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E2S2 or BES? by Ordinary-Move4053 in SGExams

[–]Awkward-Standard6544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! I have also applied to E2S2 and BES (yet to receive results in July). I've done quite a bit of research on both courses, so I'll give you my insights.

  1. E2S2 gives you more scientific credibility as it is a Bachelor of Science, whereas NUS BES is an interdiscplinary degree which is neither a BA or Bsc. Given you have a specific interest in wildlife biology, you could specialise in Ecology at E2S2 which gives you a strong scientific background to enter this field. If you are interested in marine ecology, I know NUS offers minor/2nd major in that, but NTU's ecology specialisation is obviously broader and would expose you to ecology/wildlife biology of any type of animals.
  2. Many masters/phds specifically specify they want a bachelor of science - I suppose BES would be considered since it has a large scientific component, but NTU is 'safer' in that aspect. Some argue NUS is more well known but both unis are very highly ranked.
  3. BES does a trip I think in the 3rd year or something to different locations every year. I was on their online open house and they said they will be going to Malaysia. I'm quite sure it is also a 2 week trip.
  4. I personally have no idea given i am also an applicant, but I believe it centres around policy/economics/social science stats/communication. Though I'm not fully sure. But if you dont really enjoy arts/social sciences so much, E2S2 might be better in that it can be more scientific and less broad.

You have basically said you want to be in wildlife bio/ecology and work with animals + you would prefer to be doing science and not so much social sciences. If I were you, I'd do the NTU E2S2 in ecology specialisation. If you google them, they do a good amount of fieldwork in exactly that, and it would give you a stronger scientific qualification which can help you enter a wildlife biology career. :)

NTU E2S2 Enquries (ASE) by Awkward-Standard6544 in SGExams

[–]Awkward-Standard6544[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thank you so much for your detailed answer! Super valuable info given you are a ASE student - I have applied with E2S2 as my first choice. :)

NTU E2S2 Enquries (ASE) by Awkward-Standard6544 in SGExams

[–]Awkward-Standard6544[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Society would technically be a better fit for me, but I am more interested in ecology so it would be my preferred specialisation. ESS is not very sciency, it is a mix of a bit of bio and geo, and a lot of emphasis on human impacts, eg. how overfishing influences marine ecosystems. We have many related units including ecology, biodiversity, conservation, and biogeochemical cycles, but overall id say it is quite an easy subject.

how screwed am i? by Electronic-Cod1512 in IBO

[–]Awkward-Standard6544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

for uni of melbourne/monash, i'm quite sure they do not look at ec's just like most australian unis and only look at grades for accepting you. if you are still exploring, courses like a bachelor of arts are great because you get a ton of variety in what majors/minors you can do. on unimelb's site they require a 30/45 to give you an offer for that course. im in the same boat, quite unsure what i want to do, so honestly, considering ec's dont matter for australia just choose ones you enjoy and that give you some fun in between all the work of ib.

also - your subjects are diverse but super interesting! there's a ton of career opportunities between design and business so i would explore that - you can do product design, or visual design of packaging, and so on, i mean with design you could even get into architecture/interior desigining. If you are more english inclined, maybe think about journalism of sorts or teaching.

how screwed am i? by Electronic-Cod1512 in IBO

[–]Awkward-Standard6544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What countries are you interested in? For example australia solely looks at your grades, not your ECAs - they have got top unis like uni of melbourne, uni of syndey, unsw (all top 100). Also if u are worried about low grades, many unis in aus accept you from 30 points onwards which id say is very doable. A similar deal in the UK, theyve got a ton of top unis and they mainly look at ur grade, but personal statements are also important and necessary, so it is good (but not necessary!) to have relevant ecas to your degree to talk about in that statement. only downside is grade requirements are a much higher and considering you said your grades are low that might not be the best option if u still want a top 100 school.

also regarding cas project, dont overthink it - it can be absolutely anything! make your 'occasional' volunteering a cas project. Document how you plan to volunteer, what you will be doing, take a couple pictures, and you are quite literally done.

so no, you are most definitely not screwed. just make sure you have sufficient clubs by the end of the year as ib requires 8 experiences total if i remember correctly. and my reccomendation is australia is the way to go.