Tokyo 6 Universities
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The Tokyo 6 universities (東京六大学,Tōkyō roku daigaku) are prominent universities that are located in the city and prefecture of Tokyo: Tokyo, Waseda, Keio, Hosei, Meiji, and Rikkyo (St Paul's). The term originates from the baseball league the six universities are a part of (Tokyo Big6 Baseball League, 東京六大学野球連盟 Tōkyō roku daigaku yakyū renmei).
The group of universities is sometimes compared (notably by their students and graduates) with the "Ivy League", but some are not considered highly as others; Hosei, Meiji, and Rikkyo, though famous, are considered somewhat less prestigious mainly due to differences in admissions. Notable Tokyo universities that are not among the six include Sophia, Aoyama Gakuin, Chuo and Hitotsubashi universities and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
The concentration of the nation's universities in one city is one of the highest in the world, certainly among industrialized nations. It is widely accepted in Japan that if one is serious about a proper university education, one should look for it in Tokyo. Many return after their study. These six universities recruit often less than 1% of the top students from local high schools. Hence many high school students begin preparing for examinations one or two years before their senior final years, studying daily, and joining extra seminars after school and/or tutoring programs or study groups during the weekends as well. Many candidates also attend cram schools in the final months before university testing.
With the exception of Tokyo University, a national university (financed by government and more recently corporate cooperatives), all are heavily financed private institutions. The public status of Tokyo University prohibits the offering of athletic scholarships to students in most cases, unlike the other five which permit students to receive scholarships to enroll and join a team. Some of the universities accept students on the strength of their athletic prowess alone. Waseda, Keio and Hosei usually have especially strong athletic teams, from which many are often recruited into professional sports teams.
Prime Ministers of Japan have a history of being alumni from the top three of the Six, particularly Tokyo. It is widely agreed that they are among the most prestigious and selective universities. Acceptance rates can be misleading since only those who think they have a good chance of success invest in an application. Measuring the number of people who would like to enter would result in much higher figures.
