KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Hi parents, I would appreciate any feedback or advice from parents who has sent their children to overseas Uni after the O Levels.

May I know how difficult is the bridging pgm ? Is it a one-year pgm ?
How much would this year cost ?
Is it better if we allow them to do JC here then go overseas uni ?

I'm looking at Australia uni and the reason I'm thinking of sending DD to overseas is that she has decided on what career she wants to pursue. I see that it would benefit her if she saves 1 year in JC and can directly go into the course she wants to pursue in uni.

TIA.

May I know how difficult is the bridging pgm ?
My friends who have done both the bridging programs and the Singapore A-levels all said the bridging programs are much easier.

Is it better if we allow them to do JC here then go overseas uni ?
If you can afford it, just do the bridging program directly. Don't bother with JC. No point spending the extra year in Singapore.

Thanks Xiaostar.

Any idea if it is true that what the student studies in the JC here is cramped into 1 year in the Foundation program ? I tried finding out more information from IDP here on the Foundation program but they are not very responsive in returning calls.

Bridging or I think what its normally called, foundation programs, are much much easier than the A-levels. But the cons are that its expensive as compared to local JCs. And its not really recognised in many places. Usually its only recognised in the home countries. Say you take a foundation program in an Australian uni, it will entitle you to admissions over there. However, coming back to NUS/NTU would be a near impossibility. However, due its ease, you can easily get into good Australian unis without much problem. On the other hand, Australian universities, despite their high ranking, dont set a high benchmark in the first place. Most Australians get by just fine without degrees, they have quite a good recognition for technical schools, think ITE but of a higher standard.

If you have the money to spare, foundation could be a good choice. But if money is tight, A-levels is just fine. Even if you do score badly, you will end up in Australia anyways. I dont mean to make it sound bad, but I have friends that end up in medicine/dentistry/architecture in Australia with mediocre grades. 'Lower-tier' degrees like arts or engineering are even easier to get. I've a friend who got into Monash arts with a CDE. Something impossible to do if you apply for NUS/NTU/SMU.

A OT question - if you obtain a Australian degree, wont it be easier to find a job in Australia?

zbear wrote:A OT question - if you obtain a Australian degree, wont it be easier to find a job in Australia?

It will be easier with NUS/NTU/SMU degree. Our uni are higher ranking than Aussie...

TiredMummy wrote:Hi parents, I would appreciate any feedback or advice from parents who has sent their children to overseas Uni after the O Levels.

May I know how difficult is the bridging pgm ? Is it a one-year pgm ?
How much would this year cost ?
Is it better if we allow them to do JC here then go overseas uni ?

I'm looking at Australia uni and the reason I'm thinking of sending DD to overseas is that she has decided on what career she wants to pursue. I see that it would benefit her if she saves 1 year in JC and can directly go into the course she wants to pursue in uni.

TIA.

Singapore Institute of Mgmt(SIM) offers four year degree in phychology in colloaboration with University of Buffelo-US. You can go directly from O level & i guess there is exchange program as well..Not sure about cost

DadOfGirl wrote:It will be easier with NUS/NTU/SMU degree. Our uni are higher ranking than Aussie...

Many Australian (and European, and American) employers have never heard of NTU/SMU and only a handful of them know of NUS.

Singaporeans are always so obsessed with rankings.

xiaostar wrote:

DadOfGirl wrote:It will be easier with NUS/NTU/SMU degree. Our uni are higher ranking than Aussie...

Many Australian (and European, and American) employers have never heard of NTU/SMU and only a handful of them know of NUS.

Singaporeans are always so obsessed with rankings.

You may be correct , but employers do see your pre-uni education & that's where singapore student will score against any regional education as both GEC O-level & GEC-A level are well recognized in US, UK & Aussie.

DadOfGirl wrote:but employers do see your pre-uni education & that's where singapore student will score against any regional education as both GEC O-level & GEC-A level are well recognized in US, UK & Aussie.

I have worked at 3 Fortune 500 companies and none of them had asked me for my O-level and A-level certs during recruitment.

The Singapore civil service is the only employer who thinks a test done at 16 and 18 years old is a good gauge of your work abilities.