heard, I get the sense that there are various purposes, such aspeople joining to create an appealing point for what they did during their time as a university
student.

However, joining a seminar is not necessarily always the right answer for university students. I
have always thought that in your last half of your college life, you have a lot of time in yourhands, and you have the power to make money through part time jobs. During college, there aremany opportunities to think about the future, and this time is also a precious time that you will
never be able to get back. As a result, what you will do with the time, where to invest, the time
will differ depending on each person. I think that students should spend time on things that theyvalue the most.
So, if your answer is joining a seminar, you should delve into why you want to join, and try yourbest in the seminar. There might also be a possibility that joining a seminar is not the correct
answer. You might want to join a club, start a band, or whatever, but there’s definitely somethingthat you will become passionate about. So, I want students to think about what you are truly
passionate about before your join a seminar.
If you try applying for a seminar just for the sake of joining a seminar, in the end the interviewer
will be able to see through how unprepared you are and all the time your used to prepare for
applying will go to waste. I would like you to carefully consider whether to join a seminar, what
you will do after you join the seminar, and use your time for things that are most valuable to you.

Do you have any regrets about spending most of the time to become an accountant?
I don’t regret getting qualification as an accountant, but I do regret that I spent my first two years
at Keio just to study to become an accountant. When I was in my first year at Keio, I started
studying to become an accountant while attending clubs and other activities at the same time.
However, I should have studied a year earlier for the exam to be free for a year.
The four years of university goes by quickly, and if you immerse yourself in one thing, it’s overin a blink of an eye. It’s a matter of thinking about things, but when I look back, I want students
to spend their time in a way that makes them feel glad that they chose their path. I think thatwhen entering university, everyone started out in the beginning of their university life looking
for one or two things that would make them feel glad that they were able to live such a university
life. I hope that every student remembers that exciting feeling and continue to challengethemselves to try new things.
Lastly what is Hoshino seminar’s strength?
I think that Hoshino Seminar is a seminar where people with completely different backgrounds
come together to study in a challenging environment. Professor Hoshino will support you withwhatever you want to study, and he has always respected my will. You can commit less when
you are busy and commit more when you have some time. I believe that this seminar is a great
environment where I can continue to follow my passion and work at my own pace. I recommend
Hoshino Seminar a lot!

Sidenote:This was the first attempt of the Student Interviews. We started this series to be able to help
students understand how our “senpais” chose their seminars and what kind of feelings they had
when they entered the seminar. We conducted a survey among fourth year students andrequested volunteers for interviews. We believe that carefully interviewing each person will
benefit the underclassmen. In this first interview, we interviewed two students, and they gave us
dense details on their seminars. I think that “spending time on things that are valuable to you” isnot only applicable for the application process for seminars, but also for everyone’s life aftercollege. Also, the comment, “The purpose is not to enter the seminar, but what to do after
entering the seminar” will stick to everyone who will start their application process. I would
appreciate it if you could think about the true purpose of your seminar.