Can most singaporeans afford overseas Uni education?
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Really disappointed I didnt get into the course of my choice in NUS... overseas is simply TOO expensive.... close to half a million!!!!!!
My other friend living in a freaking big house is doing what ive been dreaming of doing my entire life right now in Australia. My grades are slightly better but AHHHHHH! Im stuck here waiting for local uni to start! If only i have the money!!!!!!
I dont blame my parents... they gave me all they could.... im just not good enough
sometimes really feel like crying
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Overseas or not is not the entire story. My mates' kids (once they reach 18) pay for almost all their expenses, even when they study in their own country. So don't blame your parents. I know of a couple of young lads, who have to study a semester, work a semester, then study the next semester, etc. Do they complain? NO. On the contrary, they are always optimistic.
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Money is not the biggest factor in obtaining an overseas education. There are a lot of scholarships (non-govt, private ones), bursaries and loans that exists for deserving students. You just have to find one. If you don't have the ability to raise enough money for an overseas education, then it's probably not a good idea to have one. As you will probably get stuck with a huge debt that you will not be able to repay in the future.
I know ppl who came from poor family backgrounds (i.e with families staying in 1-2 room HDB flats) and managed to go for undergraduate studies in US Ivy league schools for education without a govt scholarship or a full private scholarship. They get bursaries, apply for subsidised tuition with supplemented income from part time work during studies (20 hours a week).
So from personal examples, I think it's "affordable" for most people to go overseas university if they really wanted too. But the issue, is whether one will work themselves to the bone for such an education. That's when people say they can't afford an overseas education because they're not from a rich family etc etc.
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Originally posted by ShitSandwich:
Money is not the biggest factor in obtaining an overseas education. There are a lot of scholarships (non-govt, private ones), bursaries and loans that exists for deserving students. You just have to find one. If you don't have the ability to raise enough money for an overseas education, then it's probably not a good idea to have one. As you will probably get stuck with a huge debt that you will not be able to repay in the future.
I know ppl who came from poor family backgrounds (i.e with families staying in 1-2 room HDB flats) and managed to go for undergraduate studies in US Ivy league schools for education without a govt scholarship or a full private scholarship. They get bursaries, apply for subsidised tuition with supplemented income from part time work during studies (20 hours a week).
So from personal examples, I think it's "affordable" for most people to go overseas university if they really wanted too. But the issue, is whether one will work themselves to the bone for such an education. That's when people say they can't afford an overseas education because they're not from a rich family etc etc.
are you that sure that money is not the biggest factor? yes, i agree that you do not need to go overseas to see what the world is like. NUS offers enough exchange progms and attachments to serve that purpose. however, you must see that the issue with most students about overseas education are as follows:
group1) students whose grades are too sucky to enter local uni, so have to go australia or canada. else, they are simply too rich, to go for 2nd tier overseas uni.
Group 2) deserving students who have the grades to make it to top unis like cambridge, oxford and Ivy. but they don't have the money to study overseas.
The latter is the group which deserve more attention, since they are in part, "restraint" by the local "poverty trap".
if you simply want to have a uni education in the west, to see the world, UNSW will do.
but for oxbridge and ivy, these degrees, not only do they allow the student to see the world from a different perspective, the degrees offered by these unis also carry a lot more weight as compared to an NUS/ SMU degree. you are almost gurranteed employment, with lucrative job offers if you are one of these graduates from these schools. that is the push factor for you.
yes, there are many scholarship out there, but theres thrice as many applicants for these scholarships out there as well. what's the possibility of you getting the scholarship which would sponsor 100% of your tuition fee? very small.
talkng about bursaries, yes, they help, but still, they are not enough if you come from a low-income family.
Cost of overseas education ( leaving out australia)
UK: SGD$80,000 per annum
US: SGD$60,000 per annum
average duration of course is around 4 yrs. so in the course of your studies, you will need AT LEAST $250k just to cover your cost of living and this excludes extra cost i.e. summer school, exchange programme, incurred during the course of study. if you are from a low income family, i am sure that banks are not willing to loan out this big a sum of money, which they are not sure you would even be able to repay. with 300k, i can probably buy a very very nice 5 room flat on my own.
of course, it is a matter of how much you want to go overseas for uni. that is, whether you are willing to spend the first 10-15 years of your working life trying to repay the loan for ur oversea uni education. it also means that while other people have completed their masters and have bought big car, big house, you will still be there struggling to repay ur loans, with interests.
well, if your family is very well off and can afford to pay the tuition fee without having to apply for bank loan, good for you. meanwhile, us poor blokes can only stay in singapore and rot.
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Uni is seriously overrated. You pump in tons of cash, and end up in debt, trying to pay the school fees (for the average Singaporean. Unless you're some kid with cash flowing out of your nostrils), or you get a loan and after graduating, start working your ass off to pay off the debts which have interest. Even before you can settle that, for those wanting to get married, and get a house and a car...whoo....good luck...that's all your money tied down to our dear old government who wants nothing better than to increase GST and their own pay.
And some of the stuff you learn in uni is pretty crap too. I'm saying this as a uni student in NUS. Or maybe it's just NUS. Or maybe it's just me. LOL.
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Originally posted by Durotar:
Uni is seriously overrated. You pump in tons of cash, and end up in debt, trying to pay the school fees (for the average Singaporean. Unless you're some kid with cash flowing out of your nostrils), or you get a loan and after graduating, start working your ass off to pay off the debts which have interest. Even before you can settle that, for those wanting to get married, and get a house and a car...whoo....good luck...that's all your money tied down to our dear old government who wants nothing better than to increase GST and their own pay.
And some of the stuff you learn in uni is pretty crap too. I'm saying this as a uni student in NUS. Or maybe it's just NUS. Or maybe it's just me. LOL.
it's not the uni students' fault that employers just want degree holders mah.. lol.. u want tell that to ur interviewer? "aiya, uni is seriously overrated la, any ah mao ah gou can do this."so best is those born with golden and silver and bronze spoon in their mouth de lo.. lol..
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When I was studying overseas,most of my class mates were working about 13/20.Yes they were locals ther.
How many classmates in here did that?2/25
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Originally posted by Durotar:
Uni is seriously overrated. You pump in tons of cash, and end up in debt, trying to pay the school fees (for the average Singaporean. Unless you're some kid with cash flowing out of your nostrils), or you get a loan and after graduating, start working your ass off to pay off the debts which have interest. Even before you can settle that, for those wanting to get married, and get a house and a car...whoo....good luck...that's all your money tied down to our dear old government who wants nothing better than to increase GST and their own pay.
And some of the stuff you learn in uni is pretty crap too. I'm saying this as a uni student in NUS. Or maybe it's just NUS. Or maybe it's just me. LOL.
I have a uni classmate woh works part time as a housing agent. He has earned enough to cover near half of his uni sch fees
It is not anybody's fault if one ends up in debt because of uni.
In addition, I taught tuition too for my first 2.5 years in uni. Imagine juggling 3 tuition students while still needing to do an overloaded schedule. I take average of 24 MCs every semester. Even for my final sem now, I still take 21 MCs. Reason being is I want to make the full use of my uni education. So while others spend time teaching even more tuition students or just playing around, I spend the extra time to take extra modules (for free) to enrich myself. I dare say I have picked up much more things in my 4 years of uni than most people, on a tiny little expense on my overall score.
It is only crap if you do not know what you want or why you are in uni. A uni education is definitely not for the information that they teach you. You are bound to have wasted your 4 years if you think it this way.
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the orh si govt paid for my education plus living expenses for 4 yrs
thanks much much
but i was not bought over -
if u are rote learning stuff like in NUS, i say its crap but overseas Uni forces u to think and the study aethestic
is gaining knowledge...I have known many others who did uni overseas for this reason alone....
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Originally posted by Melbournite:
if u are rote learning stuff like in NUS, i say its crap but overseas Uni forces u to think and the study aethestic
is gaining knowledge...I have known many others who did uni overseas for this reason alone....
I have frens who rote learn like mad in NUS, but no, they don't score well.
You can see my transcript for the modules I take. I can very well explain to you how I designed it to be more of gaining knowledge (and other soft skills) as compared to rote learning. Anyone who is bent on gaining knowledge can easily do the same in NUS; no necessity to go overseas to do it (or be forced to do so). There is a reason why I will be graduating with near to 20 extra modular credits than the requirements.
You have generalised a lot.
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Originally posted by eagle:
I have frens who rote learn like mad in NUS, but no, they don't score well.
You can see my transcript for the modules I take. I can very well explain to you how I designed it to be more of gaining knowledge (and other soft skills) as compared to rote learning. Anyone who is bent on gaining knowledge can easily do the same in NUS; no necessity to go overseas to do it (or be forced to do so). There is a reason why I will be graduating with near to 20 extra modular credits than the requirements.
You have generalised a lot.
Talk is easy..but since u claim i generalise too much can u show me how u did what u claimed?
The system simply doesnt allow u to...
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Originally posted by Melbournite:
Talk is easy..but since u claim i generalise too much can u show me how u did what u claimed?
The system simply doesnt allow u to...
Sure. Come to my convocation this coming July.
I took 184 modular credits (MCs), 23 more than the require 161 for graduation, simply because I aimed to learn more (this is overloading to the maximum possible every semester, except for my last and current semester). In addition, I took a total of 7 language modules, simply to learn extra soft skills. I also took a module on politics and one on accounting. For economics, because I took it before at A levels, I chose to take it in German while going for my student exchange although it is a definite scoring if I took it at NUS. So here, a combination of politics + economics + financial accounting.
There are also many other useful modules to take (eg got one on stock market TA and FA) but I've already overloaded myself to the maximum that most pple wouldn't do. Then again, I'm getting the notes from a friend who has taken the module.
All above, not related to degree at all. Simply for knowledge and learning. Of course, there are people (most people) who took exactly 161 MCs because they aim only for graduation, I don't deny it. But I myself, I know I have proven you wrong with actions.
Not to mention that rote learning cannot help you do well in most modules at all.
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Originally posted by eagle:
Sure. Come to my convocation this coming July.
I took 184 modular credits (MCs), 23 more than the require 161 for graduation, simply because I aimed to learn more (this is overloading to the maximum possible every semester, except for my last and current semester). In addition, I took a total of 7 language modules, simply to learn extra soft skills. I also took a module on politics and one on accounting. For economics, because I took it before at A levels, I chose to take it in German while going for my student exchange although it is a definite scoring if I took it at NUS. So here, a combination of politics + economics + financial accounting.
There are also many other useful modules to take (eg got one on stock market TA and FA) but I've already overloaded myself to the maximum that most pple wouldn't do. Then again, I'm getting the notes from a friend who has taken the module.
All above, not related to degree at all. Simply for knowledge and learning. Of course, there are people (most people) who took exactly 161 MCs because they aim only for graduation, I don't deny it. But I myself, I know I have proven you wrong with actions.
Not to mention that rote learning cannot help you do well in most modules at all.
any makan treat from u for your graduation lao ying?
i dont mind da paolo -
Originally posted by bryanw:
any makan treat from u for your graduation lao ying? i dont mind da paolono money
pple go for graduation trip, me stay back to start work
me poor -
Originally posted by eagle:
no money
pple go for graduation trip, me stay back to start work
me poor
work good mah. work means money. alot of ppl after graduation want to quickly work and pay sch loans or earn a living so they can stop depending on their parents for money. congrats anyway. -
Originally posted by Melbournite:
if u are rote learning stuff like in NUS, i say its crap but overseas Uni forces u to think and the study aethestic
is gaining knowledge...I have known many others who did uni overseas for this reason alone....
If you rote learn in NUS, you will probably score B- on average. C, D if you dont work hard enough.To score at NUS, you need to understand and think a lot. Then maybe you can scrape through with a B+. You will only get an A if you are really good.
NUS actually forces you to think and study aethestic. I do not know why you are saying otherwise. Maybe you have never studied in NUS?