Kaplan or Uni SIM? HELPPPPPPP

[LForLynn]

I need some advice here before i make a choice between Kaplan (University College Dublin) and Uni SIM. If i were to enter into Kaplan's degree course, it'll take a total of 16 months with honors but without any internship. As for Uni SIM, it'll take a total of 4 years including internship which is much longer as compared to Kaplan hence i'm very confuse currently. Can any kind soul help me out? Thanks!

 

[kai1439]

Depends on your requirements.
Are you currently working?
Do you require the inter-ship to build the career job circle that you are studying ?
Do you like to take your time slowly to complete or you dun mind to cramp the studying schedule with short breaks(eg.2 weeks after exam start another term) to complete the program?
Are the modules the same provided in both schools ?

The above are some basic points to consider if you are having confusion which school to study for the same program by the same uni.

For me I chose the fast and cramp schedule to finish the program as I do not have the "stamina" to slowly finish the program due to my work and family commitment.

If you still have doubts after considering your needs , feel free to ask me.

Hope my post helps your decision

 

[LForLynn]

[/QUOTE]
Hi Kai!

I’m in my early 20s and working currently but I intend to quit my job and focus on full time studies. The internship is not very important to me as I have 4 years of working experience however I heard from many people around me that Uni SIM is more well recognized as compare to Kaplan, MDIS, PSB etc. and that there’s no harm going through internship since it can boost my grades.

Time isn’t a really big issue for me I’d say. But the difference between the duration of these 2 institutions is pretty big (difference of 32 months) therefore I’m not sure if it’s worth for me to enter Uni SIM and go through these extra 32 months. If it’s worth, I certainly don’t mind going through but if the recognition of the certs are of not much difference, Kaplan would be a better option since it’s only 16 months.

As for the modules, the differences are rather big as well and hence the big difference in the duration of completion.

Thanks for your help Kai!

Anyone else has any differing opinions?

 

[rollbread]

For me I will prefer uni sim and I believe it's more recognised than other uni. Personally I don't see much value or meaning for such short courses.

Honestly, a degree in 16 months. How much can you learn from that. Unless your purpose is just to have a degree then go for kaplan.

Assuming you are going to work for at least 30 years in future then the extra 2 years doesn't seem long since its going to be on your resume forever and it's a better value degree.

 

[Shion]

I will choose UniSIM

 

[arcanum00]

How about taking an Honours degree from UCD, then go for a 1-yr or 2-yr Master's, if the Master's programmes accept UCD's Honours?

 

[bubblegumcartel]

I find Kaplan standards horrible.. But that might just be me.. I'm doing their ICAEW course

 

[simon_84]

why don't consider unisim part time ?
less cu (modules), less time and waste less money.
then work part time at your own schedule, less stress also.

i'm a part time student in unisim with 2 more sems to go, to be honest i absolutely hate working full time and studying at the same time.
planning to quit my job this year end or early next year as my last sem approaches.

 

[LForLynn]

why don't consider unisim part time ?
less cu (modules), less time and waste less money.
then work part time at your own schedule, less stress also.

i'm a part time student in unisim with 2 more sems to go, to be honest i absolutely hate working full time and studying at the same time.
planning to quit my job this year end or early next year as my last sem approaches.

Hi Simon! The reason why i prefer taking a full time degree is that i'd like to concentrate fully on my studies. It's really tough to be working full time and studying part time. I did that for my diploma with Kaplan and i had to take leave very often during exam period. Thus i feel that it'll be a better choice to study full time so that i can focus better. You may consider quitting your job and focus on your last 2 sems. All the best




Thanks guys for all the help given. Appreciate it
Feel free to offer me more advises for better comparison. Cheers!

 

[LForLynn]

How about taking an Honours degree from UCD, then go for a 1-yr or 2-yr Master's, if the Master's programmes accept UCD's Honours?

Hello arcanum00 I'm hesitating to go for Kaplan UCD is because I've been told by friends that Uni SIM is better recognized hence i shouldn't waste time and money to get a degree with Kaplan UCD so yeah...

 

[Aaron_soh80]

I need some advice here before i make a choice between Kaplan (University College Dublin) and Uni SIM. If i were to enter into Kaplan's degree course, it'll take a total of 16 months with honors but without any internship. As for Uni SIM, it'll take a total of 4 years including internship which is much longer as compared to Kaplan hence i'm very confuse currently. Can any kind soul help me out? Thanks!

KAPLAN is out la..if u go wan SIM, rather u go NTU/NUS.. more Satki..

 

[Aaron_soh80]

Hi Simon! The reason why i prefer taking a full time degree is that i'd like to concentrate fully on my studies. It's really tough to be working full time and studying part time. I did that for my diploma with Kaplan and i had to take leave very often during exam period. Thus i feel that it'll be a better choice to study full time so that i can focus better. You may consider quitting your job and focus on your last 2 sems. All the best




Thanks guys for all the help given. Appreciate it
Feel free to offer me more advises for better comparison. Cheers!

u guys life so good..can afford to study full time..y i dun have rich lao pei like u all..

 

[arcanum00]

Hello arcanum00 I'm hesitating to go for Kaplan UCD is because I've been told by friends that Uni SIM is better recognized hence i shouldn't waste time and money to get a degree with Kaplan UCD so yeah...

Even when you have a MSc?

UCD is not really that bad.

Another alternative is the BSc Honours from Manchester offered through SIM, then a MSc. But I think Manchester has a stricter entry requirement for your grades obtained in your polytechnic diploma.

I was thinking along the line that UCD or Manchester BSc with Honours enables you to go for a MSc (provided you can get matriculated, which sometimes depends on the class of Honours you've obtained), perhaps one from the local universities. UniSIM Honours degree, while perhaps more recognised, allows you to obtain only an undergraduate Honours degree within the same timeframe.

Cheers!

 

[LForLynn]

Even when you have a MSc?

UCD is not really that bad.

Another alternative is the BSc Honours from Manchester offered through SIM, then a MSc. But I think Manchester has a stricter entry requirement for your grades obtained in your polytechnic diploma.

I was thinking along the line that UCD or Manchester BSc with Honours enables you to go for a MSc (provided you can get matriculated, which sometimes depends on the class of Honours you've obtained), perhaps one from the local universities. UniSIM Honours degree, while perhaps more recognised, allows you to obtain only an undergraduate Honours degree within the same timeframe.

Cheers!

Yep! I know that UCD isn’t that bad. It’s ranked 139 in the world.

I’m unable to enter Manchester offered by SIM as I don’t have any A level or poly diploma. I was told that with Kaplan’s diploma, I can only enter RMIT (ranked 291) or University at Buffalo (ranked 302). Judging by the rank, I doubt it’s a good choice. So I’m left with either UCD through Kaplan or Uni SIM as my current choices. Thank you for your help

 

[simon_84]

u guys life so good..can afford to study full time..y i dun have rich lao pei like u all..

i build up my savings over the years since poly time and now i have channel them into investments.
if you don't know how to save, earn how much also no use.

parents ?
richer than me yet not willing to fork out a single cent for my further studies...i can only express my gratitude to them for supporting me until poly.
not everyone in the middle class have supportive parents, FYI.

 

[arcanum00]

Hello arcanum00 I'm hesitating to go for Kaplan UCD is because I've been told by friends that Uni SIM is better recognized hence i shouldn't waste time and money to get a degree with Kaplan UCD so yeah...

Yep! I know that UCD isn’t that bad. It’s ranked 139 in the world.

I’m unable to enter Manchester offered by SIM as I don’t have any A level or poly diploma. I was told that with Kaplan’s diploma, I can only enter RMIT (ranked 291) or University at Buffalo (ranked 302). Judging by the rank, I doubt it’s a good choice. So I’m left with either UCD through Kaplan or Uni SIM as my current choices. Thank you for your help

UniSIM is not ranked, so is SMU. Surely, many companies' HR managers would not think that SMU is no good even when it's not ranked in many ranking tables. So take don't rely too much on ranking.

Whether UCD is better than UniSIM in terms of recognition, or vice versa, may be controversial. Suppose, like your friends said, UniSIM is better than UCD. Then getting a master's after the UCD programme from a university as well-regarded as UniSIM (you may want to consult your friends again which schools are those) may put you to a better advantage than with just an undergraduate Honour degree within the same timeframe. That's provided the master's programmes would accept the UCD degree as entry requirement. Usually, these universities would. But I would play safe, and email/call them to confirm.

Notice that the constraint above is only time, budget is not considered. That is, if budget is concerned, you may also want to take into consideration of your budget and the return of investment if you are considering taking a master's. I think it may be worthwhile, given many in the job market are equipped with an undergraduate degree. Well, I may be wrong.

In summary,

Your case:
Time: UCD > UniSIM.
Reputation: UniSIM > UCD (according to your friends)
Dilemma...

Suggestion:
Time: UCD + master's > UniSIM
Reputation: UCD + master's > UniSIM
(given the master's is at a higher academic level than undergraduate degrees, and the university accepting the UCD degree and offering the master's is at least as recognised as UniSIM)
Budget: UniSIM > UCD + master's
(justifiable if the ROI is greater with a master's)
Take note of your cashflows within these four years.

Caveat: Verify if any university at least as recognised as UniSIM (as your friends have claimed) accepts UCD degree which is 1.5 year. Verify if the ROI is indeed greater with a master's. I would think so for both points, but I may be wrong. So, verify them.

My approach in choosing a degree programme was unlike what I have suggested to you here as we have different objectives and different academic background altogether. The constraints I have were also different. That is, I might have chosen a longer programme in your case, and/or I might have choosen other different programme(s) altogether.

A side note, you can look for sponsorships from your company or other organisations.

Just some suggestions.

Hope it helps.

Cheers!

 

[rollbread]

Guys, for your info the ranking only applies to the degree obtained in that country locally. So it doesn't matter what's the ranking cuz it's a DL degree.

Unisim has been announced to be the 5th university so definitely reputation and recognition will be better than all DL degree.

Personally I think don't think too much about the duration cuz having a better value degree is more important.

 

[arcanum00]

"Guys, for your info the ranking only applies to the degree obtained in that country locally. So it doesn't matter what's the ranking cuz it's a DL degree. " ==> Yes, when they are ranked, there are various aspects pertaining to students, and the data are obtained from internal students.

However, many use the ranking to infer the quality of the degrees and the students, and this has been extended to infer D/L, off-shore, and external degrees. For me, whether the degree is internal, external, off-shore, or D/L, universities ranking is just for reference. Some of the aspects in the ranking may not be relevant to one at all.

"Unisim has been announced to be the 5th university so definitely reputation and recognition will be better than all DL degree." ==> I don't think it is exactly true, at least for now. It may be true like what you say in future. But without strong researches or strong industry links, this may not be fulfilled.

Sometimes, D/L programmes offered by top-ranked universities are viewed as being "better than" internal programmes offer by mid- or low-ranked universities. Open University is not ranked, and is offering D/L degrees, but it is well-regarded (read: as least as good as mid- or low-ranked internal degrees).

"Personally I think don't think too much about the duration cuz having a better value degree is more important." ==> Values and objectives differ from individuals, and from time to time. Hence, duration may have an impact on the decision made. Personally, I don't find duration of a programme a problem for my own plan, but it's because it's based on my own sets of objectives, which could be different from yours or the threadstarter.

 

[arcanum00]

I need some advice here before i make a choice between Kaplan (University College Dublin) and Uni SIM. If i were to enter into Kaplan's degree course, it'll take a total of 16 months with honors but without any internship. As for Uni SIM, it'll take a total of 4 years including internship which is much longer as compared to Kaplan hence i'm very confuse currently. Can any kind soul help me out? Thanks!

I was thinking, have you find out more when you are choosing the programme. Say, maybe you find out later that actually you prefer a certain type of programme (e.g., quantitative vs qualitative), or certain way of examining your studies (e.g., project-based vs exam-based), or certain way of delivering lectures (e.g., face-to-face vs e-learning), or prospect of further studies, or exemptions for professional qualifications, or relevance to occupation/promotion. Then the way you choose a degree programme may be different from now.

Cheers!

 

[rollbread]

"Unisim has been announced to be the 5th university so definitely reputation and recognition will be better than all DL degree." ==> I don't think it is exactly true, at least for now. It may be true like what you say in future. But without strong researches or strong industry links, this may not be fulfilled.


"Personally I think don't think too much about the duration cuz having a better value degree is more important." ==> Values and objectives differ from individuals, and from time to time. Hence, duration may have an impact on the decision made. Personally, I don't find duration of a programme a problem for my own plan, but it's because it's based on my own sets of objectives, which could be different from yours or the threadstarter.

If the government announced it to be a 5th uni, do you think it will have industry link in near future? Obviously those in the advisory board will be high management staff from different industry too.

Of course a lot of people's objective is to complete as soon as possible. But shorter time frame means learn lesser stuff, everybody knows that too, including the employer.