Deferral Policy

AKP recognizes that various circumstances may change your plan to study abroad. If you were successfully admitted to AKP and wish to attend during a term different than the one that you were accepted to, please read the following.

Normally, all requests for deferrals must be made no later than two months before your designated arrival date in Japan. Given the unusual circumstances with COVID-19, students accepted to Fall 2022 may give notice of deferral up to one month before their designated arrival date.

Deferral for One Semester

Students who are successfully admitted to AKP may request to defer their enrollment for up to one semester (i.e. fall semester to the following spring semester or spring semester to the following academic year/fall). All requests must be made in writing to [email protected] and should briefly describe the circumstances behind the student’s decision to defer.

Upon successful approval of a student’s deferral, the AKP US Office will transfer the student’s application to the following application cycle on the AKP Application Portal. Deferred students will not be expected to apply again. However, in either February or late-September (depending on the semester to which the student deferred), AKP will ask the deferred student to resubmit the following information to confirm that the student is still in good academic standing at their home institution:

  • Academic Information Questionnaire
  • Official Transcript

AKP will also have the student sign a new enrollment form to confirm their commitment to the program.

If a deferred student has submitted pre-departure paperwork after being accepted for a previous semester, they may need to resubmit some or all of these pre-departure items. The AKP US Office will reach out to the student with details.


Deferral for More than One Semester

Students who wish to defer their enrollment for more than a semester must complete an entirely new application. This is to ensure AKP has a more accurate picture of the student and their Japanese language ability. For those interested in reapplying, please note the following:

  • Students will not be penalized for reusing the bulk of their Statement of Purpose Essay or Homestay Family Letter. However, they must address anything interesting that may have happened since they initially applied to AKP and how their view on studying abroad or Japan may have changed since then.
  • Students must receive a new Japanese recommendation/assessment from their current or most recent Japanese instructor. They cannot reuse their previous recommendation/assessment.
  • For the two general academic recommendation letters, students are more than welcome to request letters from the same faculty members who provided letters for their previous application. AKP will leave it up to the faculty members’ discretion as to whether they reuse the same letter for the student’s application or not (though AKP encourages them to update their previous letter to account for anything that may have occurred since the initial application).
  • Previous acceptances to AKP will be weighed favorably during the decision process.

If a full-year deferral is requested due to unusual circumstances, such as program cancellation by either AKP or the student’s home institution, then AKP will waive the reapplying student’s application fee.