NTU/NUS/SMU 2014-2015 Intake

[avviicc]

ok. seems like 2013-2014 is over..

For those applying for 2014-2015, especially Poly students, here are points to note from my own experience.

1) O level plays an IMPORTANT part in application for NUS and NTU. If you have a lousy O level, is better to apply for easier to get in courses like science etc...

courses like Business, accountancy is out even if u have GPA over 3.8 if ur O level is lousy...

How ur know ur O level is lousy?? compare ur O level with ur peers in poly. If ur O level is like among the lowest , then is lousy


2) Ur order of your choices is very important. Even they say that the order of ur choices is not important, trust me, IS IMPORTANT!!!. If you not confident of ur grade, apply a easy to get in course as ur 1st choice.

Eg: ur gpa is 3.7, better put a course with lower 10th percentile of 3.5x.


3) SMU is slightly easier , but u have to excel in the interview and written test.

 

[avviicc]

wow.. another year starting

 

[Polpolski]

why does order of choice matter?..will be sent to back of queue is second choice onwards?

 

[Weaboo]

what did u guys write for "achievements" when u r submitting ur application? other than cca...

 

[CoffeeNeko]

what did u guys write for "achievements" when u r submitting ur application? other than cca...

If I'm not wrong some write down the prizes they have won, or CIP they have done

 

[deforest]

From reading through some of the posts on the 2013-2014 intake thread and also from reading on the NUS FAQ page, it all seems that as long as the Uni you are applying to have given you a provisional offer based on your 5sem cGPA, u just need to submit your final semester as a proof of graduation.

I am not certain how accurate the wording on the FAQs and the experience of some of the members are (one of which stated that his source was from the NUS admission lady), but does this mean that even if your final semester's GPA does somehow pull your final cGPA to be below the "IGP" cut-off point, you are still accepted?

E.g. first 5sem cGPA of 3.8 for NUS FASS ("cut-off" of 3.69) or NTU Econs ("cut-off" of 3.60) and the final cGPA ends up at 3.59 somehow, you still get in as long as you have been given and accepted the provisional offer for the 5sem cGPA.

P.S. I did call up the NUS admissions office, and the lady on the line said the contrary, mentioning something along the lines of "The final semester grades is still taken into consideration", which can either indicate that all I have research on was inaccurate, or that it is taken into consideration depending on you pass or fail the final semester.

 

[Havok_ex]

From reading through some of the posts on the 2013-2014 intake thread and also from reading on the NUS FAQ page, it all seems that as long as the Uni you are applying to have given you a provisional offer based on your 5sem cGPA, u just need to submit your final semester as a proof of graduation.

I am not certain how accurate the wording on the FAQs and the experience of some of the members are (one of which stated that his source was from the NUS admission lady), but does this mean that even if your final semester's GPA does somehow pull your final cGPA to be below the "IGP" cut-off point, you are still accepted?

E.g. first 5sem cGPA of 3.8 for NUS FASS ("cut-off" of 3.69) or NTU Econs ("cut-off" of 3.60) and the final cGPA ends up at 3.59 somehow, you still get in as long as you have been given and accepted the provisional offer for the 5sem cGPA.

P.S. I did call up the NUS admissions office, and the lady on the line said the contrary, mentioning something along the lines of "The final semester grades is still taken into consideration", which can either indicate that all I have research on was inaccurate, or that it is taken into consideration depending on you pass or fail the final semester.

The key lies in the wording, 'provisional offer' would mean that NUS/NTU can still retract their offers if they deem that your cGPA is not up to par. But this is unlikely because most people with good 5sem cGPA will unlikely have a bad final cGPA. Additionally, please, for the 10000-th time, IGP is not cut-off. IGP is merely a guide. I know people who got in even though their scores were far off from the IGP, the IGPs don't matter at all. 3.6 vs 3.59, they won't kick you because of that. Its more like if your final cGPA drops by about 0.5 then they might reconsider your offer.

 

[deforest]

The key lies in the wording, 'provisional offer' would mean that NUS/NTU can still retract their offers if they deem that your cGPA is not up to par. But this is unlikely because most people with good 5sem cGPA will unlikely have a bad final cGPA. Additionally, please, for the 10000-th time, IGP is not cut-off. IGP is merely a guide. I know people who got in even though their scores were far off from the IGP, the IGPs don't matter at all. 3.6 vs 3.59, they won't kick you because of that. Its more like if your final cGPA drops by about 0.5 then they might reconsider your offer.

Yes I know it isnt the cut-off, thus the inverted commas in my post, cause I do understand that there are many cases of people with even lower scores getting in.

But with regards to the cGPA drop, I am actually asking due to my personal experience. Due to circumstances and a rough internship experience, I forsee a small plunge in my personal cGPA by about 0.04 or worse case by 0.1 (depending on how much rougher things are gonna get). With my current 5sem cGPA, I am above the 10th percentile for both the courses I want, one of which is by a small 0.03 margin and another by a 0.1+ margin.

The main concern now is whether there's a major reason for me to be worried, be it for my grades itself, or a possible provisional offer rejection. I have also read on a post that in the conditional offer letters given by the Unis, there is no where stating a minimum gpa requirement with regards to the final semester, the only stated requirement being to pass and graduate without forwarding to a 7th semester.

 

[Havok_ex]

Yes I know it isnt the cut-off, thus the inverted commas in my post, cause I do understand that there are many cases of people with even lower scores getting in.

But with regards to the cGPA drop, I am actually asking due to my personal experience. Due to circumstances and a rough internship experience, I forsee a small plunge in my personal cGPA by about 0.04 or worse case by 0.1 (depending on how much rougher things are gonna get). With my current 5sem cGPA, I am above the 10th percentile for both the courses I want, one of which is by a small 0.03 margin and another by a 0.1+ margin.

If you know its not a cut off, then why are you still referring to it? Margins bla bla. No, it doesn't matter. Thing is, if everyone with a 3.99 GPA applied for the course you have been given right now, they would still kick you out to make space for these guys. Are you above the IGP? Yes. Can you still be rejected? Definitely. So don't refer to the IGP already.

But if everything plays out fine, and even if you drop by 0.1, you will probably still be accepted. Exceptions to the case might be med/dent/law. But otherwise, I don't think it will matter to them.

 

[deforest]

If you know its not a cut off, then why are you still referring to it? Margins bla bla. No, it doesn't matter. Thing is, if everyone with a 3.99 GPA applied for the course you have been given right now, they would still kick you out to make space for these guys. Are you above the IGP? Yes. Can you still be rejected? Definitely. So don't refer to the IGP already.

But if everything plays out fine, and even if you drop by 0.1, you will probably still be accepted. Exceptions to the case might be med/dent/law. But otherwise, I don't think it will matter to them.

Why are you so worked up about the IGP, the open and close inverted commas should alr mean that it isnt really a cut-off, the only reason I used it was for a rough gauge, because that is the closest thing any of us have to measure our chances of entering a course we want. What you say is true, but the chances of that happening can be as good as zero, though the IGP fluctuates every year and works similar to the polytechnic cut-off point, it is still the closes guide we have to choosing which course we have a chance to get into and which we don't.

As for the situation, yea, not aiming for those 3, am actually aiming for FASS in NUS and trying to salvage my current situation anyway I can.

On a side-note, has anyone from poly purposely failed a semester that they did badly in to have a forward semester to actually do better? Does it have any other effects, like maybe a record of you failing a semester, or a maximum grade attainable for the forward semester, etc?

 

[goldenweek]

chances to get in

what r my chances to get into NUS & NTU business? i'm applying with an european diploma and my grades were BBBC.

 

[Weaboo]

u guys know the smu get in need written test? i know got interview

 

[avviicc]

why does order of choice matter?..will be sent to back of queue is second choice onwards?

YES!!!.. ur order important although they say otherwise.

Make sure u put the easiest course to get in on the top of ur choice (1st choice) if ur GPA is boarderline.

Why I know becos I been thru it...

 

[Havok_ex]

what r my chances to get into NUS & NTU business? i'm applying with an european diploma and my grades were BBBC.

Close to zero. NUS and NTU business are very tough courses to get into. Even with a foreign qualification, you will still need straight or close to straight As to gain entrance.

 

[goldenweek]

Close to zero. NUS and NTU business are very tough courses to get into. Even with a foreign qualification, you will still need straight or close to straight As to gain entrance.

Okay.. what about engineering courses? :s

 

[Havok_ex]

Okay.. what about engineering courses? :s

Well, that depends. Are you a foreigner or a Singaporean? If you're a foreigner then don't bother, the foreigners here are straight A students. Most, if not all of them are scholars, even in the engineering courses. You won't stand a chance in the admissions.

If you're a Singaporean, then yeah, you may have a chance at engineering courses. Assuming that your foreign diploma was somewhat equivalent to the A-levels.

 

[Weaboo]

YES!!!.. ur order important although they say otherwise.

Make sure u put the easiest course to get in on the top of ur choice (1st choice) if ur GPA is boarderline.

Why I know becos I been thru it...

so how? share ur exp leh

 

[Havok_ex]

so how? share ur exp leh

Simply put, don't place unrealistic and stupid choices. Admission roughly works like this, your application is sent to the first choice faculty, if you get rejected, it gets passed to second faculty, then to the third etc etc until a faculty accepts you. But lets say that by the time your application has reached the 'realistic' faculty of your choice, they might have already filled up all slots. Or even worse, they might have sent out acceptance offers and have none left. They can't retract an acceptance so they can accept you. Hence, even if you had scored higher than those who were accepted, you may get rejected by then.

Basically, if you're a borderline student, don't dream so much by placing unrealistic choices. Your second choice already has to be a very realistic choice. I've seen some of my friends get rejected when they have better grades than others, just because they placed engineering as a last choice and placed unrealistic choices for the first few choices. At the same time, I have a friend who got DDD and got into engineering because he placed it as a first choice.

 

[Weaboo]

Simply put, don't place unrealistic and stupid choices. Admission roughly works like this, your application is sent to the first choice faculty, if you get rejected, it gets passed to second faculty, then to the third etc etc until a faculty accepts you. But lets say that by the time your application has reached the 'realistic' faculty of your choice, they might have already filled up all slots. Or even worse, they might have sent out acceptance offers and have none left. They can't retract an acceptance so they can accept you. Hence, even if you had scored higher than those who were accepted, you may get rejected by then.

Basically, if you're a borderline student, don't dream so much by placing unrealistic choices. Your second choice already has to be a very realistic choice. I've seen some of my friends get rejected when they have better grades than others, just because they placed engineering as a last choice and placed unrealistic choices for the first few choices. At the same time, I have a friend who got DDD and got into engineering because he placed it as a first choice.

what is considered an unrealistic choice? +- how many gpa?

 

[avviicc]

Simply put, don't place unrealistic and stupid choices. Admission roughly works like this, your application is sent to the first choice faculty, if you get rejected, it gets passed to second faculty, then to the third etc etc until a faculty accepts you. But lets say that by the time your application has reached the 'realistic' faculty of your choice, they might have already filled up all slots. Or even worse, they might have sent out acceptance offers and have none left. They can't retract an acceptance so they can accept you. Hence, even if you had scored higher than those who were accepted, you may get rejected by then.

Basically, if you're a borderline student, don't dream so much by placing unrealistic choices. Your second choice already has to be a very realistic choice. I've seen some of my friends get rejected when they have better grades than others, just because they placed engineering as a last choice and placed unrealistic choices for the first few choices. At the same time, I have a friend who got DDD and got into engineering because he placed it as a first choice.

U summed up nicely