LSE International Relations vs NUS Econs & Business
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Personally, I would take the local NUS Econs scholarship. Since the goal is to pursue career in government sector, honours degree from NUS would be sufficient for this goal. The money saved would be quite substantial, and can be put to other uses.
Studying overseas can be still achieved via overseas exchange programmes, which NUS has.
Hope it helps. -
LSE is an excellent university and is ranked 4th in the world for international relations, according to the QS rankings. Rankings aside, your dd will have much to gain from studying overseas. The experience of living independently, gaining a world view and exchange of ideas with an international student body are very desirable. If finances are not an obstacle, I would say go for LSE. Having said that, a local scholarship is also attractive with the security of a job upon graduation. But scholarships come with bonds and who knows she may realise later that this is not what she wants in her career.
Out of curiosity, why didn’t your dd apply to study economics in LSE?
*Edited for typo errors. -
I have 2 friends who went LSE to do Economics under SPH scholarship 20+ years ago.
One went on to Oxford to do Masters subsequently after LSE, and has since moved to London and doing well in banking. One stayed on with SPH. Personally, I would prefer the overseas experience for my kid, as firstly, I don’t think I can afford her such papa-mama scholarship, and secondly, I always feel that 年轻人嘛、出去走走看看、the world is your oyster, nothing to be afraid of. The only drawback for the scholarship was, the 8 year bond, according to my friends, otherwise LSE was a marvelous experience to both of them. -
Indeed difficult decision.
If working in govt sector, might have opportunities to go overseas for further education. Not sure about the specific criteria to qualify. You might want to find out more.
Just to share, a relative went to LSE. Fully paid by the statutory board he was working for at that time. Masters degree at LSE. Not first degree. Only 2 years bond and he was also paid a salary while studying at LSE. Super envious!! -
jtoh:
Hi Jtoh, do you know their ranking for economics? How about their finance related courses, are they as desirable as economics in LSE?LSE is an excellent university and is ranked 4th in the world for international relations, according to the QS rankings. Rankings aside, your dd will have much to gain from studying overseas. The experience of living independently, gaining a world view and exchange of ideas with an international student body are very desirable. If finances are not an obstacle, I would say go for LSE. Having said that, a local scholarship is also attractive with the security of a job upon graduation. But scholarships come with bonds and who knows she may realise later that this is not what she wants in her career.
Out of curiosity, why didn't your dd apply to study economics in LSE?
*Edited for typo errors. -
LSE is not to be missed, especially since you can afford it. It opens many doors around the world literally. They have many prominent alumni in SG too.
In LSE, you probably are exchanging ideas with people from 50 nationalities or more, most of them are top in their country of origin.
The richness of the program is beyond the prestige factor. The experience gained is more than academic. Money can’t buy it. Go do it and come back to SG for the sake of the nation. -
Dear all,
Thank you so much for all the valuable replies!! I appreciate any view point as they will definitely help in our decision making.jtoh:
Dear Jtoh,LSE is an excellent university and is ranked 4th in the world for international relations, according to the QS rankings. Rankings aside, your dd will have much to gain from studying overseas. The experience of living independently, gaining a world view and exchange of ideas with an international student body are very desirable. If finances are not an obstacle, I would say go for LSE. Having said that, a local scholarship is also attractive with the security of a job upon graduation. But scholarships come with bonds and who knows she may realise later that this is not what she wants in her career.
Out of curiosity, why didn't your dd apply to study economics in LSE?
Thank you for your encouragement.
On your question on why my dd did not choose Economics at LSE, it was likely because she felt that her Economics was not that strong at the point of application, she is also interested in studying IR after looking through the contents of the course.
Are you (or any parent here) able to shed some light on the prospect of IR degree? I guess this course is more specialised (and hence narrower) in terms of career path as compared to Economics. I know nothing much about this course as it is often too common to hear about Engineering, Medicine, Law, Business, Economics but not this in Singapore (most of my surrounding friends never heard of this). LSE seems to be more \"famous\" for Economics though IR is also in high ranking.
Or we should not be too concerned about the course as of now as LSE itself is already a brand name and it comes with tons of overseas experience that should not be missed ?
Any sharing of experience or opinion is appreciated. Thank you. -
LSE is one of the best universities in the world for social sciences. It ranks very well for econs, IR, law, geography and other social sciences. It is one of the top unis in the UK. The others being Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and Imperial.
Song, LSE’s econs was ranked 4th worldwide in 2015. Business was also in the top 10. Of course, different ranking systems will differ in how they measure their rankings but the top few are usually the same.
N3SKiasu, an IR degree would likely lead to a career in MFA or other governmental or inter-governmental organisations, NGOs, media, publishing etc. -
Thank you jtoh for your prompt reply and advice.
I would also like to thank mathtuition88, FantasyLandDreams, sleepy and pirated for your views and sharing of experiences that you have come across. I have shared all your valuable opinions and information with my DD. We leave it to her to consider the final choice that she would like to pursue and we will provide her the support thereafter.
Many Thanks for your help and we greatly appreciate it.
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