G2O2

There is really no definite criteria for getting into Princeton, or any of the US universities for that matter. If there were, the student population would be too homogenous which is what the college really does not want. There has to be a dynamic environment with a high quality exchange of ideas. They are look for someone with unique characteristics and intellectual interests, not just those with good academic results. It is very very different from getting into JC, where a computer decides whether you get in or not and all that matters is your L1R5. That's why your personal essays and teacher recommendations count so much, they want to know that they are admitting a person and not a studying machine. In fact, the admissions process is so unpredictable that if you were to send in two identical applications one year after the other, one may get a favourable response and the other may not, depending on whether the college happens to need what you have to offer.

melt

g202 is spot on. too many uninformed people think it's JUST about the grades or standardized tests, which is obviously not true.

shoot

Hey how were your SAT scores everyone?
And Happy V-Day!!!

jeremymjr

i'm done with SATs for the rest of my life; they were the most horrible tests i've ever taken - 4 hours straight with a nasty proctor.

CR 800
M 780 [bubbled one wrongly and i realised it was wrong the minute i stepped out of the hall]
W 720 [apparently all grammar i learnt in primary school has gone to the dogs =p]

wasup

ppl why do u want to get away frm NUS
i mean its got a great ranking standing and ur frm singapore itself!

scandal-less

because NUS will leave you so jaded- it wouldnt even be funny. and going overseas is an experience in itself, and personally i find nus's courses too rigid. and besides, nus doesn even have international recognition and international employability. if you go to nus, chances are, you have to be holed up in singapore for the rest of your life.

woebegone

first of all the rankings, especially london times one which placed NUS at 18th and 22th for the past 2 years, are crap. the ranking methodology is largely based on the % international students and strength of the faculty (e.g. research citations). % international students is not exactly a gd guage of educational quality or even the social exposure a student would get at the school... like, Harvard has say 10% international students and NUS has 20%, does that make NUS any better than Harvard? Besides, that 20% is predominantly made up of students from countries in the region, like China, India and Indonesia. Not much of diversity to speak of really. As for the faculty, I am rather suprised that NUS faculty is considerably active in the academic arena. But then again, being the only comprehensive university in Singapore, most of the academic research done in Singapore must be in some ways affiliated to the NUS professors, so there. Besides, research is one thing, teaching is another. The way of teaching, or at least I imagine to be so, is still very much of a one-way thing. The quality of the students is perhaps another problem. Every year, most of the brighest in the nation end up flying to UK, US and lately, China, which leaves NUS - arguably the best university in Singapore - with hardly any share of the nation's top students (less Medicine students I guess). Perhaps the worst thing is the rigidity in curriculum. Dual degree or rather, double majors across different faculties, is virtually impossible except for options offered by the university. i can only think of econs + law and physics and material engineering, then again u need 5 freaking years to complete them.

And of course, no matter how good NUS (or NTU or SMU for that matter) may be, the pasture always seems greener on the other side!

rayyy

Okay I'm going to make a remark that has nothing to do with the NUS discussion so far.

Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that a lot of users on CC can't seem to tell the difference between 'your' and 'you're', or 'their' and 'they're' or 'its' and 'it's'? I just find it kind of strange how users who have otherwise perfect grammar mix up these terms... I hope I'm not being pedantic, but really half the people here who mean 'it's' use 'its' instead and I want to figure out why.

shoot

Yup!
furthermore, going overseas is a new experience. I mean, if you've stayed in sgp almost all your life, you wouldnt have been exposed to other education systems. Going overseas gives you the perfect opportunity to do just that! and if you can survive in that kind of new environment and do well, you would be able to achieve just about anything! wherever you go.

scandal-less

i think its just sheer laziness, ray. i can differentiate between the terms, but i just cannot be bothered to do so. after all, why bother? not like anybody's here for a grammar lesson.

woebegone

oh yeah experience, missed out that most important point haha.

eh yar i agree it's sheer laziness... afterall, 'its' is one character shorter than 'it's'...

Kjoodles

I mix up grammar when I'm doing several things at once. But then- you're not my english teacher so I don't really care

jeremymjr

regarding the rankings of NUS...i used to have a joke with my friends that a large part of the rankings is based on peer review. which of course means that "wow SMU is one of the top three universities of singapore!" then again, we didn't erect billboards on campus or take out a full page newspaper advertisment to highlight notable alumni. =p

btw i think the dual degree programs take in maybe 10 to 20 students a year - the chances of entry are hardly on my side.

fact is however, that an NUS degree for some reason or another is revered by many. my friend was telling me how her colleagues believed that "only lousy students go overseas"...because NUS is of course the premium institute. =) there is nothing about NUS that i absolutely cannot tolerate - i just want a different experience. that said, i don't think NUS will shortchange anyone in terms of academics at the undergraduate level at least.

dtwn

First up, if you look at most forums frequented by US posters, they just tend to spell stuff like that. I find it rather annoying, but hey, it's a free world.

Here's an example of how rankings can be skewed. I meant skewed as in how it differs hugely from the rankings offered usually as proof of the local universities' superior rankings, not as a matter of personal opinion.
http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2005/ARWU2005TOP500list.htm
NUS is rated between being the 101st to the 152nd in the world, and NTU is ranked between 301st to 400th. Universities in the same rank range are ranked alphabetically. Here's a link as to how this particular table ranks the schools.
http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2005/ARWU2005Methodology.htm

Personally, I think studying overseas offers you a brand new perspective. I've already had experience with being overseas for a year or so and certainly wouldn't mind extending that. And besides, who said anything about getting away from NUS? For me, it's more about getting away from Singapore. Not indefinitely of course, but the fresh air will certainly benefit me.

kenyon_10

And it's strange that NUS/Straits Times only focuses on the Times Higher Education Ranking and totally ignore the Shanghai Jiaotong University Ranking. Well done NUS!

And also the Times Ranking only evaluates around 500 universities whereas the Shanghai one evaluates around 2000 universities around the world. So which is better?