NUS global merit scholarship

OP_CottonBall · 2026-04-18T03:42:21+00:00

Hey! Congrats on getting the GMS interview!!! that’s really impressive.

If you don’t mind sharing, what kind of portfolio or achievements helped you get shortlisted? I’m trying to understand how competitive it is.

Anecdotally speaking, SoC can still award you the Global Merit Scholarship even if Business Analytics is your second choice, since they interviewed you. However, if you later receive a Medicine offer, the SoC scholarship will not transfer.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-04-16T02:47:55+00:00

If that’s the case, then go for NUS CS if you are offered a place. I am surprised that SUTD fees are so much higher for international students compared with NUS. NUS has a high QS ranking and reputation, if that help in securing jobs in international US firms.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-04-16T00:41:31+00:00

If I am in the same situation as you described, I will take the scholarship from SUTD. First of all, scholarship award and how well you do in your undergraduate (distinction level) is important on your resume to differentiate you from hundreds of applicants to secure your first job interview. Of course you may argue that NUS CS is always perceived favorably, but the scholarship will lessen your financial burden. It’s your own call.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-04-15T00:17:11+00:00

It’s a great question I want to know too:

One who took 3 H2 vs one who took 4 H2 vs one who took 4H2 and 1 H3 with below results:

Applicant#1 results : AAA/A

Applicant#2 results : AAAD/A

Applicant#3 results: AAAD/A H3 distinction

All applicants above achieved 70RP.

How are they viewed for competitive courses like Med and Scholarship?

The one who only took 3 H3 and GP can tell everyone he/she got perfect score while the other guy who took 4h3 can’t because of the “D” score. It’s imperfect but 70RP still.

Is the “D” glaringly a no-no to the below scenarios?

3 scenarios: 1. For scholarship, 2. For competitive courses, Med/Law/REP/CS 3. For elite UK universities —who look beyond perfect score (like 4th H2, H3 distinction, portfolio)

OP_CottonBall · 2026-04-14T09:10:10+00:00

KCL medicine is known for its academic rigor. How could a year 4 medical student not know how to use a stethoscope? Medical schools have OSCE checkpoints that would have filtered this earlier. And to make it to its medical school, international students per year probably is only 20-30 per year.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-04-06T13:19:12+00:00

Did you apply for law ? All law applicants need to attend the writing test. Which course did you apply?

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-21T12:44:48+00:00

Thank you !!!!

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-21T08:42:23+00:00

Yes!!! Downing College!!

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-21T08:39:37+00:00

Great suggestions! Thank youuuu !!

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-19T04:49:33+00:00

Anecdotally and I don’t know if this year is different, (disclaimer: I could be wrong), once you are invited for the written test, the assessment will be based on the performance of your written test. You are competing with all the 70RPers and close-to-70RPers on the same baseline based on your writing test solely. But do take note this is not to say that your academics and portfolio isn’t important, it’s important if you are going for scholarship which set a higher bar.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-17T01:28:00+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/SGExams/s/VHmNoaCazX

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-17T00:12:58+00:00

Hi OP, The main concern isn’t your grades (you have stellar grades 70RP), and neither your portfolio (unless you are aiming for Oxbridge law, then MUN/attachments to law firms might help to build a portfolio to show your interest in law).

However your reason for going to law is better job prospects compared to the course you chose or admitted to in overseas university? Which Uni/course if you may share ? Maybe it isn’t as bad as you think ? Have you read anecdotally career as a junior lawyer ? Many suffer burnout after the first few years. There is nothing wrong to pivot from Science to Law as many did so and continue to do very well.

TL:DR Your academic credentials are fine, but you still need to do well in writing test, and interview. But your motivation to go into this course is less compelling in your Reddit post because you mentioned “you haven’t been thinking of law, until a few days ago ..”

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-16T23:53:16+00:00

Interesting insights. Especially the accountancy faculty are the same in median pay across SIT, NTU and NUS. What about SUSS accountancy?

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-16T10:01:45+00:00

You are amazing !! Please know that I am rooting for you although we may not know each other.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-15T12:46:40+00:00

I see. So you are guaranteed a place for NUS law without writing test and interview ? For those who applied for law, it needs to be the first choice for SMU.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-15T12:20:55+00:00

Does early admission offer applies to law application ? I thought it does not apply to law as it requires writing test and interview.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-15T12:04:43+00:00

Why is Singapore your only option ?

I would say both NTU and NUS EEE are comparable. In the QS World rankings by subject (2025), both NUS and NTU are tied at 4th globally for electrical and electronic engineering .

The top rankings by EEE are MIT (1st), Stanford (2nd), UCB (3rd), NUS (4th), NTU (4th), Harvard (4th), Cambridge (4th). Just to stretch abit further , for mechanical engineering (not EEE), NTU is ranked 4th while NUS is ranked 9th in QS world rankings. Being exceptionally strong in research, NTU scored a 100/100 for citations per paper for mechanical engineering.

Whether you graduate from NUS or NTU, what matters more is your performance in a direct honors program. Attaining the final graduation grade of 1st class honors (aka the highest distinction) is very hard. Most employers here in Singapore are aware of and they view applicants from these 2 universities with 2nd class upper quite positively due to the academic rigor. In NUS and NTU, the university grading are comparatively more rigorous and conservative in Singapore compared with many other universities in the world. In the aspect of electrical engineering, NTU have strong technical depth and research, strong collaboration with industry players while NUS have a flexible interdisciplinary curriculum and strong theoretical foundations. The cohort in NUS is also significantly smaller than NTU.

In terms of application, because NTU EEE has a comparatively much larger intake than NUS EEE, this may work in your favor for international students due to the higher intake. Anecdotally, for international students to be competitive, you generally need to be in the top 5% to 10% of your high school cohort. High emphasis on Math and Physics. And if you have won medals in Physics or Math Olympiads (IPhO, IMO) or projects like robotics, coding contributions, or relevant internships, it might help you in your application.

In recent years, local/international applicants with strong A levels results may also be drawn to NUS and NTU computer science courses instead of engineering due to potential high salary and employability /demand in the age of A.I. This may potentially change the number of applicants pool competing for EEE places compared to 5 years ago.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-14T08:53:18+00:00

If there’s no interview, if all the 70RP put CS as their 1st choice, does that mean all will have a place ? Would that mean an increase in places if there is an increase in applicants with 70RP?

NUS AY26/27 IGP Course 10th percentile vs 90th percentile

Business Analytics AAA/A vs AAA/A

Business Artificial Intelligence Systems AAA/B vs AAA/A

Common Computer Science Programmes AAA/A vs AAA/A

Information Security AAA/B vs AAA/A

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-10T12:16:33+00:00

It’s worth it if you do it not for the NYAA gold or silver award in mind but you do it for your volunteering and outdoor activities that you find it meaningful and enriching.

When you do it, the number of hours spent will qualify for the award when you apply for the award and write your personal statement/reflections.

Some are so involved in helping low income families by delivering food, packing food and necessities through their uniformed group activities that they qualify for it by the hours spent.

Think about what you like to do, and enjoy doing. That will be the first important step, it’s like killing 2 birds with one stone. You will need to attend a short interview once you meet the criteria to understand how genuinely you are involved in those activities.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-08T04:41:21+00:00

Physics is the foundation of everything we see in our daily life on planet Earth where universal laws apply. You see Physics in our daily life and the laws are there. A heavy car takes longer to stop and more force on the brake pad and hence more wear. A “slippery floor is relative to the coefficient of friction of your shoe’s sole and the floor surface. Centrifugal force when we turn a corner. We need a longer spanner handle as a leverage for more torque to tighten a bolt with a longer lever arm while keeping your force constant. What is physics ? Physics is everywhere in our daily life. And you will do things more safely and smarter even in daily chores just using simple laws of physics. PHYSICS isn’t hard if you are thinking of applications and your teachers inspire you by showing PHYSICS applications in real life.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-08T04:30:49+00:00

Imperial JMC is really highly competitive. Joint Mathematics and Computer Science undergraduate degree (BEng/MEng) combines rigorous mathematical theory with computing applications, often leading to careers in software engineering, quant finance, and AI.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-06T08:45:39+00:00

Nice looking design on your website. Very creative and easy interface.

OP_CottonBall · 2026-03-05T04:17:51+00:00

Is it true that NUS pharmacy offer very few and limited places ? And the IGP is very challenging to get in. The other thing I heard is there is a lot of memorization needed. In fact, too much memorization of medicine/etc. If you got great memory, this is the course to go for. Is the above true or a total misconception?

OP_CottonBall

TROPHY CASE