Congratulations! Right now, thousands of students in the islands have collected their results for the GCE A-Level exams. You are here because you are considering and hoping to be admitted into Singapore’s top university – NUS. Hence, Tutopiya will explore the top university in Singapore – NUS, their IGP, some tips and things you may need to know.

But… what’s next?

Whether you’ve got outstanding results or not, there must be a lot of confusion and lack of clarity regarding the University application steps. Should you choose local or overseas universities? Is cost a huge concern for you?

What type of university suits you – private small colleges or large universities? 

These are important questions to answer, so we at Tutopiya Team have a comprehensive series we’ve started that can guide you in these decisions. We’re going to run through all the main universities in Singapore, but we’ll begin with the most recognised university in Singapore. 

Read also: The Ultimate Guide to NTU for students after A-Levels & Poly

National University of Singapore

The largest and oldest autonomous university in Singapore, NUS enjoys a favourable ranking globally, named as Asia’s top schools for the Faculty of Computing, Faculty of Engineering and Business.

The university is large, with over 30,000 students enrolled in the University at any given time. This large university experience means that your experience in the college largely is determined by the faculty you apply to, the extracurricular you choose for your personal enjoyment and career development, and the 

What Grades Should You Get?

While the University states that the selection of students depends on how high your ranking of the course and the number of applicants in the same pool, the relative Indicative Grade Profile (IGP) also matters.

The IGP is just a bureaucratic indicator that tells you what is the best grades of the top 90th per cent of students applying, and the lowest grades of the 10th percentile. The likelihood of you being accepted increases with how close you are to the 90th percentile. 

Here are the Indicative Grade Profiles for the courses in AY 2020/2021

NUS IGP for AY 2020/2021

For more information about NUS’s IGP, visit their official website here. 

Now you know which courses you are eligible for and aren’t. How do you assess your chances of getting in? By looking at the most popular courses by subject area, of course.

Popular Courses – Arts & Social Sciences

1. Economics

2. Psychology

3. Political Science

Popular Courses – Science, Technology and Engineering (STEM)

1. Computing

2. Engineering – Electrical

3. Engineering – 

Popular Courses – Vocational 

 1. Law

 2. Medicine

 3. Dentistry 

 4. Pharmacy

 5. Business  

Now, we’ve talked about the most popular courses. What about the housing options?

While you can have the option to not house in the National University of Singapore, given that it saves costs on tuition. But you still have the option of doing so, whether rooming with another student or alone. 

Residential Halls

These run cheaper than residential colleges, with a shared bathroom on every level and two options of boarding within each residential hall. You can get the double room, which comes with air conditioning and two separate beds and wardrobes. 

Tutopiya Team Tips: Get a residential hall nearer to your faculty. Miss the early morning traffic in the NUS Shuttle Bus and instead stroll leisurely to your 8 am lecture. 

Residential Colleges

While these are more expensive, they are centrally located within University Town (U-Town as the students call it) and thus are located to many other colleges and amenities. Amenities in U-Town include Singapore’s largest Starbucks area, two food courts, several restaurants that serve Korean or Italian, and two convenience stores. There’s also a central field that’s perfect for evening team sports, so if you’re interested in Ultimate Frisbee, you know there’s a space for you. 

College of Alice and Peter Tan

Reserved for two years for medical students, most of these students love CAPT (as its called) due to the shared culture of going through the rigour of medical school and developing a shared club life outside. 

Residential College 4

RC4 is different, as it allows a multitude of faculties, so expect diverse friends when you enter the dorm. You have individual suites, with shared bathrooms across four to six roommates. But the focus of this residential college is preparing students for the future, particularly equipping them with the ethos needed to be responsible Singapore citizens. 

Cinnamon College 

One of the main residents of the students enrolled within the University Scholars Programme, it tends to be more internationally rounded, as it has both professors and international students who go on exchange to NUS. Those who want to make friends from diverse countries will surely enjoy enrolling here. 

Tembusu College

In addition to extracurricular activities, most incoming freshmen will take five of their classes at the College over a two year period, helping them fulfil their university-level degree requirements (ULRs). Some students from non-modular faculties (whose course requirements may be reduced or waived), and students on semestral exchange programmes add to the residential mix. Students from any NUS faculty are eligible to apply.

Freshmen normally reside in Tembusu College for two years during which they complete our five-module schedule. Additionally, the College provides many opportunities for learning on a daily basis.

Faculty members and visiting scholars from prestigious overseas institutions also live at the College and take meals in the same dining hall as students. There are regular ‘Master’s Teas’ and other events at which small groups of students can interact with distinguished visitors in a relaxed, non-classroom setting.

Nuha Ghouse

Nuha Gouse is the Co-founder of Tutopiya and is equipped with a first class honours Math degree from Imperial College, London. Her mission is to provide personalized individual lessons online where students from around the world can learn at their own pace and convenience.

See author's posts