Students prefer scholarships given out by NUS & NTU

A survey has found that students prefer scholarships issued by local universities to those awarded by government agencies or companies. 

Over 2,700 'A' level and International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma graduates, final year polytechnic students and undergraduates in their first two years of study at the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University) took part in the online survey, which was conducted from March to April. 

The National University of Singapore retained the top spot as the most popular scholarship provider among top 'A' Level and IB diploma graduates who scored at least 3 As for H2 subjects or 39 points and above for IB examinations.

This is the second year NUS has come in tops. 

The Nanyang Technological University moved up one spot to take second place this year. 

The Public Service Commission, which was ranked second in last year's survey, took the sixth spot this year. 

Scholarships given out by Changi Airport Group, Singapore Airlines and the Economic Development Board were ranked third, fourth and fifth. 

The annual survey is carried out by BrightSparks, a scholarship, higher education and career portal. 

It says university scholarships remain popular with students as they allow them more freedom in the course of study and are largely bond-free.

"University scholarships allow more freedom in courses of study and are also predominately bond-free. Both of which, are attractive to our bright young students looking to have the best of both worlds - the prestige and financial benefits of a scholarship, as well as the ability to decide what to study and which career path to embark on. We expect this trend to continue in the future," says Mr Lim Der Shing, CEO of JobsCentral Group that owns BrightSparks.

The survey also found that four in 10 students voted Business Administration as the most popular course of study, followed by Accounting (28.8%) and Engineering (28.6%). 

The top five industries to work in are banking and financial services, airline/travel, public service, healthcare and auditing/accounting. 

As for their expected salary for their first job, more than half (55.4%) of 'A' level and IB graduates said they expect to earn more than $3,000 per month. 

One in 10 expects to make more than $4,000 per month after they graduate.