Networking Group - JCs General
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To do a 2 year A-level cost in a UK boarding school(say concord) what would be a good estimate of the total expense per year? S$100k or closer to S$150k?
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newbieks\" post_id=\"2095345\" time=\"1673976010\" user_id=\"178749:
Per Term costs is
To do a 2 year A-level cost in a UK boarding school(say concord) what would be a good estimate of the total expense per year? S$100k or closer to S$150k?
sterling pound 15, 833
There are 4 Terms, per year
2 years will be Total 8 Term
So, multiply by 8 in pound, then convert back to sgd
https://smapse.com/concord-college-uk/a-level-program/ -
lee_yl\" post_id=\"2095321\" time=\"1673964767\" user_id=\"17023:
True
Take IB is the best. I have not known of anyone whose kids who took IB (ACSI/SJI and international schools) cannot make it into local Uni. Whereas for SG A levels, quite a handful I know, couldn’t make it to local universities. So far, all of them opted for poly instead of retaking SG A levels. A levels must be traumatic for them
3 in 10 A level students cannot make it to local uni. From a macro level, it is not distributed uniformly across all the JCs. Maybe 5% from RI couldn’t make it to local Uni but when it comes to lower tier JCs, the proportion of students not making into local Uni could be 50%
In some JC, half the A-level cohort couldn't make it to U -
Come to think of it…UK A papers are the same regardless taking fm SG, Msia or UK right. To UK for A is expensive and kid still young. Take IB in local international school is much cheaper then…so like leeyl says ib seems better le. Can save the 2 yrs money for a degree course later on when really cannot make it.
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phtthp\" post_id=\"2095344\" time=\"1673974578\" user_id=\"35251:
In general, those who went to JCs got better O level grades, and there are many more students going to poly than JCs, so it's not surprising that a higher percentage from JCs made it to university.
2) for A-level students -
is the other way, round !
70% of A-level students, make it to the local uni. 30% couldn't make it.
But,
for the 70% of A level students who made it, their results will determine which desired faculty they can enter. For those who did not do that well, some got posted into some faculty which they don't like.
Have a friend's son went to a JC. Cannot make it to the U.
Wasted 2 years !
A comment on the \"wasted years\" - I don't know about your friend's opinion, and what her son is like, but I don't think those years are necessarily a waste, depending on the child and the situation. I sent my daughter to take a 3-year A level programme, even though at the time I didn't think that she would make it to university (30% of MI students go to university, similar to poly). At that stage, we only wanted her to have a few more years in education so she would 'grow up', being quite immature for her age. We didn't choose poly at that stage as we felt she was too immature to handle that kind of programme. We were planning on her going to poly after her A levels. I would say that 2 years of education, even if it makes the route to work longer, is not wasted. It's not like he was bumming around at home doing nothing for 2 years. -
My advice is: maybe don’t think so much right now? Save the money for what happens after A level/poly? It doesn’t cost v much to take a u degree in aust and it’s so much closer to home and there’s a huge Asian student community there. For finance and business degrees, they are not any less recognised than local uni.
As to IB, if can get into ACSI or SJI then that’s great. If vis the international schools route, do note that there is an entrance exam to sift out who’s qualified to take IB in ACS intl otherwise by default they might be taking the UK O or A exams. I am not sure if the other intl schools practise the same sifting mechanisms. -
I guess the cost of the UK A level route makes more sense if one is aiming for the top Uni in UK. There are stats available on the success rate of entry from the A level boarding schools in UK to these top Uni (but not astoundingly high if I remember correctly). i think if the child leaves in Sec 4 year, eventually can enter Uni one year earlier than if take A level in Singapore.
Just wondering other than the published boarding fees, how much additional cost to budget for miscellaneous expenses… -
If the objective is to obtain a degree eventually, how about taking part time degree course while working? What are the pro and con?
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Comparing IB students from ACSI / SJI against the entire A Level cohort is hardly apple to apple. Yes, most ACSI / SJI IB students will likely make it to local universities, but you could probably say the same for A Level IP students from RI / HCI / VS / DHS etc.
Not all international schools are the same. Some, like ACS International, applies minimum criteria:
Minimum criteria:
- Singapore GCE ‘O’ Levels: Attained aggregate of 18 or less
- Minimum B3 for High Level enrollment
Hence, in that sense, ACS International is not much different from a JC, albeit offering IBDP. In terms of results, the school achieves an average score of 38.04 for the IBDP in 2022. Taking 38 as the lowest entry point to local universities, you can approximate that probably half of its cohort wouldn’t meet the COP for local universities (which isn’t that much different from one of the weaker JC). -
Imp75\" post_id=\"2095355\" time=\"1674002242\" user_id=\"2358:
I agree. Those who are well resourced, will have more options (this is a general statement about life really - from stocks portfolio to cars and housing etc.) When the time comes, we each make decisions based on our current financial standing, how much we are willing to expend or sacrifice for our kids.
My advice is: maybe don’t think so much right now? Save the money for what happens after A level/poly? It doesn’t cost v much to take a u degree in aust and it’s so much closer to home and there’s a huge Asian student community there. For finance and business degrees, they are not any less recognised than local uni.
As to IB, if can get into ACSI or SJI then that’s great. If vis the international schools route, do note that there is an entrance exam to sift out who’s qualified to take IB in ACS intl otherwise by default they might be taking the UK O or A exams. I am not sure if the other intl schools practise the same sifting mechanisms.
Admission to ACS Intl, SJII and HCIS is not a given at Year 5. If I am not wrong, SJII was full for quite some time and this year's batch who just collected O level results, I don't think they could apply for SJII at all. Even at the Sec School stages, I've had friends whose kids were on the waiting list at SJII. I am not sure what the requirements are to enter ACS Int'l or HCIS - I'm sure there is some grades requirement, even if it is not very demanding.
As for degrees in Australia, I am not sure about the costs but the costs differential especially for science courses have narrowed so much between UK and Australia that more Singaporeans have been choosing the former. Plus many Singaporeans had a very bad experience in Australia during the Covid period, not able to enter Australia to resume studies and all.
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