#insights-from-NTU
Hello, Logos! This is Seungjun from the class of 2018. I hope some of you still remember me from last year (AP chem survivors where u at?) I am halfway through my second semester at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, and I am currently studying Materials Science and Engineering. I will be writing about some college stuff today, mainly about the application process and what it is like to attend NTU and the life of a college student living in Singapore (broke and depressed).
APPLICATION
Deadlines are usually by the end of February or by mid-March, which is way later than most universities in America and the UK. This gives you plenty of time to prepare. When you apply to Singaporean universities, you apply with "American High School Diploma" because that's what Logos gets you. This scheme requires you to have a good high school GPA, SAT, SAT Subject tests, and AP scores. There are minimum entry requirements for application and there are additional subject requirements depending on the major you are applying for. For example, materials engineering requires you to have completed higher-level math (like AP calculus), higher-level science course (like AP Chemistry), and standard-level physics (like SAT physics). So please check carefully at the respective university's website. Also, you gain advantages over other applicants if you have any awards from international or regional competitions. (Singapore seems to value this a lot)
Check the link below for NTU admission requirement and application. Deadline is March 19. (https://admissions.ntu.edu.sg/UndergraduateIntnlAdmissions/Pages/AmericanHighSchoolDiploma_Apply.aspx)
SOME STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW (IMPORTANT)
1. The offer comes very late
NTU gives out decisions only after they receive your official AP results in July. This is very late compared to the US that gives out decisions by March. This means you might have to first commit to other schools you have got in, in case your application to NTU was not successful. This is purely for safety.
2. Tuition grant
Public universities in Singapore including NTU provide financial aid package called tuition grant. It is granted by the Ministry of Education and waives your tuition fee by around half for your entire undergraduate study. As a condition of receiving a tuition grant, you need to work in Singapore for three years upon graduation. If you are interested in the tuition grant, you need to indicate in your application that you want to apply for a tuition grant. Otherwise, you CANNOT get it. Plus, applying to tuition grant decreases your chance of admission because selection is competitive and is based on merit.
LIFE AT NTU AND SINGAPORE
1. This school is huge
NTU campus is ENORMOUS. In fact, it has the largest campus in Singapore and the largest engineering school in the world! When I walk to class from my hall (here, we say hall instead of dorm), it takes about 15 mins walking and that's not even from one end to another end (plus, I walk pretty fast). Fortunately, NTU has three lines of shuttle buses and two lines of public buses that pass through campus. Shuttle bus is always crowded all the time but it's still better than walking up the hill torturing your legs. The campus, though, is beautiful. It is full of trees and greens and I often get confused whether I am attending a university or a botanical garden. NTU has some iconic buildings such as ADM building and the Hive, which are known for their eye-catching designs and structures. That's why it is not hard to find tourists around campus, who came all the way to NTU to see those buildings. It's a really nice campus y'all.
NTU has an undergraduate population of around 25,000. I struggled a lot for the first few months because there were just too many people. Imagine you have to attend a lecture hall of 600 people (this actually happened to me last semester) and you are just sitting there completely lost. Imagine it's actually possible to not run into someone from your major until the day of graduation. Although there is gonna be a period of transition, you will get used to it soon. Make a few good friends. And approach them first. Remember they are all new to college just like you. (Singaporeans tho.. They are hard to approach. Maybe talk to international students first)
2. Studying here might be tough
Materials you learn at college is very very hard compared to what you have been studying at high school. And most of the time, NTU, as one of the top universities in the world, expects a standard that might be exceedingly high from you. You probably have to spend a decent amount of time on just understanding what has been taught in the lecture. Doing homework (problem set) is going to take another couple of hours. Many professors have an amazing educational and academic background that make you go wow (like really), but it doesn't mean they are all amazing at teaching. In the end, you have to spend a lot of time studying on your own. Having a regular study habit is a KEY to success (and i didn't have that last semester rip)
At NTU, there is a lecture and a tutorial. The lecture is done in the lecture hall with a large number of people and the professor just lectures you the material. Every lecture is recorded and uploaded on the NTU portal (wowwww right. This means you can skip lectures). The tutorial is done in a tutorial room with a small number of people and you get to look through problem sets with the professor or a TA in a group setting. Tutorial session is really engaging because you can ask questions freely, discuss certain topics with your peers, and look at the professor's solution to the problem sets. Most of the time, professors introduce additional problems during the tutorial, usually something outside the lecture material. The rule is that you can skip the lecture but never skip the tutorial!
3. You still get a lot of free time.
Despite this competitive and depressing academic environment, I don't always find myself studying in the library or crying over thermodynamics and organic chemistry. I still get a lot of free time besides the time I spend on studying. When I'm free, I enjoy playing the drum in the hall band, cycling with MSE fellas, or just quietly gaming in my own room. Many people are into sports and gymming, so if you are into those, you can easily find a buddy. Party scene at NTU really depends on which hall you are in and how social you are really, so I can't really speak for it. My hall is dead haha. During the weekends, I often get out of campus with my friends and visit city center for some fun -- maybe have a cup of beer at Clarke Quay or treat ourselves a really nice meal at Orchard road. Last time, we even went to watch the choir performance in the concert hall right across the Marina Bay Sands and visit the art gallery for an exhibition on Richard Feynman! (one of my favorite physicists of all time) All thanks to Singapore, where traveling around is super easy and safe. (of course, I can't do this all the time because NTU is too far from everything and I am a poor college student).
SOME STUFF ABOUT SINGAPORE
Living expense on campus is actually very very cheap. But once you step outside of campus...
Singlish. People here have a distinct accent and style of English called Singlish. It's an English that is loosely based on the British accent and largely affected by Chinese and Malay sentence structures and phrases. I personally have no problem understanding it most of the time, but some of the professors and the older population have a very strong accent. Meanwhile, they understand you just fine.
People drive on the left in Singapore. And people actually stop for you when you are trying to cross the road. The thing is their kindness gets a little excessive quite often.
They don't sell alcohols after 10 30 at night. Probably a major drawback for coming to Singapore.
If you have any questions about NTU, other Singaporean universities, or just anything in general about college admission and application process, you can contact me here:
E-mail: seungjun001@ntu.edu.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seungjun.cha.505