This section is aimed at helping students make that big decision of accepting/denying the SIA Youth Scholarship. In some cases, it might motivate people to try harder for the scholarship as well :)

It has been assumed that most students are interested in finding out how the decision to transit to Singapore will affect their careers in the long term. So, I will start by considering the options available to a typical Indian student who has just completed his standard 10th. Please note that the information here is most relevant to students intending to pursue a career in engineering and/or pure sciences.

Please be sure to also refer to the After 12^th page for more information. India vs Singapore (or in many cases, IIT vs Singapore) is always a hard decision, but its is one that you must make.

Prepare for IIT Let us face the reality. IIT-JEE is one of the toughest and most competitive exams in the world. The acceptance rates of IIT’s are much lower than that of MIT, Harvard and Yale. I am not questioning your ability, but what are your chances of getting through the examination? What rank will you obtain in the JEE? Will you get your desired branch during counseling? All these are questions that one must consider twice before even thinking about denying the SIA Youth Scholarship offer.

Allow me to side track for a while. If you are one of those people who are participating in the regional mathematics/physics/chemistry Olympiads and are dead sure of an All India Rank of around 50 in the JEE, please read on. I have some serious piece of advice for you guys

Let us get back to the original discussion. Let us assume that you get through the JEE and complete 4 years of undergraduate studies from an IIT. Once you graduate, there is a very high probability that you will be interested in pursuing an MS/MBA from a world class university. And, in reality, a lot of IITians do end up pursuing MS/Phd/MBA from top US/UK universities. So, if you will be moving out of India in 4-6 years time, why not now by accepting the SIA Youth Scholarship?

Prepare for other competitive examinations like the AIEEE, BITS Pilani and the IIIT – If you are aiming for the above mentioned institutes in India, be aware that NUS and NTU, which are the universities you are almost guaranteed admission after graduating from Singapore (Provided obviously you work hard in Singapore for your ‘A’ level examinations.) are much better than any of the AIEEE institutes and BITS Pilani. NUS and NTU are consistently ranked among the top 20 universities in Asia Pacific. There is no way you can go wrong with an NUS/NTU degree in your hands.

Prepare for the SAT's and apply to universities in the US\UK\Australia after completing your grade 12th from India. Firstly, a lot of students in India do not even think about this option because of the expenses involved. One has to appear in the SAT’s, take the TOEFL and complete a lot of formalities to secure admission in a bachelor’s degree program in the US\UK\Australia.

But, if you are serious about this option, then we must let you know that chances of being accepted by a US/UK university is much higher if you are an applicant from India than from Singapore. This is because a lot more students from Singapore apply for overseas universities than from India. And, a lot of US\UK universities are looking to broaden the diversity and geographic representation on the campuses at the undergraduate level. So, an Indian student (one who completes grade 12th from India) stands a better chance at gaining admission to a US/UK school than a Singaporean candidate (including Indian students who complete grade 12th from Singapore).

However, sometimes the issue boils down to the question of money. Education in a good institution in the US/UK can cost, on an average, between 15 – 20 lakhs/year. So, this makes it pretty unreachable for a student coming from a middle class family in India.

Apply/Prepare/Accept the Singapore Airlines Youth Scholarship I personally think that it is a very attractive option, not necessarily the easiest though. There are a lot of factors that you must keep in mind before accepting the scholarship and there are some negatives about the scholarship, but lets keep them aside for a moment.

You get to study for atleast 2 years in a developed country with a modern education system.

Studying in Singapore will offer you different avenues, especially for personal growth and new perspectives.