ST: "Polytechnic grads put squeeze on university places"
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With this kind of newspaper reports coming out from the national paper, you know where local grads stand versus foreign students.
Polytechnic grads put squeeze on university places
Over half of this year's batch of 21,000 want to go on to university; overwhelming demand for 'hot' courses
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Prime News
March 15, 2008
Author: Sandra Davie, Senior Writer
STUDENTS eyeing a university place have a couple more weeks to apply, but this already looks like another tough year to get in.
The reason: the three universities are looking at a bumper crop of applications from polytechnic graduates.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) held an early admissions exercise for poly graduates and both saw a surge in numbers, partly because 1988's Dragon Year babies are graduating from the five polytechnics .
The NUS received 8,444 applications, up from 6,600 last year, while NTU had 2,000 more, setting a new record of 11,800 poly graduates seeking admission.
As most would have applied to both universities, admission officials estimate that more than half of this year's 21,000 poly graduates want to continue to university.
Not yet factored in are junior college students who just received their A-level results, as well as foreigners and repeat applicants who failed to get in before and will try again.
The Government has said that with the 14,700 places it is providing this year at the three universities, slightly more than 25 per cent of the cohort should get places.
But there might still be a crunch for some courses. The universities expect certain 'hot' courses to be oversubscribed many times over, and this just means it will be harder to get in without strong grades.
Last year's most sought-after courses included arts and social sciences, mass communications, real estate and project facilities management.
There was less demand from well-qualified applicants for courses such as electrical and electronic engineering, computing and science.
NUS vice-provost (Education) Tan Thiam Soon said early indications are that some courses such as business and accountancy are again in great demand this year.
Advising students to consider other courses, he said their career options need not be limited. 'Many engineering and science graduates are snapped up every year by the banking and the finance sectors,' he said.
NTU's admissions dean Loh Nee Lam made a similar pitch, saying that many corporate chiefs trained as engineers and engineers are in great demand here and overseas.
The universities are expecting a slight drop in A-level applicants, as this year's batch born in 1989 is about 1,800 fewer than the Dragon cohort who applied last year.
Singapore sees more babies born every Dragon Year, which is considered auspicious by the Chinese.
Last year, applications from A-level and poly students hit record levels at the NUS, NTU and the Singapore Management University, and it meant far more applicants than places available.
[email protected]
Copyright, 2008, Singapore Press Holdings Limited -
wtf 25%... omg.. wtf is goign on
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Poly graduates also wnt to study dnt they?
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some professor in NUS once told me poly grads have their fair share of education and that we should give the chance to 'A' levels grads...
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and poly grads shud be given more chance.
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So will local students be given priority over the foreign
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hi guys. im a JC student who had just received my grades. It aint that good. But thats not the point. Regarding this article, what i feel is that the question is not whether poly or jc students deserves the uni place more. The problem here is there are lack of places! Our country has such a large amount of reserves(money i mean). Why cant they just spend on building more universities so as to cater to 50% of the corhot. Besides, A lvl grads who only have an A lvl cert will be at a disadvantage if they are to be rejected a place in the local U.
Many people and the govt will simply counter this by saying " send ur kids overseas". But have they ever considered the poor families? Singapore has nothing but manpower. The govt should then equip the people with the skills required. And please take pity on rejected JC students. And by the way, most rejected JC students are ABB or BBB students and below. How the hell will most people get wad they want?
cRap.
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uni place = a level + poly grad + sponsored scholar from prc and india.
where got place for local ?
No $$$ = No uni.
Poodle using your daddy and mummy $$$ to sponsor other peopl education, but not yours.
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Poly students should know better. If they want to go uni, they shouldnt have studied poly since it is a much slower route to uni. Also, A level holders need to be given priority since A level cert is pretty worthless. If those poly students have chosen the JC route, they would be given the priority now.
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I say local uni should be offered on merits to both JC and poly students. Some may argue that poly students already benefited from subsidies on poly tertiary education. I say bullshit when the government allowed poly students entry into the local uni. Why stop to draw the line now? Personally, I will encourage my kid to take the poly route into the local uni. If there is not enough places, I most likely will send him abroad if he is keen on uni education.
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may the best win.
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Originally posted by FirePig:
Poly students should know better. If they want to go uni, they shouldnt have studied poly since it is a much slower route to uni. Also, A level holders need to be given priority since A level cert is pretty worthless. If those poly students have chosen the JC route, they would be given the priority now.
Not everyone has good O level result make it into JC lorh. i think JC and poly should have a fair share of chance to get into uni. Both entries are based on merit so what's the problem.?
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Originally posted by relgn:
Not everyone has good O level result make it into JC lorh. i think JC and poly should have a fair share of chance to get into uni. Both entries are based on merit so what's the problem.?
precisely. may the best win. -
dun allow foreign talents in sg uni.. best
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Originally posted by Cool_boy88:
The problem here is there are lack of places! Our country has such a large amount of reserves(money i mean). Why cant they just spend on building more universities so as to cater to 50% of the corhot.
Somebody give this kid a fucking Ph-fucking-D right the fuck now. He's smarter than the rest of the asskissing pointyheads running the show put together. -
Originally posted by Cool_boy88:
hi guys. im a JC student who had just received my grades. It aint that good. But thats not the point. Regarding this article, what i feel is that the question is not whether poly or jc students deserves the uni place more. The problem here is there are lack of places! Our country has such a large amount of reserves(money i mean). Why cant they just spend on building more universities so as to cater to 50% of the corhot. Besides, A lvl grads who only have an A lvl cert will be at a disadvantage if they are to be rejected a place in the local U.
Many people and the govt will simply counter this by saying " send ur kids overseas". But have they ever considered the poor families? Singapore has nothing but manpower. The govt should then equip the people with the skills required. And please take pity on rejected JC students. And by the way, most rejected JC students are ABB or BBB students and below. How the hell will most people get wad they want?
cRap.
Lack of place? Don't kid me. If they admit every tom, dick and harry into the universities, then who is going to do the blue-collar jobs? -
Why cant they just spend on building more universities so as to cater to 50% of the corhort.
Land in Singapore is scarce.
Besides, to keep on reclaiming land is not an answer. We after all, only can reclaim so much.
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Originally posted by elementalangel:
dun allow foreign talents in sg uni.. best
they have to allow foreign talent in SG cos most poly grads go overseas to study apply PR when they graduate and work overseas as such SG lose these talent. furthermore, foreign talent studying in our local uni adds diversity and culture to local unis so both parties can benefit. -
Originally posted by AugoeideS:
Lack of place? Don't kid me. If they admit every tom, dick and harry into the universities, then who is going to do the blue-collar jobs?
Why, you of course. If you're dumb enoguh to believe that the number of places, rather than demonstrated ability, should dictate whether one has access to university education, you really ought to be cleaning toilet bowls. -
Article didn't say how many places in the Uni go to A-level holders vs Poly grads vs Foreign students.
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ABB annd BBB also reject. quite good alr qad. this is a waste of talent.
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...reduce the number of places reserved for foreigners and you free up substantial number of available places for locals...one can argue better talents but where nature is lacking, then nurture...who's to say a 18 yr old who does not get perfect score cannot excel later and vice versa....
poly is just another route to higher education, jc students should get over it....
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Originally posted by deathmaster:
ABB annd BBB also reject. quite good alr qad. this is a waste of talent.
what course? aiya some courses are hot but the jobs are limited. For eg, accountancy is pretty hot but the no of jobs are limited. No point increasing the no of places by 2-3times when there wont be any job for the pple once they graduate.For engineering or business at nus, BBB cannot get in. Try NTU engine or business lor. After all, both are equally recognised at the end of the day.
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eh, pple, ask yourself this question:
JC easy to get thru or not?
got diploma = can get a job with very decent pay
got A level only = u get S.H.I.T pay, or pay equivalent to O level student.
