Applying to PII or not

I remember once I got the Light Fellowship and got into the 3 programs I applied to, I was at a loss. My family wanted me to go to Yokohama because of its closeness to Tokyo, but I was sort of leaning towards Kanazawa. This is my advice and what I'd say are the good and the bad of PII.

Summary of basic feel of PII:
This is probably one of the best experiences I've had. The homestay program is definitely a large plus, and since all your classmates are university students, it's easy to connect. Class is useful for learning vocabulary and kanji, but I feel like I didn't pick up much grammar from class.

Number one advice:
This is a bit harsh, but I would say don't do PII or any serious Japanese program if you've only finished 1st year. The students here studied Nakama, which is just a rote grammar-learning textbook, very similar to JSL (except apparently little emphasis on speaking). I also really loved 2nd year Japanese at Yale and you're missing out on a lot if you don't have Maruyama-sensei and Seto-sensei. Only 1 year of Japanese doesn't seem like enough preparation for talking to the average Japanese person or even one's host family. I met many people here who still have to rely on whispering English in the Rifare building.
On the other hand, I feel like 3rd year Japanese had a huge degree of benefits. First, our materials, Spirited Away first semester and a collection of Japanese cultural texts (rakugo, haiku, manga, essays about English teaching in Japan) second semester were all very interesting and are material you could not get at Yale. Our class was closer to a literature class than a language class. Many 3rd year students felt the 'click' of almost-fluency and I found myself enjoying discussing deep topics with my host family such as religion, school, gender roles, etc.
Surprisingly the majority of students (2/3 about) only finished first year before coming here. 3/6 Yalies had finished first year, while the other half had finished 2nd year.

Good parts about PII:
- Kanazawa is the best possible city EVER. It has several historical landmarks easily accessible by bus, but also has the feel of a bustling city so you never get bored and can always find fun, inexpensive shopping, karaoke, or arcading. I would say it's probably more manageable than Yokohama and more interesting than Hakodate, though I haven't actually been to either.
- You make really close friends here! I met some really awesome people from many different universities. We can have nice, deep conversations in both Japanese and English.
- The homestay program is awesome. It's not as scary as it sounds, living in another family's home. You get to really bond and understand Japanese life.
- Classes are not so crazy (if you don't go overboard) and teach you a lot of Kanji. I would say I know over 1000 kanji now, and a lot of useful vocab too. Homework and studying took me about 1-2 hours a day 1st semester and 15min-1 hour a day second semester. However, some students go crazy and do up to 5 hours a day, while others do it all the day it's due.

Bad parts about PII:
- It seems the homestay program can really differ depending on the person. There are expected problems like students unsatisfied with food or with communication problems. However, the hugest obstacle is that the families really vary in location. Some students had 2 hour train commutes and didn't even live in Kanazawa. On the other end of the spectrum, there were students who lived a walkable distance from Rifare and could use their bus passes to go to hot spots like Korinbo and Kenrokuen for free. Luckily I was in the latter group. If you get the Yuki family in Tenjin-machi next year, YOU ARE LUCKY. They're the best ever!!! Hehe.
- The classes can get tedious. I found Spirited Away especially annoying, with its literature class-like overanalysis of everything. However I loved second semester with its exciting discussions and fun presentations.

Let me know if you have any questions!