Making tertiary choices

Yann Ling: Make sure that the university you choose to enrol in is accredited for employability.

CHARTING one’s tertiary pathways – what programme to undertake and which higher education institution to study at, in particular – is not as straightforward as picking an item off a menu at a restaurant.

Here are five factors to be considered before making a decision.

1. Your major

The driving factor behind choosing your university would be your major. Make sure your course is one you would be interested in pursuing as that plays a role in determining your academic performance.

If you are unsure about this, do your research by looking at the course structure and the job prospect, and really question yourself on what you stand to gain from it.

2. Location

After identifying the course, think about whether you would want to live at home as a tertiary student, or live independently from your family. Either way, you should consider the distance and travel time.

Both choices have their own perks. For example, if you move out, you have the freedom of making your own decisions as a young adult but you will have to factor in the cost of living, which may be higher depending on the city and country you are in.

If you would like to obtain both local and overseas experience, you may opt for a twinning programme.

3. Quality

How good a university is can be determined through the quality of its courses and the facilities available.

Find out how your choice of university has performed on the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, and the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, for example. Also, find out how employable its graduates are.

More importantly, make sure that the university you choose to enrol in is accredited for employability.

In addition, ask yourself if the facilities and the instruction delivery mode such as lectures and tutorials are suited to what you are looking for.

You should now be able to make a list of the universities that satisfy your needs – a good list would include public and private universities, both local and foreign.

4. Cost

This is the factor that usually ultimately determines if you are able to pursue your desired course in the university of your choice.

Find out about the tuition fees. Bear in mind that if you have set your sights on a university abroad, you should also take into account the cost of applying for a student visa and the living cost which includes accommodation fee, average meal price, university essentials cost, travel expenses and even entertainment cost.

If the cost is an issue, look out for scholarships and student loans that will decrease your financial burden.

5. Entry requirements

A certain pre-university grade, a language certificate (if you are studying abroad) and an admissions test – these are some of the common entry requirements set by universities.

Pick a university where you meet all its requirements. Also, find out about the selection process as some universities may require applicants to go through an interview.

Yann Ling, 19, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. Throughout the year-long programme, participants aged between 14 and 22 from all across the country experience life as journalists, contributing ideas, conducting interviews, and completing writing assignments. They get to earn bylines, attend workshops, and extend their social networks. To join Star-NiE’s online youth community, go to facebook.com/niebrats.

1. There are many types of tertiary courses offered by our public and private universities. Look in The Star newspaper for the names of these courses. Cut out the words and paste them in your Star-NiE scrapbook. Get a family member or friend to do the same. When you are done, compare your lists. Ask yourselves these questions:

a) What kinds of skills and strengths must I have in order to do well in these courses?

b) What are the job prospects for graduates of these courses?

c) How much do these courses interest me on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the least favoured)?

2. Study the advertisement on page 6 of today’s StarEdu pullout. Can you find the following information in the advertisement?

Courses and twinning programmes offered, job prospects, location of the university, university rankings, proof of accreditation, facilities available, instruction delivery mode, tuition fees, opportunities for scholarships and student loans, entry requirements.

Is there any other information you would like to find out?

3. Here’s another role-play you can carry out with your activity partner. Based on the information provided in the advertisement on page 6, role-play a telephone call between a student calling in to enquire about a programme offered by the university and a representative from the university. When you are done, rate each other’s performance. If you are doing this as a class activity, vote for the university representative who displays the most patience as well as knowledge of what the university has to offer.

Since 1997, The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme – with the Education Ministry’s endorsement – has supported English language teaching in primary and secondary schools nationwide. Through Star-NiE’s teacher and student workshops, annual contests and monthly English language resources for classroom use, participants of the programme have reportedly shown marked interest in the language and progress in their proficiency. Now in its 24th year, Star-NiE is continuing its role of promoting the use of English language through a weekly activity page in StarEdu. These activities are suitable for use individually and in groups, at home and in the classroom, across varied proficiency levels. Parents and teachers are encouraged to work on the activities with their children and students. In addition, Star-NiE’s BRATs Young Journalist Programme will continue to be a platform for participants to hone and showcase their English language skills, as well as develop their journalistic interests and instincts. Applications are now open for the BRATs 2022 programme. Follow our updates at facebook.com/niebrats. For Star-NiE enquiries, email [e-mail].