Furthering studies in UK

fymk SG

Two of them are work related publications. My main paper is from my old master thesis and work place thinks it is usable to analyse the new data they have now.

And come to think of it - so funny I hated maths when I was young. I actually manage to struggle past into masters level type of statistics without A maths or a JC education - nearly flunk it because I went for the accelerated course somemore. Then BAM...suddenly discovered I got an aptitude for it.

So now furthering into another postgrad for mathematical statistics with Special dispensation by my uni because I don't have higher university math background but all I can say is that they are very surprised with my results because no one expected me to get higher than 80 for the math.

Not academic . It is all hardwork. If I can do it, anyone can do it.

Xcert SG

U sound like U will eventually do a phd and end up in a uni. Laughing Mr. Green

true..its all hardwork. Wink

thousandisland SG

you seem to have a slant towards smu vis-a-vis nus and ntu. act i think it's comparable in many sense. your friend from one top jc and prize winner in poly? from poly jump to jc? very rare.

fymk SG

Whoa.....10k words I already have problems. 50-70k words? Hello ...cannot lah. Maybe I will end up with a PhD - permanent head damage.

My point is not to brag about it but to say if I can do it , anyone can do it.

Somemore , I was from Normal Stream....HAHAHAHHA I think a few of my teachers will faint if they hear about it.

fymk SG

Because nursing that time , only polytechnic has . He went in for all the right reasons - because he was inspired.

I went in because of parental pressure ( rice bowl etc)

thousandisland SG

ow impressive… you are what i call ‘chao pia’ anyway, you really mug for many hours a day har during uni days? just curious

LazerLordz SG

As a Singaporean, you qualify for certain perks as a Commonwealth citizen in the UK.

Check out this site for the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, a non-Departmental Public Body established by the UK Parliament.

http://www.csfp-online.org/hostcountries/uk/

fymk SG

Not a slant - SMU has not established its reputation yet. It is fairly new like I say.

Frankly I am more in favor of NUS because it is internationally established and it is a first tier.

But like I said , a basic bachelor degree doesn't have to be from a fancy university. It is your postgrad degree ,and the university you came from, every employer looks at if you decide to take on further study. You can have a degree from let's say James Cook University and then you do so well that you end up in Oxford for postgrad- people will say you are from Oxford than from James Cook University.

fymk SG

Yeah throw your hat in for everything Smile . No harm in trying.

If not , you can aim to do well in SMU and apply for Chevening Scholarship.

LazerLordz SG

That's very true.

I had the same worries about the initial B.A...but I'm slowly thinking otherwise.

thousandisland SG

thanks laser. but there only got postgrad sadly.

fymk SG

Urm no. I never look at textbooks. That could be why I didn't do well in Singapore.

I go out and ask questions. We had essays to do on top of exams. I went out to places of interest - asked for permission to have a look around and wrote up on it. My references were never of textbooks which plenty of my fellow Singaporean classmates went for first - my references were from all the research journals. I got the brownie points for interviewing people in the particular health specialty - I practically went and interview doctors and nurses which was unheard of for a simple bachelor degree coursework assignment.

I read the journals in my time and take the time to understand it. I got into a few arguments with my university lecturers as well and I can back my argument up - that gave me the scores. All of my papers are referenced with at least 30 articles from peer reviewed journals. At my maximum effort, I had to read about 120 articles and digest all of them to write a paper alone.

But that may be different to your discipline .

I am more of an application person than a theory person.

LazerLordz SG

Well, keep on looking and don't give up.

Wink

thousandisland SG

ow impressive. maybe what you’re studying entails alot of cross referencing. i dont know what to expect for my undergrad tho.

fymk SG

Nah I happened to be the first one who was over enthusiastic so like what my old classmates say - I spoil the market for them. And I found it boring to go out all the time because I did my fair share of partying in secondary school.

3 of my essays are still held in the ole University Library for cross referencing because the lecturers didn't want anyone to copy them for honors or masters level. They are not the usual honors thesis - just coursework assignment essays.

Thing is - it is how you study. Some people like to mug , some people like me don't . I make sure that I understand the issue and then I move on to the next issue. I also did the kiasee thing of signing up for every freaking academic writing course in the university ( last time it was free ) .

Trick to writing any essay to score is to keep it simple and succint. Your lecturer who is marking the assignment is the expert - no point in writing big fancy words in complex conjugated sentences. He looking for a sign that you understand the issue. The rule for me is no more then 10 words in one sentence and everything must flow as though as he is reading times or national geographic . All the main points must appear.

thousandisland SG

you mind sending me some of your writing samples? i just want to know roughly your writing style and format.

fymk SG

Send me your email address in PM or better if you have msn.

autumncs SG

If you have no money it's more advisable to study in a Singapore university and then go for student exchange and/or internship in the UK in your 2nd or 3rd year.

When you go for student exchange, you'll be paying tuition fee to your Singapore university. Financially it's better and more worthwhile to go to UK as an exchange student rather than a full-time UK student... If you manage to get an internship in the UK, it's even better... You'll be paid during your stay in the UK.

4 years ago I also had the same dilemma as you. I wanted to go overseas for my undergraduate studies (I even applied for 6 UK universities and got the acceptance letters), but my family has no money. In the end I studied in NUS. During the past 4 years in NUS, I went to Germany for a summer immersion, Canada for a 6-month internship, Japan for a scientific symposium, etc... and all the trips were fully sponsored. Now, I just graduated from NUS, and I never regretted entering NUS... At least I managed to see the world without spending too much. (I'm the type who like to travel everywhere. Haha.)

Studying overseas is a good thing. But after staying overseas for a long time, you may get home sick and lonely. In addition, you may feel an increasing financial burden... Do you have any experiences living overseas for a long period? If you have no such experiences, spending 3 years in UK may be a difficult challenge. In that case, it'll be better to enter a Singapore uni and do your student exchange or internship in UK. At least a 6-month or 12-month stay will give you less psychological and financial stress than a full 3-year stay. If you love the overseas experience after doing a student exchange or internship (and prove that you can handle your home-sick-ness & your finance), you can always do your graduate studies overseas.

That's my one cent's worth of advice... Smile

thousandisland SG

yup, overseas exchanges and internships are like my next best alternative. yah, i’m also one that loves to travel but only without the dough to. hopefully when i’m in smu, there will be opportunities for me to spend a semester or two in uk or japan! since im already studying japanese now. thnx for your 2c worth though, it’s worth much more than that!

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