There has already been a post about education in Singapore and I hope not to repeat what has already written but rather show you another aspect of life and education in Singapore.
An ex-SNKian from the class of 2007 I came here after my 10th grade on the SIA Youth scholarship. After giving my A’levels in December ’07, I am currently studying Computer Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
I am going to go through the following aspects:
1. Social life
2. Diversity in education
3. Exchange programs
4. CCAs
A crucial aspect of University life that most of us fail to think about when choosing a college is the social one. We all want the best education and ofcourse it is the most important criterion. And yet the social atmosphere of the place where you are going to spend 4 years of your life is important too. NUS is a place where you can choose your Uni lifestyle. If you are the party-going type, it has a great night-life. If you are the geeky one, you will find your likes. The point being that the rich diversity of students from all over the world gives Singapore an edge. The numerous halls provide a rich ‘social life’ and yet if you value your personal space there is a range of residences to choose from. With more and more exchange students coming every year and hundreds of international students NUS is a truly global place and could give you the opportunity to connect with people from across the world. Valuable experience.
Unlike most Indian colleges NUS also offers the option (it is compulsory here. almost) of studying cross-faculty modules as breadths. This is important as never again in your life will you get a chance to say study photography, theatre, literature, music, French, German and journalism, to name a handful, in just a couple of years. You have the chance to explore your hobbies and interests in depth. This diversity which is also characteristic of many US colleges truly makes the Uni life fuller.
Not only does NUS offer a rich diversity in its student population but it also offers you the chance to go overseas through many programs like the Student Exchange Program and NUS Overseas College. NUS has liaison with various reputed Universities in China, Australia, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, UK, USA, etc (more than 25 nations). In addition NUS also has liaison with Universities like Stanford, University of Pennsylvania and Fudan University where you can study and intern with a start-up at the same time. This is a just a glimpse of the opportunities that you can grab. There are numerous other programs as well which might cater to you better and give you a global experience.
And lastly, NUS offers you numerous Co-curricular activities that you can take part in. Ranging from cultural, sports to entrepreneurial clubs which will give you the chance to learn something new and explore your talents fully. It is indeed an enriching experience as you get various opportunities to lead clubs and organise numerous events according to your interests. And ofcourse all this adds up to an impressive resume.
Hope you find this informative and ofcourse questions are welcome. Best luck!
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Singapore - The Lion City
Up until we have had a variety of posts ranging from education and applying to US universities to education in India.
Let me give the blog readers a new perspective on education opportunities after 12th. Consider Singapore and its two reputed universities – National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
I plan to cover the following aspects of Singapore education in this post – Applications to NUS, Courses available, Financial aspect of the education, Singapore as a city/state/country and Potential difficulties that a student may face.
On a side note, let me introduce myself. I am Deepen Doshi, (supposedly batch of 2007), but I left SNK after completing 10th ICSE boards in March 2005, for pursuing my high school education at Victoria Junior College in Singapore under the Singapore Airlines Youth Scholarship. I complete GCE A levels in Dec 2007 and joined NUS in July 2008. I am currently pursuing a Bachelors of Computing (Computer Engineering) degree in the School of Computing.
Most of my entries would be pertaining to NUS, but NTU also follows almost the same system of application.
Applications to NUS
Application to NUS can be made under various categories. International (Non-Singaporean) students with International qualifications qualify for the category D. The applications for category D can be made from around first week of October until the end of March. The minimum eligibility to apply for study at NUS is just ‘A good pass in any 5 subjects at ISC level’.
For students who do not have the actual results by the time they apply, (which is highly likely the case for all students taking the ISC exams, as results come out only after May and the application is to be submitted by March), the courses of Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Architecture, Nursing and Industrial Design are not open for application. For all those courses, you need to have the actual result with you while applying
Application goes somewhat like this
1) Complete the online application form.
2) Get your supporting documents ready and mail them to the university at a given address.
Supporting documents consist of photocopies of:
a) High School Examination Results Slip
b) Secondary School Examination Results Slip
c) Additional Results slips like SAT I, SAT II, TOEFL, IETLS (If appeared for)
d) Birth Certificate or Passport
3) Pay the application fee of SGD 20.
4) You are done. Keep your fingers crossed. You shall listen from the university somewhere around late June.
Courses available
All courses in Engineering, Computing, Science, Business, Arts, Law, Social Sciences and Architecture are available. Courses in Computing and Engineering at NUS are reputed courses world-wide.
Financial aspect of the education
Detailed information about the finances can be found here, but the gist is somewhat like this.
(All Annual Approximate figures)
Total Tuition Fees : SGD 32,000
Total Hostel Fees: SGD 3,000
Total Living Costs: SGD 10,000
Total Costs: SGD 45,000
Every student (irrespective of nationality) is eligible for a tuition grant from the Ministry of Education, Government of Singapore of SGD 26,000. You just need to indicate on the online application form whether you want to grant or not. It’s a grant that the government gives to any student studying in university. It doesn’t have to be repaid. But upon acceptance of the grant, you sign a 3 year bond stating that you will work in Singapore for at least 3 years after your graduation. Not a bad deal considering that they will almost spend SGD 100,000 on your education during the 4 years. While serving the bond for 3 years, there are no restrictions. You can earn as much as you can, work wherever you want and do whatever you like.
This leaves a deficit of SGD 20,000 which needs to be filled up by some other sources of your own. This can include
1) FM(Father-Mother) Scholarship: Pay on your own
2) Get some other scholarships like the Singapore Airlines Undergraduate Scholarship, or Dr Goh Keng Swee Scholarship (the one I am under right now), or similar scholarships from other statutory boards like MAS, GIC, etc.
3) Take loans from Singapore banks. I am not sure of the exact amount, but they cover up half the remaining costs after the tuition grant. Its is interest free until you graduate and repayable after you start earning within a period of 20 years after your graduate.
4) Some minimal awards given by the faculty you are studying in the university. May range from SGD 1000 to SGD 5000 annually, depending on what you get and how much you get.
1SGD = 32.80 INR (at the time of writing this entry)
Singapore as a city/state/country
Whatever you consider it, a city, a state, a country; it is what it is – Singapore. Smaller than Mumbai in size and population, its less then 1000 sq. km. in area and houses about 4 million people.
Most of the people are Chinese (70%), some Malays (20%) and some Indians (8%). Rest is made up by Americans, Europeans, etc.
It’s a fantastic place to be in. Probably one of the most happening cities in the world, always has some or the other world-scale-event going on, developing new attractions for tourists and a hub in the south east Asian region.
Potential difficulties
1) Indian Vegetarian Food: Rare to find and expensive. But not a considerable problem, I have been managing since 3 years and have still held up my vegetarian status proudly.
2) None. Trust me, food is the one and only problem here.
Positives
1) Political very stable country. No communal riots since independence.
2) Low crime rate. Very safe for guys and girls alike.
3) Law abiding country
4) Near from home. (5 hours flight to Mumbai)
5) International culture and an opportunity to make friends spread around in the world.
This is enough for one post. Its too long and most of you would not even persist to read this line. If you do, and you want more clarifications or guidance, contact me @ deepen23@yahoo.co.in.
Cheers,
Deepen Doshi
Let me give the blog readers a new perspective on education opportunities after 12th. Consider Singapore and its two reputed universities – National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
I plan to cover the following aspects of Singapore education in this post – Applications to NUS, Courses available, Financial aspect of the education, Singapore as a city/state/country and Potential difficulties that a student may face.
On a side note, let me introduce myself. I am Deepen Doshi, (supposedly batch of 2007), but I left SNK after completing 10th ICSE boards in March 2005, for pursuing my high school education at Victoria Junior College in Singapore under the Singapore Airlines Youth Scholarship. I complete GCE A levels in Dec 2007 and joined NUS in July 2008. I am currently pursuing a Bachelors of Computing (Computer Engineering) degree in the School of Computing.
Most of my entries would be pertaining to NUS, but NTU also follows almost the same system of application.
Applications to NUS
Application to NUS can be made under various categories. International (Non-Singaporean) students with International qualifications qualify for the category D. The applications for category D can be made from around first week of October until the end of March. The minimum eligibility to apply for study at NUS is just ‘A good pass in any 5 subjects at ISC level’.
For students who do not have the actual results by the time they apply, (which is highly likely the case for all students taking the ISC exams, as results come out only after May and the application is to be submitted by March), the courses of Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Architecture, Nursing and Industrial Design are not open for application. For all those courses, you need to have the actual result with you while applying
Application goes somewhat like this
1) Complete the online application form.
2) Get your supporting documents ready and mail them to the university at a given address.
Supporting documents consist of photocopies of:
a) High School Examination Results Slip
b) Secondary School Examination Results Slip
c) Additional Results slips like SAT I, SAT II, TOEFL, IETLS (If appeared for)
d) Birth Certificate or Passport
3) Pay the application fee of SGD 20.
4) You are done. Keep your fingers crossed. You shall listen from the university somewhere around late June.
Courses available
All courses in Engineering, Computing, Science, Business, Arts, Law, Social Sciences and Architecture are available. Courses in Computing and Engineering at NUS are reputed courses world-wide.
Financial aspect of the education
Detailed information about the finances can be found here, but the gist is somewhat like this.
(All Annual Approximate figures)
Total Tuition Fees : SGD 32,000
Total Hostel Fees: SGD 3,000
Total Living Costs: SGD 10,000
Total Costs: SGD 45,000
Every student (irrespective of nationality) is eligible for a tuition grant from the Ministry of Education, Government of Singapore of SGD 26,000. You just need to indicate on the online application form whether you want to grant or not. It’s a grant that the government gives to any student studying in university. It doesn’t have to be repaid. But upon acceptance of the grant, you sign a 3 year bond stating that you will work in Singapore for at least 3 years after your graduation. Not a bad deal considering that they will almost spend SGD 100,000 on your education during the 4 years. While serving the bond for 3 years, there are no restrictions. You can earn as much as you can, work wherever you want and do whatever you like.
This leaves a deficit of SGD 20,000 which needs to be filled up by some other sources of your own. This can include
1) FM(Father-Mother) Scholarship: Pay on your own
2) Get some other scholarships like the Singapore Airlines Undergraduate Scholarship, or Dr Goh Keng Swee Scholarship (the one I am under right now), or similar scholarships from other statutory boards like MAS, GIC, etc.
3) Take loans from Singapore banks. I am not sure of the exact amount, but they cover up half the remaining costs after the tuition grant. Its is interest free until you graduate and repayable after you start earning within a period of 20 years after your graduate.
4) Some minimal awards given by the faculty you are studying in the university. May range from SGD 1000 to SGD 5000 annually, depending on what you get and how much you get.
1SGD = 32.80 INR (at the time of writing this entry)
Singapore as a city/state/country
Whatever you consider it, a city, a state, a country; it is what it is – Singapore. Smaller than Mumbai in size and population, its less then 1000 sq. km. in area and houses about 4 million people.
Most of the people are Chinese (70%), some Malays (20%) and some Indians (8%). Rest is made up by Americans, Europeans, etc.
It’s a fantastic place to be in. Probably one of the most happening cities in the world, always has some or the other world-scale-event going on, developing new attractions for tourists and a hub in the south east Asian region.
Potential difficulties
1) Indian Vegetarian Food: Rare to find and expensive. But not a considerable problem, I have been managing since 3 years and have still held up my vegetarian status proudly.
2) None. Trust me, food is the one and only problem here.
Positives
1) Political very stable country. No communal riots since independence.
2) Low crime rate. Very safe for guys and girls alike.
3) Law abiding country
4) Near from home. (5 hours flight to Mumbai)
5) International culture and an opportunity to make friends spread around in the world.
This is enough for one post. Its too long and most of you would not even persist to read this line. If you do, and you want more clarifications or guidance, contact me @ deepen23@yahoo.co.in.
Cheers,
Deepen Doshi
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