http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,200256,00.html?
FAIR OR NOT?
Some get uni places before deadline
April 28, 2009
HE was accepted into the National University of Singapore (NUS) seven days before applications closed.
Mr Marcus Chew, 19, a full-time national serviceman (NSF) had applied to the NUS Business School on 19 Mar.
Just six days later , he received an acceptance letter from the university.
But the closing date for applications was supposed to be 1 Apr.
Mr Chew, who scored straight As for his A levels, is not alone.
NUS and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said they do indeed send acceptance letters to applicants before the closing dates.
NTU's deadline is the same as NUS.
The closing date for applications to Singapore Management University (SMU) is 8 Apr, but SMU said it does not send out early acceptance letters.
Some applicants think that what NUS and NTU are doing is unfair. Six out of the 10 A-level graduates The New Paper spoke to said they felt this way.
Mr Chew said: 'It doesn't seem fair to those who apply late, since I got the letter way before the closing date.'
Miss Lim Qian Wen, 19, who has applied to study economics at NTU, noted there might not be enough places left for those who apply late if early offers were made.
She said she has yet to receive any admission letters, though she had applied on 26 Mar, about a week before the deadline.
Mr Jason Ng, 19, a full-time NS man, is also worried.
'What if universities don't have spaces left for people like me who applied at the last minute?' he asked.
Mr Ng, who scored 2 As, a B and a C, had sent in applications to study business at all three local universities on 1 Apr and has yet to receive any offer letter.
But the other four students whom we spoke to feel that the practice of universities making early offers is fair.
Miss Kwek Yi Lin, 19, had applied to NTU's accountancy course during the week that applications closed, and has yet to hear from the university. She has one A and three Bs.
'I think it's fair for the straight-A students to get early offers, since it's likely they'd get accepted sooner or later anyway,' she said. So why do NUS and NTU issue early offers to some applicants?
Spokesmen from both universities stressed that admission was not on a first-come-first-served basis.
First year it's practised
This is the first year that both universities are issuing early offers, the spokesmen added. Professor Lalit Goel, NTU's Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, said the university does it to attract exemplary students who 'may otherwise go to top universities overseas to pursue their tertiary education'.
He pointed out that many overseas universities make early offers to woo academically bright students.
But, he said, applicants with exemplary grades will not be placed at a disadvantage even if they apply at the last minute.
Mr R Rajaram, director of the NUS Office of Admissions, said the university considers the number of places and the competitiveness of the course before making early offers.
'Applicants who apply later during the admissions period will not be disadvantaged,' he added.
At SMU, a spokesman said the university has never had the practice of making early offers to applicants.
'Admission is based on the principle of meritocracy,' the spokesman added.
Audrey Tan Ruiping and Han Yongming, newsroom interns
FAIR OR NOT?
Some get uni places before deadline
April 28, 2009
HE was accepted into the National University of Singapore (NUS) seven days before applications closed.
Mr Marcus Chew, 19, a full-time national serviceman (NSF) had applied to the NUS Business School on 19 Mar.
Just six days later , he received an acceptance letter from the university.
But the closing date for applications was supposed to be 1 Apr.
Mr Chew, who scored straight As for his A levels, is not alone.
NUS and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said they do indeed send acceptance letters to applicants before the closing dates.
NTU's deadline is the same as NUS.
The closing date for applications to Singapore Management University (SMU) is 8 Apr, but SMU said it does not send out early acceptance letters.
Some applicants think that what NUS and NTU are doing is unfair. Six out of the 10 A-level graduates The New Paper spoke to said they felt this way.
Mr Chew said: 'It doesn't seem fair to those who apply late, since I got the letter way before the closing date.'
Miss Lim Qian Wen, 19, who has applied to study economics at NTU, noted there might not be enough places left for those who apply late if early offers were made.
She said she has yet to receive any admission letters, though she had applied on 26 Mar, about a week before the deadline.
Mr Jason Ng, 19, a full-time NS man, is also worried.
'What if universities don't have spaces left for people like me who applied at the last minute?' he asked.
Mr Ng, who scored 2 As, a B and a C, had sent in applications to study business at all three local universities on 1 Apr and has yet to receive any offer letter.
But the other four students whom we spoke to feel that the practice of universities making early offers is fair.
Miss Kwek Yi Lin, 19, had applied to NTU's accountancy course during the week that applications closed, and has yet to hear from the university. She has one A and three Bs.
'I think it's fair for the straight-A students to get early offers, since it's likely they'd get accepted sooner or later anyway,' she said. So why do NUS and NTU issue early offers to some applicants?
Spokesmen from both universities stressed that admission was not on a first-come-first-served basis.
First year it's practised
This is the first year that both universities are issuing early offers, the spokesmen added. Professor Lalit Goel, NTU's Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, said the university does it to attract exemplary students who 'may otherwise go to top universities overseas to pursue their tertiary education'.
He pointed out that many overseas universities make early offers to woo academically bright students.
But, he said, applicants with exemplary grades will not be placed at a disadvantage even if they apply at the last minute.
Mr R Rajaram, director of the NUS Office of Admissions, said the university considers the number of places and the competitiveness of the course before making early offers.
'Applicants who apply later during the admissions period will not be disadvantaged,' he added.
At SMU, a spokesman said the university has never had the practice of making early offers to applicants.
'Admission is based on the principle of meritocracy,' the spokesman added.
Audrey Tan Ruiping and Han Yongming, newsroom interns
