02 January 2020
More students at the National University of Singapore are now able to win a place in their first-choice degree course as a result of a new policy that awards bonus admission points for first-choice courses.
According to NUS, 1,050 applicants landed a place in a course they listed as their top choice in 2019 because of the bonus point scheme. The university’s intake for last year was 7,800.
The bonus points apply to courses where entry is based purely on converting a student’s grades into points, such as courses in science or the arts, and not to courses such as medicine and law, where students are assessed on their aptitude and interests through interviews.
NUS had said that bonus points can make a difference in close cases. For example, a student with 81 points who applies for communications as his first choice has an edge over another with 82 points who lists the same course as his second choice.
The university’s initiative is in line with the Ministry of Education’s move to expand aptitude-based admission into post-secondary institutions and universities.