International students share the secret to winning prestigious Singapore scholarships

 International students share the secret to winning prestigious Singapore scholarships

Do not rush to take the IELTS or practice the SAT, candidates should focus on building quality academic results and extracurricular activities, hoping to pass the application round.

The Vietnamese Student Association in Singapore (VNYA) has just organized an online seminar "Study in Singapore 2021" to provide information, share study experiences and apply for scholarships in the lion island nation.

Students can study abroad at the high school or university level with two ASEAN and A*STAR scholarships. ASEAN is a scholarship of the Ministry of Education of Singapore for students from Southeast Asian countries, while A*STAR is awarded by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research of this country to students in grades 9 and 10 from countries in the bloc. ASEAN, South Asia.

According to Pham Thai An, Vice President of VNYA, these are two scholarships for Vietnamese students, among the top 10 most valuable scholarships in Asia.

Pham Thai An graduated from James Cook University and currently works for a recruitment company in Singapore. Photo: Character provided

Pham Thai An graduated from James Cook University and currently works for a recruitment company in Singapore. Photo: Character provided

The application deadline for ASEAN scholarships is from early March to mid-June. There will be about 20 scholarships for Vietnamese students, granted for four years of study, including two years of high school and two years of pre-university, at select schools in Singapore.

Meanwhile, A*STAR scholarships have 30-50 scholarships annually. The 10th graders will take the exam in September, and the 9th grade will take the exam in January. The scholarship is affiliated with specialized schools in Vietnam, with a selection schedule and rounds quite similar to ASEAN.

"Selected candidates all have to go through two rounds of exams to win the scholarship, including a three-subject test (Math, English and IQ) and an interview," said Thai An, also an alumnus of James Cook University. know.

The annual entrance exam is directly administered by the Singapore Ministry of Education and the Singapore Embassy in Vietnam. Both scholarships cover living expenses, accommodation, insurance and exam fees for the GCE Higher General Education Certificate. Students are supported with round-trip airfare twice in their senior year of high school and pre-university.

Hoang Viet Giang Huong, studying pre-university at St. Joseph's Institution, says these are two of the few full pre-university scholarships, not only in Singapore but around the world. Therefore, these two scholarships are highly competitive.

Having received an ASEAN scholarship in 2018, Hoang Viet Giang Huong went to Singapore to study Secondary 3 and 4 program (equivalent to grade 9, 10 in Vietnam) after graduating from grade 9 in Phu Tho. In the year Huong exam, there were about 2,000 applications across the country, but only 20 excellent candidates were selected.

Huong said, candidates should pay attention to building good academic results. Huong used to study English, twice won the provincial excellent student in English in grades 8 and 9, three times gold medal in online English competition in grades 7, 8, 9.

Because the scholarship requires the submission of transcripts of the last two years, if you intend to study abroad, you need to have a study plan early to ensure the final score at the end of the year reaches 8.0-9.0 to pass the application round.

"The goal of the scholarship is to attract talents and strengthen diplomatic relations with ASEAN countries, so they will find intellectuals and look at your purpose of studying abroad, see if you have the will to contribute to the world. community or not," Huong said.

After winning the ASEAN scholarship in 2018, Hoang Viet Giang Huong went to Singapore to study high school and is currently studying pre-university at St. Joseph's Institution. Photo: Character provided

After winning a scholarship in 2018, Hoang Viet Giang Huong went to Singapore to study high school and is currently studying pre-university at St. Joseph's Institution. Photo: Character provided

According to the female student, the exams of the scholarship test ability and thinking in English and do not require IELTS or SAT scores, so students do not need to invest in these certificates early. Instead, you should study English Math, practice IQ for the test.

In addition to academic achievement, the Singapore Ministry of Education also evaluates through extracurricular activities. However, candidates do not need to stress too much about the quantity but should focus on the quality of the activity.

"The selection committee does not expect candidates to have many activities because they still have to focus on studying. Therefore, you can talk about a sport you often play or share your passion in a certain field. ", said the female student.

Not studying abroad since high school, Nguyen Xuan Nguyen won an ASEAN scholarship after finishing the A level program at the Vietnam Australia International School in Ho Chi Minh City. Nguyen is currently a freshman at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).