<p>yeah i figured
thats why i deleted that post :)</p>
<p>well i’ve only been in fass for a short while, so i’m not sure about economics, particularly since it’s not in my area of interest (I’m majoring in philosophy and either literature or sociology) and because, well, i’m not even sure how to judge ie. what criteria to base on. but i could ask some of my friends majoring in econs. my general impression is that all the departments are fairly equal in fass though.</p>
<p>so i have a question: is it harder to get into NUS than a top Indian university for you guys?</p>
<p>oh forgot to answer a question. generally, good students don’t enroll in fass (hah) although the foreigners here do seem particularly bright. i don’t think there’s much to worry about standing out though. the students here don’t seem to have anything against people with brains, provided you don’t flaunt it too much. if you’re the sort who tries to challenge professors during lectures all the time, that will get you many annoyed looks.</p>
<p>hoeman, the intellectual rigour in med fac is excellent. and since indignation wld like to do med, he shldnt face any problems when he;s here. I cant speak for FASS. However, the most plausible reason why fass sees a dearth in academic enquiry cld be attributed to the less stringent entry requirements. I believe its undeniable that those who are there merely for the sake of a varisty education (including those who barely make it in and arent really bothered with their studies) wouldn’t contribute much to the academic environment in that faculty.</p>
<p>and in that respect, top colleges overseas are definitely more appealing by virtue of the calibre of students. a high concentration of eager brains as opposed to a more diffused scenario present in nus fass. </p>
<p>personally, I dont see the need to do pre med. However, objectively speaking, if indignation is confident of getting into med sch in the states then he probably shld continue his studies there instead of coming here. Its no secret that an MD degree is more recognised than an MBBS. He cld (and most prob wld) convert our MBBS to an MD by taking the USMLE when in med sch here and step 3 thereafter (since im pretty sure he wld want to go back to the states for residency). Ultimately, its a cost-benefit outcome.</p>
<p>well not everyone likes rigour you know, especially if they just want to go into general practice or just specialise in one or two areas. i’ve heard many complain that med fac is unnecessarily rigorous, and i personally think they could have some sort of pre med system instead and then lighten the med curriculum load.</p>
<p>i think pre med is an awesome idea actually. it just feels like there’s something missing when you go into a profession without a sound liberal education… like providing tools but without the heart, you know what i mean?</p>
<p>quaskx>>>
the #1 indian university (indian Institue of Technology) which feaures 3rd in the world rankings is very, very tough to get into. Almost 100k students write its enterance exam each year and only about 3000-4000 get in.
The rest of the good universities dont feature anywhere in the rankings, so i guess NUS is a better choice.</p>
<p>quaskx, thanks a great deal for the info. I will still apply to NUS, but I will go there only if the US applications don’t work out. It is after all true that most of my friends who recommended NUS to me studied in the engineering department.</p>
<p>Anyway, it seems to me that NUS has done a great job in boosting its reputation everywhere except in Singapore itself! Now that’s unusual.</p>
<p>One reason so many Indians and Bangladeshis (I don’t know about other countries) apply to NUS is that it costs less than for example unis in US or UK because of the tuition grant. Another reason is that the application process is very simple (no essays, no recommendations). I know that the second one should not be a reason, but for a lot of people it is! I have a lot of friends who are too busy with university admission tests to have time to write essays or take the SAT/TOEFL, and many of them send in an application to NUS since it requires so little time/effort compared to most universities.</p>
<p>yeah…very valid point.</p>
<p>quaskx, how’s philo and lit there? it’s the exact combi i’m interested in. and pretty much why i wanna apply to the US; that combi is a dead-end here.</p>
<p>warmbrownie, i’m not talking abt intellectual rigour. i’m talking abt learning, abt being with kindreds, abt romantic idealism (albeit bordering on naivety)–abt life.</p>
<p>nbz, where are u applying to? '87 batch? gd luck with ur apps. u sound like nax from eforums.</p>
<p>p.s. 21.5 more workdays!</p>
<p>i’m not too sure about lit since i’ll only be taking it next sem but philo is really good if you’re interested in political philosophy. Prof Ten Chin Liew is internationally renown particularly as an expert on J S Mill. </p>
<p>Yes NBZ, Singapore is a particularly unusual country which sidelines its own citizens for foreigners. It’s not really a democratic country but more like an autocratic business conglomerate. Singapore is basically a rather depressing place for Singaporeans. This is by far the biggest reason why I want to get out of here, at least for a while. Warmbrownie said grass is greener on the other side. Well, I guess I wanna find out for sure.</p>
<p>warmbrownie</p>
<p>The thing is I have the passion to be a physician but my academic record shows no sign of that, sure I took AP Bio. and AP CHemistry(which are most difficult course of its repected field in our school) but other than that my sat isn’t stellar and nothing seems better. My fear is that I am trapped in doing pre-med, which I find utterly useless as a doctor is well defined by his/her med school; and thinking about saving a few years only adds to the want of attending. Anyway I will apply and see what happens. Thanks your replies everyone.</p>
<p>that’s okay Indignation, they’re not looking at academic record when they’re asking for passion. Most A level students wouldn’t get in otherwise. You just have to wow them during the interview, which actually isn’t all that hard. Of course, the first step is to get shortlisted. You might want to try to increase your SAT scores.</p>
<p>NUS Med Fac is really expensive though, unless you get a subsidy, and if you do, then you have to work for the Singapore government for some time I think.</p>
<p>Academic excellence isnt a measure of passion imo, so yea dont worry about your subjects not showing ur ‘love’ for ‘medicine’. I myself took Economics and Econ “S” (smthng like an AP) simply because I loved the subject and excelled in it. Did it mean that I was at a disadvantage compared to those who did bio and chem and phy at “A” level? (the traditional ‘med fac’ combi in spore) No. If anything, I believe it only made me seem more versatile (since I tried my hand at Bio ‘S’ as well). So yea, dont worry.</p>
<p>If u have been giving back to your commmunity, doing things you love, tested your calling to medicine, and are sure of yourself, you will have no problems, esp at the interviews which I found to be a breeze, unlike some of my peers. The interviews are erratic though. </p>
<p>They tried to throw me off tangent by asking scientific questions (they asked me if I happened to know what meningococcal meningitis was, and if I did, then what the chemoprophylactic drug was. they also asked abt the etiology of hand, foot and mouth disease since spore was experiencing an outbreak of HFMD then). but as long as you maintain your cool, and draw on your knowledge, you’ll be fine. They want to see your thought processes. </p>
<p>I sincerely wish you all the luck and hope to see you as my classmate next year. If you need any help, u can pm me for my email add / msn address. </p>
<p>Later.</p>
<p>Another Singaporean here who is leaving singapore for uni.</p>
<p>I disagree with quaskx statement about “singapore is depressing for singaporeans”. I think that Singapore is a pretty good place to grow up in, its safe, clean and has a good (albeit single minded) education system. The problem is that Singapore is a really small country it’s basically a city state. Therefore the entire population has pretty much all done exactly the same thing from birth, and therefore all think the same way. So thats the reason why so many want to move abroad because they want to experience life outside the ‘singapore bubble’. It’s kinda hard for me to explain what its like to non-singaporeans but im sure that any singaporean would agree with me.</p>
<p>I think we give NUS a little less credit than it really deserves.</p>
<p>I’m in the UK now as I type this and I don’t think the intellectual quality of students in NUS is any worse than those over here. I suppose you come here expecting too much and it may not deliver in every sense.</p>
<p>Hi, I just finished my A lvls (argh a disaster lol), and I’m from the Arts stream, so I have a number of questions for quaskx (and well anyone else who has faced the same situation before).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I’m thinking of taking law and econs if I stay in Singapore (hah assuming I even get selected). If I take that, or law by itself, will I be able to attend courses outside my concentration, eg on lit / philo? </p></li>
<li><p>What’s the law faculty like?</p></li>
<li><p>Frankly I’m not that keen on law (don’t even know what it’s like), but I feel that the strength of a course very much depends on the calibre of the students; in other words, quaskx’s case for wanting to attend an LAC. Good teachers are not as important as good students who are favourably disposed towards learning for learning’s sake. In view of that, how good is FASS; and should I go for SMU econs instead? (my only hesitation about taking pure econs in SG is the way there’s only 1 type of econs taught here, the “maths-ey” type)</p></li>
<li><p>Sorry if this is too personal, but how do you intend to finance your US education after you transfer, quaskx?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hey there. I had acceptances to both law and medicine and spent some time in the law fac, so I may be able to answer some of your questions.</p>
<p>1) No. The course load is heavy and I doubt you would have time for much else. Moreover, you have to maintain a certain CAP each semester to be able to continue on with your double degree. So that robs you of alot of your free time. Morever, with the law school at bukit timah, you’ll have to shuttle between the latter and NUS. A major inconvenience imo with considerable opportunity costs. </p>
<p>2) The law fac is pretty fetch. However, there are alot of ‘acquired taste’ people in there, you either like them or you don’t. The course is demanding and there’s quite abit of emphasis on rote memorisation of the law. I believe this is unlike the way law is taught at some schools overseas. That said, the faculty is still highly reputed in the asia pacific region and in most parts elsewhere, so the quality of education you wld receive isn’t questionable.</p>
<p>3a) If you’re not keen (and worse still, ignorant about the legal profession), then why go for law? No offense, but don’t deprive smone else of his seat. The faculty itself is small and limited to 230 students per batch (even fewer for those on DDPs) and there’s always someone who’s dream is to become a lawwyer. I’m sorry but i feel its very selfish if you go into a course just because of its ‘prestige’ and what not. (my apologies if I have misunderstood you). So if ure not certain that this is the degree for you, do things (internships, research etc) that will enable you to make an informed decision with regards to your future. Personally, nothing can be more frightening than going into smthng blind with no real plan. </p>
<p>3b) After speaking to friends from fass and smu, I would go to smu if faced with that choice. The inter-collegiate tie ups and style of teaching are reason enough for me. But then again, I’m neither in fass nor smu and will never be, so I cant really give an informed answer.</p>
<p>Hi qwing,</p>
<p>I think I can help to answer some of your questions, because I was from the Arts stream as well and didn’t have much choice in terms of faculties either.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I was accepted for the NUS Law and Economics double degree, but chose to do Law in the UK instead (because I thought the ‘calibre’ of the students would be better, but well, it may not always be true). For the record, they took 40 people for both the double degrees in my year (I was from the 1987 batch), so that would be about 20 for each but I reckon that they will increase the intake. If you take a law/double degree, there is very little scope for taking classes outside your concentration. This is not only due to time constraints, but also the course structure.</p></li>
<li><p>I can’t tell you exactly what the law faculty is like - because I’m not in it - but it is generally very competitive. There appears to be more spoon-feeding at NUS compared to other universities, so it depends on your preferred style of learning.</p></li>
<li><p>You should think very clearly before doing law for the sake of doing it; it’s not for everyone. I was pretty much inclined towards Geography/Economics but chose to do Law in the end (the strength of the students was in no way a factor in my consideration). I do not think that a large number of students in Law study for the sake of learning; quite to the contrary, people may have less passion in it because many do it for the prestige. And good teachers are more important than you will ever realise! (But of course, good academics do not make good teachers - I have lecturers who are very famous but just can’t teach.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The main aspect of Law that I am actually enjoying here is Roman Law, which happens to be quite academic. The law course I am doing here is already much less black letter compared to the course offered in NUS, so do think clearly before going into something which you know nothing about. However, an FASS degree tends to be less ‘prestigious’ and less well regarded in the eyes of employers (which are of course, as many Singapore employers are, ignorant). As for SMU Economics, my friend there hates it; so I guess it depends on how exactly you want to learn - do you want to spend a large amount of your course time doing things like “communications” and embrace a - I may be wrong - faux American style?</p>
<p>Thanks for all your reply, and one more question how long is the MBBS program? And if i were to graduate from it sucessfully, would my chances of passing the usmle the same as if I were to study in the US.</p>
<p>5 years with 1 yr housemanship after you graduate. The statistics favour U.S. medical students when it comes to the USMLE, with international candidates having an average pass rate of 65% compared to 90% in the states. But I reckon its due to the style of questioning which international med students arent used to. Alas, once you figure out the technique, you shldnt have too much of a problem. US students also have dedicated curriculum periods to prep for the USMLE which we don’t. There aren’t any statistics as to how sporeans fare in the exam but several doctors i know have aced it without too much of a difficulty.</p>