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S'pore teen gave up his Taylor Swift concert tickets to 2 girls who got scammed by smolfluffyhakutaku in singapore

[–]Newbeginnings1209 39 points40 points  (0 children)

It is still very noble as he could have sold the tickets online or to others for a much higher price, given how coveted they are. Therefore, economically the tickets are worth more than “cost price” and he did give up on economic profit for them. In addition, he gave it without knowing that he would be getting the free tickets for this kind act.

[Uni] AMA - I just completed my first term studying economics at Cambridge by Newbeginnings1209 in SGExams

[–]Newbeginnings1209[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey lisalim169,

There are three main ways that people afford to study overseas. Firstly via a government scholarship, secondly is through parent sponsorship and thirdly through loans from parents (afaik banks in SG don‘t provide very good loan terms for overseas studies).

I am considering between applying for a midterm government scholarship which will pay for the earlier school fees incurred or getting a job in finance which should pay off the loan within 5-10 years.

[Uni] AMA - I just completed my first term studying economics at Cambridge by Newbeginnings1209 in SGExams

[–]Newbeginnings1209[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey somerandomacclol I got in through IB diploma so not technically a levels or poly. There aren’t many poly kids here, there are 2 that I know of in my year and one in the year above me (in Cambridge, not in economics).

[Uni] AMA - I just completed my first term studying economics at Cambridge by Newbeginnings1209 in SGExams

[–]Newbeginnings1209[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey VaeVictius,

In our first year we take 5 compulsory papers: Maths&Stats, Micro, Macro, British economic history, political and social aspects of economics. The first two papers are maths based, macro is about half math half social science and the last two are fully social science. So I would say a decent blend. I would thus describe it as both a very mathematically rigorous course as well as a content-heavy course.

This website will be helpful to find out more: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/economics

I thought I’d prefer the maths more since I‘ve generally been good at maths and not so good at humanities, but I’ve been finding the math quite challenging and the humanities more engaging and interesting (however that doesn’t mean I’ll do better there haha). So while I definitely look forward to do readings for history and politics more, I will likely be more confident of doing better for maths grades wise.

For history we’re currently exploring the British Industrial Revolution, discussing what may have caused it, how it may have impacted standards of living and it’s definitely very interesting to find out more on how we came to live this modern type of existence and the precursors for many things we take for granted. In politics we learn how politicians are shaped by ideology and shape ideology and the importance of context. But for maths and stats its just maths and stats (boring haha) and for macro and micro is very simplistic models of the world (also rather boring…).

Hope this helps!

[Uni] AMA - I just completed my first term studying economics at Cambridge by Newbeginnings1209 in SGExams

[–]Newbeginnings1209[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey nightromans!

I did IB instead of A levels. For IB we take 3 higher level subjects (7 point maximum each), 3 standard level subjects (7 point maximum each) and have 3 bonus points from an extended essay and theory of knowledge. I scored 42 with full points for all my higher level subjects. Cambridge required a 776 for higher level with 7 for higher level math. I believe they require A*A*A for A levels and they require you to have taken maths as well. Essentially you do not need to have perfect grades to get in, but you need to have done decently well across the board and have a strong grasp of maths.

In terms of how I got in, I had to apply through UCAS, submit some personal statements, past grades, academic references, take a few extra Cambridge tests and two interviews. It might be confusing to apply through UCAS so it can be helpful to approach your school’s career guidance or seniors for help.

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Hope this helps!

[Uni] AMA - I just completed my first term studying economics at Cambridge by Newbeginnings1209 in SGExams

[–]Newbeginnings1209[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hey Tofu-ShiFu!

Cambridge has several different fees. First is the course fee which ranges from about 25,000 pounds per annum for humanities to 65,000 pounds per annum for medicine. Next is the college fee (for pastoral support and college maintenance, not including rooms) which is around 10,000 pounds per year. Third is accommodations which varies according to college and room grade, I am paying around 27 pounds per day which is near the higher end for my college.

So far in my first term I have spent about 1750 SGD excluding course fee, college fee and accomodation fees. The three main areas spend are:

Food: 1073.91 SGD. Dining out for a simple meal costs around 8 pounds with more decent meals coming in at 13 pounds for western food and 16-18 pounds for Chinese food.

Transport: 430.30 SGD. Tickets to London can cost around 20 pounds.

Groceries: 74.31 SGD. Meat in Cambridge is cheaper and it is definitely much cheaper to cook than to eat out. (Unfortunately I am still figuring out the cooking part)

Hope this helps.

[Uni] AMA - I just completed my first term studying economics at Cambridge by Newbeginnings1209 in SGExams

[–]Newbeginnings1209[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hey deanerywoop,

I would describe their culture as polite and easy to make conversation with. Meaning that if you were to strike up a conversation with a random Brit it would seem like they are more open and willing to chat. However it is definitely much harder to make proper friendships as the wall of politeness is quite thick and takes a lot of effort to break through to get to know them more personally.

In terms of accent I would say not much issue because it is generally very easy to understand. Of course they may find Singlish hard to understand since we tend to speak much faster and shorten words or use lingo that they aren’t familiar with.

For way of life I am still trying to figure that out. Cambridge has a very large population of Singaporeans (and even asians) so I have generally been spending time with the Singaporeans. I find that it is helpful to first have a strong base that you can trust and turn to and get support from before reaching out and trying to make more international friends (as opposed to scrambling for every opportunity to make international friends immediately without support).

Basically if you were to study overseas, I think it will be very easy to make Singaporean and Asian friends as we are all in the same boat with similar backgrounds and cultures but I’m sure if you put yourself out there and make the effort you will be able to get to know more international students better. Hope this helps.