A professor was talking to his student in a University.
He asked his student to take a breathe of fresh air by going overseas....
你该出去看一看,呼吸以下新鲜的空气.
Foreign degrees still popular among locals
More apply to varsities in the US, Australia and Britain despite recession
By Derrick Ho , Melissa Pang and Reico Wong
THE overseas degree is still shiny despite the recession.
Foreign universities are seeing a healthy growth of applications from Singaporeans this year and there are a couple of reasons why, said observers.
One is that those who can afford it were less affected by the downturn. Another is that currencies like the American dollar and sterling pound have weakened against the Singdollar, making an overseas education relatively cheaper now.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, an organisation which processes higher education applications for all universities in Britain, said there has been a 25 per cent jump in Singapore applications.
This year, it received 2,218 applications compared with 1,777 last year. In 2006, when the economy was doing much better, there were about 1,300 applicants.
University registrars in Australia, too, are seeing a steady stream of applicants. Curtin University, which has campuses in Perth and Sydney, said it has received 788 applications from Singaporeans, about 11 per cent up from last year.
The Australian National University in Canberra, one of the country's top-ranking universities, had 505 applications from Singapore this year - a 72.9 per cent jump from last year's 292.
Across the Pacific, it is also boom time for American colleges. The University of Texas in Austin, for example, had 21 applications from Singapore for its enrolment this month, compared with 12 last year.
The soaring numbers suggest that the economic downturn has not affected everyone in the same way, said Professor Jean Yeung from the Asia Research Institute in Singapore. Those who can support an overseas education for their children tend to be those with more financial resources. That could be why scholarship or financial applications to colleges in Australia and the United States have increased only marginally while admission application numbers have jumped.
Parents who can afford it said that few opportunities equal an overseas education.
Mrs Geraldine Ang, whose elder daughter, Beverly, 19, will be heading to Boston University to study English literature this month, said: 'Both my husband and I had the privilege of an overseas education, and we realise the exposure and experience gained are invaluable.'
Mrs Ang, a civil servant, and her husband, who runs his own start-up, had planned for it years ago. 'The insurance plan we purchased when she was a baby has accorded some financial assistance now when it is needed. The rest would be supplemented by family funds,' she said.
She believes going overseas would expose her daughter to various cultures and help her gain social independence. Plus a US education is uniquely all-round.
Likewise, Miss Evelyn Yeoh, 19, will be pursing a degree in economics at New York University this year because her parents believe in giving her the 'best available education'.
Miss Yeoh, the elder of two girls whose father is a general practitioner with his own clinic, said her parents had assured her there was enough in the kitty.
'It really touches me to see my parents so willingly give their best for my future,' she said. In return, she has agreed to do only her bachelor's degree and let her younger sister go on to university.
The strong showing is to be expected, given how highly prized a good education is to Asian parents, noted Dr Paddy Forde, acting deputy vice-chancellor at Curtin. He said: 'Asian parents typically save up funds for their children's education and they are keen to send their children overseas for studies.'
An unexpected but welcome source of help has been the weakening of foreign currencies in recent months, adding up to a 'discount' of several thousand dollars a year.
Said the spokesman for the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Ms Katrina Edmunds: 'Singaporeans are very financially astute. Many have recognised that the increased strength of the Singapore dollar against the British pound means a quality education is available to them for much better value than before, and indeed in comparison to elsewhere.' This is despite fees rising by 5 per cent or 6 per cent this year in both the US and Britain.
Not everyone who goes overseas will find it an easy ride, however.
Mr Matthew Wong, 21, has a place at a university in Chicago and intends to go. But to pay for it, he will have to look for a job and apply for financial aid while there.
'My parents actually told me all along, even before the recession, that they would not be able to support my university education overseas. The recession merely worsened this.'
He has two younger siblings and lives with his family in a terrace house in Tanah Merah. His father is a paediatrician.
But he is set on going as he believes the dynamism offered by a foreign culture and learning environment promises a unique education.
Another Singapore student, Mr Benedict Ooi, 24, intends to work part-time while studying sports science at Perth's Murdoch University next year.
The youngest of four children said he is worried about his parents, who work for the same company, overstretching themselves. 'When the recession came, they told me to spend less,' he said. 'Though they didn't say they were affected, they were dropping hints that they might have been. But now they're telling me to go and not worry.'
How deep parents' pockets are remains to be seen, but it is not just for a degree with a foreign university name on it.
Prof Yeung said: 'It's also the whole package of life experiences that people are going after today. It's not just the money or piece of paper people go after.'
He asked his student to take a breathe of fresh air by going overseas....
你该出去看一看,呼吸以下新鲜的空气.
Foreign degrees still popular among locals
More apply to varsities in the US, Australia and Britain despite recession
By Derrick Ho , Melissa Pang and Reico Wong
THE overseas degree is still shiny despite the recession.
Foreign universities are seeing a healthy growth of applications from Singaporeans this year and there are a couple of reasons why, said observers.
One is that those who can afford it were less affected by the downturn. Another is that currencies like the American dollar and sterling pound have weakened against the Singdollar, making an overseas education relatively cheaper now.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, an organisation which processes higher education applications for all universities in Britain, said there has been a 25 per cent jump in Singapore applications.
This year, it received 2,218 applications compared with 1,777 last year. In 2006, when the economy was doing much better, there were about 1,300 applicants.
University registrars in Australia, too, are seeing a steady stream of applicants. Curtin University, which has campuses in Perth and Sydney, said it has received 788 applications from Singaporeans, about 11 per cent up from last year.
The Australian National University in Canberra, one of the country's top-ranking universities, had 505 applications from Singapore this year - a 72.9 per cent jump from last year's 292.
Across the Pacific, it is also boom time for American colleges. The University of Texas in Austin, for example, had 21 applications from Singapore for its enrolment this month, compared with 12 last year.
The soaring numbers suggest that the economic downturn has not affected everyone in the same way, said Professor Jean Yeung from the Asia Research Institute in Singapore. Those who can support an overseas education for their children tend to be those with more financial resources. That could be why scholarship or financial applications to colleges in Australia and the United States have increased only marginally while admission application numbers have jumped.
Parents who can afford it said that few opportunities equal an overseas education.
Mrs Geraldine Ang, whose elder daughter, Beverly, 19, will be heading to Boston University to study English literature this month, said: 'Both my husband and I had the privilege of an overseas education, and we realise the exposure and experience gained are invaluable.'
Mrs Ang, a civil servant, and her husband, who runs his own start-up, had planned for it years ago. 'The insurance plan we purchased when she was a baby has accorded some financial assistance now when it is needed. The rest would be supplemented by family funds,' she said.
She believes going overseas would expose her daughter to various cultures and help her gain social independence. Plus a US education is uniquely all-round.
Likewise, Miss Evelyn Yeoh, 19, will be pursing a degree in economics at New York University this year because her parents believe in giving her the 'best available education'.
Miss Yeoh, the elder of two girls whose father is a general practitioner with his own clinic, said her parents had assured her there was enough in the kitty.
'It really touches me to see my parents so willingly give their best for my future,' she said. In return, she has agreed to do only her bachelor's degree and let her younger sister go on to university.
The strong showing is to be expected, given how highly prized a good education is to Asian parents, noted Dr Paddy Forde, acting deputy vice-chancellor at Curtin. He said: 'Asian parents typically save up funds for their children's education and they are keen to send their children overseas for studies.'
An unexpected but welcome source of help has been the weakening of foreign currencies in recent months, adding up to a 'discount' of several thousand dollars a year.
Said the spokesman for the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Ms Katrina Edmunds: 'Singaporeans are very financially astute. Many have recognised that the increased strength of the Singapore dollar against the British pound means a quality education is available to them for much better value than before, and indeed in comparison to elsewhere.' This is despite fees rising by 5 per cent or 6 per cent this year in both the US and Britain.
Not everyone who goes overseas will find it an easy ride, however.
Mr Matthew Wong, 21, has a place at a university in Chicago and intends to go. But to pay for it, he will have to look for a job and apply for financial aid while there.
'My parents actually told me all along, even before the recession, that they would not be able to support my university education overseas. The recession merely worsened this.'
He has two younger siblings and lives with his family in a terrace house in Tanah Merah. His father is a paediatrician.
But he is set on going as he believes the dynamism offered by a foreign culture and learning environment promises a unique education.
Another Singapore student, Mr Benedict Ooi, 24, intends to work part-time while studying sports science at Perth's Murdoch University next year.
The youngest of four children said he is worried about his parents, who work for the same company, overstretching themselves. 'When the recession came, they told me to spend less,' he said. 'Though they didn't say they were affected, they were dropping hints that they might have been. But now they're telling me to go and not worry.'
How deep parents' pockets are remains to be seen, but it is not just for a degree with a foreign university name on it.
Prof Yeung said: 'It's also the whole package of life experiences that people are going after today. It's not just the money or piece of paper people go after.'
