Are University Slots Shrinking ?

The NUS received 8,444 applications, up from 6,600 in 2007, while NTU had 2,000 more. Sharon Tay examines the demand for university slots

 

Around the time the A level results are announced, anxious students and their parents start worrying about getting a place in a local university. And sometimes, if your child happens to be interested in a particularly popular course, such as law, arts and social sciences and mass communications, then his “good grades” may not be a guarantee for getting a slot. And some parents may be forced to look at options outside of Singapore. Is there a squeeze on university places here?

Reasons For The Squeeze


 In a report published in March 2008, the Straits Times wrote about how tough it was for students to get into university because of a “bumper crop” of polytechnic graduates applying for places. According to the report, The NUS received 8,444 applications, up from 6,600 in 2007, while NTU had 2,000 more, setting a new record of 11,800 poly graduates seeking admission. 


A decade ago, polytechnic graduates simply moved into the workforce with their freshly earned diplomas. Today however, the landscape has shifted: many bright secondary school students eschew the junior college path and opt for courses in the polytechnic but with the eventual aim of getting a degree.


Jc VS Polytechnic


 One such student is Jason Chew, a second-year Business student. With his 10 point aggregate score, he could have easily got into a good JC. But opted to go to Singapore Polytechnic instead, which he feels, gets him to his goal of being a banker, faster. Despite this, he intends to get a degree. 


“My parents expect me to get a degree and I don’t think they are wrong. Even those with degrees find it a struggle to get good offers after they graduate. Imagine going into the workforce without one. So yes, I certainly plan on going to university,’’ he says. 


And this means he will be competing with those taking the regular JC route, as well as students from the other four polytechnics in Singapore. But as an Education Ministry official explains, this is not a simplistic picture – arguing that the number of poly students applying is offset against the smaller group of graduating JC students. There are however, other factors at play.

Keen Competition


 According to an NUS spokesperson, admission to the National University of Singapore (NUS) for undergraduate programmes is based on an applicant’s academic performance and this is translated to an university admission score (UAS).


For some faculties, such as Medicine and Law, applicants are short listed based on the cut-off point for short-listing as determined by the competition of the cohort applying in that year. The short listed applicants will be required to attend interviews and tests as part of the selection process. The key point to note here is the quality of the cohort that is applying. If applicants turn up with straight As, then how they do in interviews and tests will become important. And this explains why students who score As are turned away at local universities but are accepted into prestigious universities elsewhere.


Since 2004, universities have also been able to admit up to 10 per cent of each intake through what is known as discretionary admissions. These are students who have demonstrated a special talent or passion in other areas, beyond academic grades. These special talents will be taken into consideration and a decision is made after interviews conducted by the relevant faculties.


Popular Courses


 It is true that some courses will be “oversubscribed” based on student demand. Applicants should know that there is keen competition for some courses and should weigh their choices carefully and look at their chances of getting in, say university officials.
Some courses such as Medicine, Dentistry and Law at NUS are extremely competitive and have very limited number of places. Other examples include mass communications, real estate and project facilities management. Conversely, less popular courses included electrical and electronic engineering, computing and science where it is relatively easy to find a slot if a student has the required admission grades.
Speaking to the Straits Times, NUS vice-provost (Education) Tan Thiam Soon said a student’s career options need not be limited. “Many engineering and science 


Crunching The Numbers
                  
In assuring anxious parents, the Education Ministry has come out to say that local   universities do give Singaporeans priority, provided they meet entry requirements. But in  the interest of providing diversity in the university 
landscape, university slots are also offered to foreign  students. According to a Business Times report published in  
2007, international students make up 20 per cent of NTU’s and NUS’ undergraduate population. The percentage of  
international students enrolled in graduate programmes is much higher at 33 per cent for NTU and 50 per cent for NUS.

graduates are snapped up every year by the banking and the finance sectors,” he said. NTU’s admissions dean Loh Nee Lam made a similar pitch, saying that many corporate chiefs trained as engineers and engineers are in great demand here and overseas.
This open-door policy to make local universities vibrant also makes the competition intense for local students. The Education Ministry however, assures parents that there will be sufficient places for students. Currently, the number of places in publicly funded universities cater to 25% of each cohort. When the 4th university is ready in 2011, university participation rate is expected to increase to 30% - and this should ease some anxiety for parents and students alike. But this doesn’t mean the pressure to get a slot in the university abates anytime soon and students are constantly encouraged by their teachers to not only study hard, but to cultivate other interests and activities where they can shine and to consider second, third and fourth options if the course they want has keen competition.