Any hope of private school diploma holders to enter local U?

baikachuchu SG

I currently have a SHATEC Dip in Hotel Mgmt with 3.4+ GPA.

I plan on getting a Business degree majoring in management or finance rather than a hospitality degree.The reason being that I hope for more diversified job options rather than being confined to the hospitality industry which I'm starting to loose interest in.

I wish to have all my studies done locally too as I need to take care of my mom who has health problems.The added burden of overseas living expenses is also a turn off too.

With the above factors,I would like to ask my fellow forum goers who have private school diplomas like mine as to whether there is a chance of entering any of the 4 local universities for the business degree? (NUS,NTU,SMU,SIM)?

NUS seems to be out of the question as they stated on their Admissions page that private diplomas are UNACCEPTABLE and won't be entertained.I called up NTU and SMU but their staff don't seem to be able to give me a definite answer and they told me to just apply and see.Their webpage only mentioned A levels,local Polys and oversea qualifications but nothing about private institutions.

Another option is SIM GE business degrees.The fees are more expensive but they seem to be more accepting of private diplomas as the staff I called up said that they do accept private qualifications for the GE program but they could not give a specific answer for mine.

I know that there are other institutions in Singapore offering degrees but I worry about the extent of recognition and accreditation.

Anyone else in a similiar situation as mine or had been through it before?Please share your experiences with me,thank you!

bryanw SG

3 local unis out of the question. maybe sim allow pte diplomas. pte diploma holders are subjected to scrutiny cos some of them messed up the o lvl as such went the pte dip route.

bryanw SG

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baikachuchu SG

3 local unis out of the question. maybe sim allow pte diplomas. pte diploma holders are subjected to scrutiny cos some of them messed up the o lvl as such went the pte dip route.

Thanks for you reply.You have a valid point regarding the O levels.

For my O lvls,L1R5 was 16,L1R4 was 13.A and E maths both A2 but english...B3.With shitty results like mine,I can understand why they would be more careful of pte dip holders like me,haiz.

Even so,I guess life must continue

bryanw SG

honestly i met many ppl frm shatec's htl mgmt and most of them either drop out frm sch, drop out frm attachment, went into other industries to work or went to study other fields. they cannot take the long hours, low pay, weekends, PH must work etc. hotel mgmt students totally different frm culinary students. the culinary ppl usually stay on in this line.

i know TP offers a hospitality course. i have a friend who could go to poly but liked the hospitality industry as such chose to study at shatec instead of TP say shatec's htl mgmt more recog. it is also well known shatec ppl many mc during htl attachment compared to TP and some shatec ppl have attitude probs cos they come frm rich family.

in the end when applying for degrees of cos the poly have more exemptions compared to shatec. though shatec's htl mgmt is 3yrs course. somebody told me he studied higher dip in htl mgmt frm shatec after finishing his dip to get more exemptions for uni. rather weird thinking. dip is diff frm uni. no pt so many exemptions frm uni. what can one learn if the uni course so short or study few modules.

baikachuchu SG

I apologize for your bad experiences with such SHATEC students but I can assure you that not all are like that.

The working conditions that you mentioned regarding the local hospitality industry is one of the reasons as to why I plan to move out of that industry.Working the midnight shifts or split shifts is not ideal for me when I have to either be at the hospital or at home to take care of my mom most of the time.

I have seen some SHATEC hotel Mgmt students who are only there to pass the time and pick up girls.Some even manage to go through the whole 3 years but fail to produce the 15000 word report at the end of it.Thankfully,there are still those who will finish the whole course to proof its credibility.

As to SHATEC students being well known MC Kings during attachment,I have no statistics to show to dispute your statement and will take it in good faith

Let's try not to get too off topic here

bryanw SG

it is quite a surprise that with your results L1R5 16pts, L1R4 13pts, u choose to study in shatec. if i not wrong my friend told me shatec entry requirement 3 o level passes enough. guess the only way is sim.

are u a guy? if so, have u served your NS? few years back the govt suddenly start to recog shatec 3yrs htl mgmt dip and promoted the NSF holding such dips to cpl. thus serving 2.5yrs of NS. only NSF with A lvl or poly dips are promoted to at least cpl. the n lvl, ite, psle all lcp. then a new directive came out a reduction of 2 mths in NS and the guys served 2yrs 4mths. finally the latest directive of every NSF regardless of education level will serve 2yrs of NS.

baikachuchu SG

Yep,I'm a guy.Going to ORD in a few more months so rushing to make it for the JAN intake in one of the Unis hopefully.

When I was young,I used to travel alot overseas with my family and I was very curious and interested in what the hotel staff was doing while I was staying in one.

Peer influence and an indepth talk with one of the SHATEC trainers led me to choose that school in the end.My horrible experience with science in Sec school discouraged me from taking on a JC.As time went by,actual working experience in the hospitality industry and family factors caused me to seriously reevaluate my future.

You are not the only person to be surprised at my decision.Many of my friends and relatives ended up slapping their palms into their faces and going "KAOZ" when they heard about my decision to take on hospitality with that kind of grades.They were screaming like "Enigneering,Health Sciences,Mass Comm,Computing....but why HOSPITALITY???????"

I do not regret the decision I made earlier on.If circumstances were different for me now,I would have stayed on in the industry.

baikachuchu SG

i have a friend who could go to poly but liked the hospitality industry as such chose to study at shatec instead of TP say shatec's htl mgmt more recog.

If you don't mind me asking,has this friend of yours graduated from the course already?If so,did he/she continue to study for a degree and where he/she applied to?

bryanw SG

world class hotel mgrs all speak foreign languages studied at top htl schs. they worked overseas and used to be exec chefs before switching over to senior mgmt. SG htl industry cant compare to those overseas and its also in some ppl mindset that 2 work in this industry is like a servant. and most singaporeans r used to being served than 2 serve. perhaps thats y local unis nvr offer such a degree. this industry no need a dip to be a mgr but needs a wealth of experience. most mgrs no dip and r malaysians. i ever heard of some shatec htl mgmt dip grads offered a waiter position upon graduation n they couldnt take it. they expecting mgmt positions. every industry we need to start frm somewhere. promotion is fast if we prove ourselves quickly.

most of my friends joined sales. some went to informatics to study their degree courses. a few applied for sim not sure if they got in. some applied to fly with the airlines. some signed on in the police force when in NS. i know alot interested in joining banking sector studied business/commerce etc. but now also lots of such grads entering this industry. employers r also discerning to filter out the various degrees.

bryanw SG

so in NS u were promoted to cpl like some of my shatec friends?

baikachuchu SG

Okay,I off topic abit but let's not have too much of this pls

It is true that experience is more valued than paper qualifications in the htl industry and that everyone has to start from somewhere.

Unfortunately,Singapore's htl industry is so competitive that even the most hardworking tend to be left in cold storage.For example,I spoke to an Front Office Assistant manager in one of the major hotels in Singapore and asked him about his working experience.He told me that he had been working in the FO department for 15 years and had only been promoted to AM 2 years back.That means that he had been a FO clerk for about 12 years or so!He only had O level qualifications.He even won several STB awards during his service.Most overseas hotels rejected him for manager post due to his qualifications and instead offered him to start from clerk again.Quit his current job at his age and move overseas with his family to start from square one again?Even the most passionate person in this field could hardly stomach this.

The FO manager on the other hand had a degree in Biz Admin(major accounting) and had only been working in the htl industry for 4 years with his previous experience being an accounting manager in another hotel.

I asked the AM for his honest advice and he told me that if he were younger,he would have gone for courses and try to branch out to other fields.

I like this industry but I'm realistic enough to know that even if I tried my best and worked hard,I would not be good enough to survive for long in this industry.A steady job with low prospects won't help to pay the cost of living and my mother's treatment bills for long.

Before I enlisted,I had done about 4 years worth of part time banqueting and even after I ord,I will still do it if I can fit it into my study schedule.

Serving others is not a problem but dedicating my life to a job with not much propects is not much of a dream.

baikachuchu SG

so in NS u were promoted to cpl like some of my shatec friends?

Yep

Xcert SG

I currently have a SHATEC Dip in Hotel Mgmt with 3.4+ GPA.

Competition is already tight among the poly batch...I think U better look elsewhere.

baikachuchu SG

Competition is already tight among the poly batch...I think U better look elsewhere.

Judging from the lack of response from people with similiar situation as mine,I think that is more or less the case.

Oh well,I guess I will most probably end up in SIM.

guaiboiboi SG

high cert =high paid etc like uni entrepeneur = how much you want depend on you but hardwork so many post on education haha.

bryanw SG

yr english quite bad

bryanw SG

yr english quite bad