28 February 2017

Singapore’s universities have begun expanding their discretionary admission schemes which allow students to be admitted to a degree course based on their talents in non-academic areas such as leadership, arts and sports.

The National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and Singapore Management University will increase their allotted places for discretionary admission from 10 per cent to 15 per cent of their intake.

This is part and parcel of the Singapore Government’s plan to increase the university cohort participation rate to 40 per cent by 2020. It means that 40 percent of students from each Primary 1 cohort will eventually pursue a full-time degree in one of Singapore’s six publicly-funded universities.

Typically, admission officials use personal essays, aptitude tests, portfolios and interviews to assess students.