My experience in Japan was similar. "They're allowed a good vacation before school starts, and during college." The lowest University of Tokyo graduate has be

My experience in Japan was similar. "They're allowed a good vacation before school starts, and during college." The lowest University of Tokyo graduate has better placement options than the best graduate from any other school. Some of this comes from good reasons - the companies value teamwork and social skills, assuming they own the burden of training people. There are numerous downsides for this method though. (Miss out on good candidates, people could be learning in college, too much lifetime emphasis on one admissions test, etc.)