Heading Eastwards- Singapore

If USA is out of your budget but you still long for a college education on foreign shores, Singapore might be the place for you. The tiny country has two world class universities that are famous for engineering:
1. Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
2. National University of Singapore (NUS)
These colleges not only have excellent facilities and faculty but have also tied up with several foreign colleges to truly provide an international college experience.

Admission to both these colleges is generally said to be based on your Class 12 board exam results though several other factors such as SAT, subject tests(though optional), co-curricular achievements are also taken into account. The application is done online through the websites of the respective colleges(though some documents may have to be submitted by post). Most of the questions asked are similar to that of the US colleges and here too, the applicant might have to write 1 or 2 essays. The application deadline is 31st March.

These colleges are relatively cheaper to the US colleges. The Ministry of Education heavily subsidises education even for International students, in exchange for a 3year bond during which the students have to work for a Singapore based company after graduation. The subsidised fees are around SGD12000(SGD 1 is approx Rs.36) while the non-subsidised fees are around SGD 30000. Additionally the colleges estimate that the student would spend SGD 600 on monthly expenses(hostel, food, transport, etc).

Furthermore, there is a SIA-NOL scholarship for Indian nationals. Under this scheme, selected students are provided free tuition plus given various living allowances but in return they have to serve a 6year work bond at one of the sponsor companies upon graduation. NTU has a few other scholarships that take care of the tuition fees and do not have any additional bond except for the Ministry of Education 3year bond for subsidised fees. If short listed for the scholarship, candidates will have to attend an interview. Needless to say, getting accepted for these scholarships would require really good performances in the board exams.