<p>whats v unfair 1234d</p>
<p>you have this strange dichotomy where university professors are either more interested in research or teaching. at better schools (read: more well-funded), it doesn’t necessarily have to be so. case in point-- i believe my college requires profs to teach on average less than one course per term. this leaves them with more than enough time to conduct high-quality research as well.</p>
<p>with respect to hiring, i believe the brand of the college is sufficiently strong to hire faculty that both teach and are leaders in their field. of course, this is not a luxury that every school has.</p>
<p>what do u guys think about singaporeans going to LACs? any idea on the number of people who take this path?</p>
<p>is it actually practical, especially if u’re coming back to singapore to look for a job (how many local employers have actually heard of amherst/swarthmore/pomona/middlebury…)?</p>
<p>it seems to me that LACs are not really suitable for those overachieving singaporeans who did s papers, olympiads, found the A levels a piece of cake, etc (ok maybe harvey mudd is an exception?) because there isnt as much depth, no graduate courses for you to take, compared to universities like stanford…is this true?</p>
<p>^^
wow…the question of the hour…i am positive several people would certainly be wondering about the exact same question…</p>
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Haha thanks for respecting HMC? I’m actually quite sian to answer at this point. Shall think and respond tmr.</p>
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<p>My POV is if you’re willing to spend thousands on a overseas education, presumably to place yourself more competitively on the job market when you return back to Singapore, then you’re not going to be satisfied with just any small or mid-size corporation as an employer (not considering civil services). Any employer worth their salt and serious about looking for a value employee should know about the better LACs.</p>
<p>Academically, I cannot agree that LACs do not provide “much depth”, in fact the smaller class sizes and more involved professors at LACs are precisely structured as such to provide undergraduate with more guidance to achieve greater understanding and “depth” in their thinking. While it is true that LACs may not offer graduate courses, this does not necessarily mean that “depth” has been compromised in its undergraduate courses for the reasons given above.</p>
<p>A third point for contention is the relationship between “overachieving singaporean” students and their perceived appetite for “depth”. These people may achieve be able to handle more topics and courses simultaneously and graduate earlier, but I seriously doubt they’ll feel unchallenged at a good LAC.</p>
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<p>This is true for most humanities subjects where the most important consideration is the quality of your professors and peers. In this aspect, top LACs probably do very well as they compete for the same group of students as top universities.</p>
<p>However for people who wish to pursue a more science-oriented students, I would say that LACs are definitely a poorer choice. The lack of graduate research (which you can benefit from even as an undergrad) and large-scale facilities do in fact limit the depth of education.</p>
<p>And in general, Ivy plus schools have better resources and industry influences, which may provide undergrads with many non-academic opportunities that are hard to quantify. I am also sceptical about the benefits of having a smaller student body following the conventional wisdom of small class sizes. How much attention do you actually require from the professor, particularly as someone who managed to get into a top college? On the other hand, a larger student body brings with it more diversity, a wider range of non-academic experiences and more opportunities to meet new like-minded people. Just look at the number of start-ups spawned from student networks at larger universities.</p>
<p>This is of course all based on my personal impressions which may be rather inaccurate.</p>
<p>fiona_: i dunno, like accepting a place at NTU even if you’re definitely matriculating elsewhere?</p>
<p>I was required to respond to NTU’s offer by a certain deadline, and I was disinclined to reply in the affirmative since I had intended to study overseas… The NTU adcom told me to say Yes first, anyway. After I deposited at Mudd, I wrote back and told them that I wasn’t gonna attend. </p>
<p>[Respond</a> to/Reject Singapore universities here!](<a href=“https://jointacceptance.edu.sg/pls/webexe/joint_accept.login]Respond”>https://jointacceptance.edu.sg/pls/webexe/joint_accept.login)</p>
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<p>JCX, your point on large-scale facilities and graduate research for the sciences seems fair.</p>
<p>Small class size =/= small student body or vice versa, it depends on how the school structures the classes and what it emphasizes the professor should be doing (teach or research?) There is a healthy number of student diversity and non-academic experiences too at the LACs.</p>
<p>Also, I would caution against the thinking that “as someone who managed to get into a top college” should not need too much attention from professors, even in the sciences, you may not know what you think you know. In this case, more is always better. Furthermore, in terms of the proposed “non-academic experiences”, time with the more involved professors need not necessarily always be about academics, the non-academic experiences with professors can prove to be much more rewarding than with like-minded students.</p>
<p>oh well… anyway for those of you who’re definitely going overseas, are you still keeping a place at a local uni? like just in case visa doesn’t work out or something? ><</p>
<p>Small class sizes… Think of your lectures in JC vs comparatively smaller sec-sch classes, that is the true difference. Lectures v discussion-style/interactive sessions.</p>
<p>Hey all…what are the best ways of appealing one’s decision at NUS/NTU? Any innovative ideas?</p>
<p>Maybe write a letter to affirm your interest in that particular field? I think you should also include some information on your recent achievements, especially if it relates to your course.</p>
<p>To buy a laptop, here or the states? If the former, does the warranty still hold?</p>
<p>Nadash: Check the price of your intended laptop model online (bestbuy.com, Amazon maybe and the manufacturer’s US sites themselves) and see if the prices in the US are cheaper than they are in SG. Not sure about warranty.</p>
<p>International warranty is valid everywhere but local warranties, unsurprisingly, aren’t. Most laptops are cheaper in the States, but you’ll have to wait until you get to USA to buy them. And I hate to wait :)</p>
<p>@1234d: If someone hasn’t made any significant progress related to his course, does that effectively mean he is out, or is there still another way to win a place at NUS? Thanks for replying earlier, btw.</p>
<p>^ not really, although i can’t say with certainty how the appeal system works. My personal take is that writing in (and including details of your course-related achievements) would be helpful. Which uni course are you applying for?</p>
<p>Business/Law/Computer Science, not the competitve ones, huh?</p>