Medical education at the University of Singapore for students from Russia.
I started the project by writing to the admissions committee of the University of Singapore.
The reason was logical.
The prestigious and expensive University of Singapore (U.S.) at the end of the earth, in an overpopulated, insanely competitive state with a climate not for a white person from Russia — that is clearly not the place I want to go and where I am going to go.
However, it is a global university, the administration speaks English, the teaching is also in English, and it is in a letter to this university to try to select the best questions that I will later send to other universities in the world — a smart decision.
However, looking ahead, I can say that the answers from the admission committee of this university were the most complete, the fastest, the most accurate, and none of the subsequent responses from other universities — did not pass this high bar.
It took me a long time to write the letter to the U.S., because it was a personal letter to this particular University.
First it was necessary to study the site of the University, the Faculty of Medicine and the Admissions Office, which I had to do in great detail.
With the task I have done)
The text of the letter:
Hello
I have looked at the site but I have a few questions.
1. Is it possible to enter a university in Singapore after graduating from an 11-years school in Russia — or do I still need to complete one course at a university in Russia?
2. Can foreigners study to become a Doctor in Singapore at all?
3. Are there any quotas for training foreigners to become a doctor in Singapore (and are there any quotas for Russians?)
4. Do I understand correctly — you need to study for 5 years and then a year of practice?
5. Does the University of Singapore have dormitories for students during the entire period of study (and are there any)?
6. What is the cost of studying and living in hostels and all other costs per year when studying to be a Doctor in Singapore (meaning the costs associated with studying — that is, payments for textbooks, laboratories, etc. — not including of course food and transport)
7. What exams do I need to take besides English?
Do I need to learn other languages (Chinese)?
8. Is it compulsory to take preparatory and/or language courses in Singapore before entering a university?
9. What is the further procedure for training as a doctor after graduation from the university (postgraduate study, residency, specialization) and obtaining a doctor’s license?
10. Do I need to work for 6 years after graduation?
11. Is it possible to stay in Singapore further?
I’m still only in the 9th grade (out of 11), but I think it’s time to collect information)
It’s good if you manage to answer all the questions, but I will be glad to partial answers.
Thanks
Answer:
Dear Egor,
Thank you for sending your email to National University of Singapore (NUS).
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
International students who are keen to apply for admission should have completed or be completing high school, i.e. have had at least twelve years of general education in the year of application. Students may view the list of acceptable high school qualifications and admission requirements.
Admission is based on academic merit as well as open competition among all eligible applicants. In addition to fulfilling admission requirements for the high-school qualifications presented, applicants must also satisfy the subject prerequisites of the courses that they wish to be considered for.
International applicants with international applications are advise to check their corresponding high school qualifications on the website to see if they need to present additional test scores or English requirements like SAT, ACT with Writing with Advanced Placement Tests. If you are required to present with your high school qualifications SAT or ACT with Writing, and SAT Subject Test scores or Advanced Placement Test scores. More information on the SAT, ACT & AP requirements is available here.
WHEN AND HOW TO APPLY
Application for undergraduate admission opens on 1 November 2022 to 3 March 2023, with different closing dates for different qualifications. All applications must be submitted through our website during the application period, and all supporting documents (unless specified) and application fees must reach our office by the closing date. You are strongly advise to check the website from November 2022 to March 2023 for AY2023/2024 application details.
OUTCOME OF APPLICATION
Application outcome for international students is usually released from May to July. You are encouraged to login to the Applicant Portal using your Application Number and PIN to check for the application outcome regularly.
Applicants who will be completing the high school final examination after the application closing date, and hence presenting forecast examination or school results at the point of application, their applications will only be considered upon submission of their final high school results. To find out more, please click here and select your high school qualification.
TUITION FEES
The annual tuition fees and other miscellaneous expenses are detailed .
SCHOLARSHIPS
International students who wish to be considered for scholarships administered by NUS are not required to submit a separate application. All international applicants are considered for available scholarships when they submit an application for undergraduate admission. However, as university funds are limited, we are unable to offer scholarships to all students. Applicants will be invited to attend an interview if they meet the criteria, and the award of a scholarship will be based on academic merit and open competition.
International students who wish to be considered for scholarships offered by external organizations should submit applications to the respective organisations for consideration.
More information about scholarships for international students can be found at this page
FINANCIAL AID
Prospective students who require financial assistance for their studies may apply for financial aid (loans, bursaries, grants, work study scheme etc.) by submitting an online application for financial aid at this page (after submission of your online application for admission) from mid-October to the end of the academic year. To receive your financial aid application outcome before the admission acceptance deadline, you are strongly encouraged to apply for Financial Aid by the admission application deadline.
You may wish to use the Financial Needs Calculator at this page to estimate your study and living expenses in NUS and the amount of aid you may receive if you are financially needy.
To obtain more information or seek clarification about financial aid, please send your queries to http://www.askadmissions.nus.edu.sg .
For more information about undergraduate admissions, please visit the Office of Admissions website at http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/.
Please be informed applicants applying for Medicine will have to meet the entry and subject pre-requisites. They will also attend assessments and interviews as part of the selection process.
Application for the Medicine programme requires 2 steps.
1) Submit application to Office of Admissions via the Applicant Portal during the application window based on the qualifications.
2) Submit application on the Medicine Portfolio, please refer to the Medicine website.
We hope this answers your queries.
Best regards.
Although the answer exceeded my expectations (as I wrote , I ask the maximum number of questions, but do not expect that the admissions officer will accurately and completely answer everything), some subtleties required clarification.
I wrote a second letter:
Thanks a lot for the fast reply
1. I have read the requirements for 12 years of education. But in Russia, as I wrote, 11 years.
Does that mean you can’t get in?
I have a good school, about number 100 in the ranking in the country (out of 35,000)
I study English (I will leave school with C1), and advanced chemistry with biology. Starting next year, our school will have mandatory participation in all Olympiads in Russia for schoolchildren — in general, this is a wonderful school. But only 11 years of study.
1.1. Do you have students from Russia at all?
2. In Russia, final exams are held in May, and the result is received only in June. Does this mean that in the year of graduation (let’s imagine that you can still apply from Russia) — I will no longer have time to apply?
I know that in the International Baccalaureate system, guys enter according to the so-called Preliminary Grades, which are put down in January. But in our schools, grades can only be obtained in the summer.
3. I read about the interview. Please tell me, are they held in absentia, via Zoom, or only in person?
PS. although I am only 15 years old, I began to seriously look for a university to get a good education. I noticed that many Universities have information in PDF on their websites. This, in my opinion, is very wrong. Not everyone STILL knows English (French, Chinese ….), and such guys, having gone to the website of the university and not finding information that can be read in Google Translate, will leave forever and will not return.
Sorry for the unsolicited advice))) — but it would be great to have all the information about the university not only in PDF but also in the form of a simple tex on websites
PS2. If you have students from Russia, could you give them my email? I would love to talk to them.
Thanks a lot again
Sincerely, Egor Kugno
And again I got a wonderful answer:
Dear Egor Kugno,
Please refer to the answers to your questions below.
1. Is it possible to enter a university in Singapore after graduating from an 11 summer school in Russia — or do I still need to complete one course at a university in Russia?
We wish to clarify that international students who are keen to apply for admission should have completed or will be completing high school, which may or may not necessarily be twelve years of education.
Hence, if you will be completing high school in your country and are keen to apply for admission to NUS for Academic Year 2023, please refer to the admissions requirement and subject pre-requisite at this page and this page respectively.
If you have high school diploma qualifications which take 11 years to completes, applicants will have to submit additional qualifications and test scores which is the SAT or ACT with writing together with Advanced Placement Tests
2. Can foreigners study to become a Doctor in Singapore at all?
For this question, you can refer to the faculty’s website NUS Medicine. Please refer to this page .
The study duration is 5 years. All medical students upon graduation must successfully complete a one-year housemanship in order to qualify for registration by the Singapore Medical Council as a doctor. In addition, they would also need to serve a bond with the Singapore Ministry of Health. For local students, the period of the bond is five years; for international students, it is six years. During this time, they will be working as a doctor in a government hospital in Singapore. Please refer to MOH Service Obligation for more details on the Service Obligation.
For local students, the period of the bond is five years; for international students, it is six years. During this time, graduates work as a doctor in a government hospital in Singapore under the Singapore Ministry of Health. Do note that the bond period begins after medical students have successfully completed their one-year housemanship upon graduation to qualify for registration by the Singapore Medical Council as a doctor.
Please refer to MOH Service Obligation for more details on the Service Obligation.
3. Are there any quotas for training foreigners to become a doctor in Singapore (and are there any quotas for Russians?)
We do not provide this information as this comes under the Ministry of Health.
4. Do I understand correctly — you need to study for 5 years and then a year of practice?
Please refer to question 2.
5. Does the University of Singapore have dormitories for students during the entire period of study (and are there any)?
NUS provides accommodation, you will need to refer to the information please click . For clarifications, please contact the respective staff in the Halls of Residence / Student Residences / Residential Colleges whose contacts are available in the above website.
6. What is the cost of studying and living in hostels and all other costs per year when studying to be a Doctor in Singapore (meaning the costs associated with studying — that is, payments for textbooks, laboratories, etc. — not including of course food and transport)
You are required to refer the website which has the details for estimated living costs.
For tuitions, you can make reference but do note that fees will be updated and subject to changes every year around February to March. You are required to check the fees for the academic year which you matriculated after being successfully offered a course.
7. What exams do I need to take besides English?
You are required to submit your latest high school results, an explanation of your high school grading system as well as either ACT with Writing or SAT, together with SAT Subject Tests or Advanced Placement Tests by the application closing date.
8. Do I need to learn other languages (Chinese)?
No. Students can opt to take other languages offered by the faculty of Arts under college of humanities and sciences.
9. Is it compulsory to take preparatory and/or language courses in Singapore before entering a university?
You will be required to submit ACT with Writing or SAT, together with SAT Subject Tests or Advanced Placement Tests by the application closing date.
10. What is the further procedure for training as a doctor after graduation from the university (postgraduate study, residency, specialization) and obtaining a doctor’s license?
We do not provide this information as this comes under the Ministry of Health.
11. Do I need to work for 6 years after graduation?
Please refer to Question 2.
12 . Is it possible to stay in Singapore further (and ideally obtain citizenship)?
Please refer to ICA (Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority) website.
13. Do you have students from Russia at all?
We have students from all over the world but we do not publish statistics on the nationalities of the cohort.
14. In Russia, final exams are held in May, and the result is received only in June. Does this mean that in the year of graduation (let’s imagine that you can still apply from Russia) — I will no longer have time to apply?
You can apply with your most recent results but you will need to submit your ACT with Writing and SAT Subject Tests, or SAT and SAT Subject Tests, or Advanced Placement score report.
15. I know that in the International Baccalaureate system, guys enter according to the so-called Preliminary Grades, which are put down in January. But in our schools, grades can only be obtained in the summer.
International students who are sitting for their high school exams after the application closing date, may apply with their most recent school examination results by the application closing date. They will be eligible to apply for all courses (EXCEPT for Dentistry, Law, Medicine and Nursing). Applications will only be processed upon submission of their actual exam results. You are strongly advise to check website regularly on the latest information on admissions. NUS has only one intake a year, which commences on the first weeks of August. Application window is usually from Mid October to end February.
16. I read about the interview. Please tell me, are they held in absentia, via Zoom, or only in person?
To be considered for Medicine, an applicant must list it as the first or second course choice on the application. Admission to Medicine is extremely competitive as the annual intake is about 280 places. Therefore, a stringent set of admission criteria applies. Each year, many applicants with excellent results apply for Medicine, resulting in the Admissions Selection Committee having to make difficult decisions when selecting from among the many talented and accomplished applicants.
Applicants go through a first round of shortlisting and if they meet the selection criteria, they will be required to complete the Admissions Assessment to be considered for admission. The Admissions Assessment comprises of the Focused Skills Assessment (FSA) and the Situational Judgement Test (SJT). The SJT is a test where candidates are given scenarios that one may encounter during medical school, while the FSA is a series of stations which assesses the candidate’s aptitude for Medicine and if the candidate’s values align with NUS Medicine.
Admission to Medicine will be based on the shortlisted candidates’ performance in the FSA and SJT.
We hope we have answered your queries.
Thank you.
Best regards.
I got answers to almost all my questions, and all I had to do was bow out with a hint of further correspondence:
Thanks a lot)
Merry Christmas and all the best for the coming year 🙂
I will write to you next year, with your permission) I have two or three more questions)
But even this little letter was answered:
Dear Egor Kugno,
Thank you for sending your email to National University of Singapore (NUS).
Please do not hesitate to write in should you have any more queries.
Have a wonderful new year.
Best regards,
Ms Tay Sze Khim
It is unlikely that Ms Tay Sze Khim will read this page, but if anything, I express my gratitude to Ms Tay Sze Khim for her excellent, complete, informative, and quick answers.
Ms Tay Sze Khim is a true professional!
I will summarize Asia as a whole in a future article
Other articles about medical education in the world→
This article in Russian→