kenyon_10

That's a generalization which I think is unfair for you to make. I have classmates that defy what you have just written...

scandal-less

yea and also, try to be more formal-ish. like, mathematics. you can list abit of statistics to back up your claim.. to prove what u mean by arts humanities and creativity are suppressed

CKtalon

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign - Physics

Anyway the essay sounds more like a rant on our education system..Dun see how it really helps ^^

My $0.02

jeremymjr

I disagree. I certainly defy that notion.

I suppose the essay doesn't really bring out your full personality. I'm not sure about the formal style though - I wrote my essays with a slightly more personal tone.

As a side note, although I think that the humanities in Singapore lack that something at tertiary level, it does better at the lower levels. For secondary school students, CAP is excellent; in JC the Humanities Program caters for many talented students. In general though, we treat literature exactly the way Philip Pullman describes the teaching in the UK.

dtwn

Exactly, my point, I'm ranting. Not quite exactly what you would look for in an essay. Still many thanks for your suggestions.

It is a generalization, but for most singaporean students it's also true. Take a typical polytechnic student for example. Regardless of what course that individual might be from, toss him in front of the SATs, and he'll most likely smoke the math paper and crash and burn with the verbal and writing sections. Take the typical JC student, repeat the process, the verbal/writing sections would be improved, but unlikely to surpass the math scores. Admittedly, there are those that don't conform. Which was precisely my point. I freely admitted that I'm not one of those lovely individuals, and certainly defy the generalization I set out in the essay. I want to do something those students. Of course there are also students who excel in everything they lay their hands upon, but these are hardly typical examples of Singaporean students. In most schools, the odd birds tend to get left out/behind. I might sound like Bush, but no child should be left behind. Most of the posters probably belong to the higher strata of local education, so your classmates might very well not be the average Singaporean student. That's wholly speculation and I apologise in advance if you feel offended.

I suppose the general gist would be to make my comments more specific and back it up with statistics. I'm hoping to locate old O/A level scores for each subject. Not much success with that so far. Thanks your comments once again. It also appears that most of you guys disagree with that particular line about local students and their proclivity for math and science. That aside, any other issues?

The thing is, I'm not writing a wholly autobiographical essay. I'm writing with regards to the topic of
"Your interest in an MSU education and how you intend to use it to make a difference in society." I felt this topic allowed me to express my interest without writing the typical essay, which however seems to have devolved into a rant.

I deleted the line about Olympiads as I realised it's not particularly relevant to the essay. I was trying to give a sense of being learned, but I think that line didn't cut it.

And I'll be class of 2010 since I'm not an A level student and I won't be studying anything related to my previous choice of study. Thank God for that.

rippledance

those entering fall 06 are class of 2010. graduating in 3 years is cool, but doesn't have to be done - you could always take more classes, double-major etc. quite a few people here in the US get advanced standing through APs and by challenging courses as well, but over here there seems to be a greater emphasis on exploration than just zipping through the system. just a thought.

I'm not a fan of the Singapore education system myself, especially after leaving it, but you have to admit that the Singapore education system is far more rigorous and gives us a much better grounding than for instance the US high school education system. While the US system is superior for people who are extremely self-motivated, the Singapore system does have its merits in that it provides everyone with the solid fundamentals.

also I would recommend talking about yourself for your college app essays. they should be pretty personal in nature...

jeremymjr

I personally wouldn't favour the use of statistics, this is after all an application essay as opposed to a GP one. Another point which I probably didn't mention earlier was that the essay lacks balance; it doesn't address the first part of the question as much as the second. I still think the personal voice could be stronger - perhaps you could relate your qualities and education to how you can make a difference as opposed to merely critiquing the system.

Going a bit off topic here, but the reason why we tend to do well in Math is because it's supposed to test basic math - math that many students would have mostly covered in lower secondary. Add that to the fact that Singaporeans are comparatively weaker in American English (or logic for that matter), and that explains the divergence of scores between both components. It's not so much about the math-science emphasis in our schools as it is a reflection of our general linguistic proficiency, and yes Chinese is included. That said and done, I actually do agree with you that the level of math and science in Singapore is much higher than the humanities - that's mostly thanks to our pseudo "knowledge-based economy". American universities know that too so I won't be too hasty to immediately condemn it as a generalisation; a quick look at the admittance rates for engineering versus arts will prove that point.

Regarding your Bush point, it's pretty ironic that Tharman made a comment quite recently that in the US, the peaks are getting higher, but the valleys are getting deeper as well. There are very good reasons why I want to leave Singapore for my tertiary education, but it's not because of elitism. Stratification is inevitable in any system, and I rather we do it the Singapore way rather than the US way, which leaves individuals to flounder (and drown). America redefines the term free market in terms of education - and a free market equals market failure. I'll go out on a limb and say an average Singapore student is better educated (iffy but I'll define it loosely) than the American student. Why is it then that the American education system is seen as more successful? It's not because "no child is left behind" as Bush would like to fib, but because of social mobility. Anyone can drop out and have a chance of succeeding in America; but good luck to you if you attempt to carve out your own Rockefeller empire in Singapore.

naff

Hi there fellow Singaporeans. Just wondering and for curiosity sake, given a chance between Local Uni (NUS, NTU, SMU) and Oversea Uni (UMich, UVa, UIUC, Mcgill, U of Toronto); which will you more likely to choose? I really inclining towards Mcgill, UMich, and SMU.

dtwn

Jeremy pretty much covered much of how I feel towards the local system, especially regarding logic. However, I'm not quite sure to which system you're refering to when you mentioned leaving individuals behind drown. I also noticed a bias for the second part of the question over the first. Working on that, but I haven't had got much to work on.

We are probably better prepared on the comparative level for most topics, but they enjoy a broader based education as a whole. Systems are geared differently.

Well, the education system isn't solely to blame for the lower rate of success in carving out your own way, Society and mindset contributes to.

Naff, I would probably pick UMich UoT UVa. No idea why.

Thanks for all the comments. Most of my other essays are the more conventional autobiographical sort. I just felt too strongly about this topic to change it I guess.

dtwn

Incidentally, I sent a copy to my secondary school English teacher to solicit his comments. He said he made some minor changes, but as far as I can tell, nothing's been changed.

ronty007

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scandal-less

jeremy.. deep. nice. i concur.

naff.. i would go overseas. US. canada unis are big, and from what i sense, more concerned about their endowment than anything else. you get admitted purely based on grades (majority of the schools anyway). coming from a large jc myself, im rather sick of the lack of individual attention.... so if i were u i would be inclined towards US... thou not so much UMich and Uva cus they are big big schs as well.. but thats just me.

naff

Thanks guys for your input.


Just want to know really whether NUS and NTU is really that good. Some friends of mine(those not from JC) really do think that local Uni is THE only University. I'm quite surprise at their ignorance about the rest of the world. One particular guy actually pulled out this old newpaper which boldly ranks NUS above certain premier Universities.



Well, besides the UofT in canada, is McGill equally reputable or better?

jeremymjr

naff: Everything else being constant (that is if school fees are not a concern), I would go overseas. UMich and UVa have good reputations, and generally Canadian education is good and affordable (comparatively). But if you want individual attention, don't go to a state college, where you have to be a go-getter and very motivated to take advantage of all the opportunities available. If you don't mind the prestige, choosing less well known but still excellent liberal arts colleges will get you very good financial aid/merit scholarships if you are a good student (and also for diversity reasons). My parents mind though, and being middle-class ie. no man's land, I don't qualify for financial aid yet am not rich enough to take the first plane overseas - so that's a consideration.

Were you aware that NUS is ranked above Princeton and Columbia in arts and social sciences in the THES? Do recruiters care? I don't think so. I agree that the "NUS is THE venerable institution" mentality is very prevalent, but these people aren't going to be your bosses. Don't bother.

McGill is termed the Harvard of Canada; pretty hard to get in.

scandal-less: I actually loved the individual attention I got at RJC, but perhaps that was because I was in an arts class. It wasn't like secondary school where the teachers didn't even know my name; my teachers were always available for individual consultations. Or alternatively, the reason why RJC seemed like a godsend to me was because of my horrible experience in secondary school. I swear never to step foot into RGS again for as long as I live. =p

kenyon_10

RGS?! Oh ok! I have thought that you are a guy. Sorry about that though. But I would say that McGill is much easier to get admitted compare to universities of similar calibre. Acceptance rate is 56% and compare that to Harvard's.