By Sufian Suderman, TODAY | Posted: 13 February 2009
SINGAPORE: The days when junior college and polytechnic students engage in the guessing game - will they or won't they get a place in a coveted varsity course - may be over.
For the first time, all three public universities - Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU) - have published their lists of "grade profiles" for A-level students and "grade point average (GPA)" for polytechnic students to help them assess their chances of getting into the various undergraduate courses offered by the universities.
For example, for NUS' 2008 admission exercise, students who were offered places to its law and medicine faculties generally scored 4As for three H2 and one H1 subjects.
The move comes following calls by various quarters in recent years for the universities to be more transparent about their entry requirements.
Students interviewed by TODAY welcomed the publication of the lists - but some wondered if even more information could be released.
Second-year polytechnic student Gerlynn Chan, 18, said: "The universities should have done this a long time ago. However, certain courses like the Mass Communication course from NTU also require you to take several tests and interviews ... so I think they should provide more of such information regarding such aspects."
JC student Chua Han Wee, 19, who is waiting for his A-level results, feels that "grades should not be the only consideration".
"Consistency of a student's performance in co-curricular activities (CCAs) should also be taken into account." he added.
Mr Alan Goh, SMU's director of undergraduate admissions, said the grade profiles are meant to be "an indicative guide". All applicants are assessed on "SMU's holistic selection process, which includes their academic standing and CCA achievements". (here * Ed: Info may change)
An NUS spokesperson said: "The exact requirements will vary depending on the specific course and is ultimately determined by the strength of the applicant pool each year."
The publication of grade profiles has made students such as 18-year-old Khalid Khan realise that they need to study harder if they want to earn a place in the university.
The polytechnic student in media and communication said: "I'm now coming to year 3. This means I've got only a year to get a minimum of GPA 3 to have a higher chance of entering any of these local universities."
For more information, visit the universities' respective websites.
- TODAY/fa
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