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DH has been to Xi An and he likes it because he is someone who likes historical stuff. One can get to see 兵马俑 (probably not my cup of tea!), the Han tombs, and even visit 华山
I have heard of someone being cheated by posts from XHS. Paid the “tour guide” deposit for hotel/transport but when reach China, couldn’t find that person-in-charge. Good reviews can be fake.
So do be careful !!
My younger child was from the GEP. It is a pity the program has to go because i witnessed how my DD2 blossomed after she got transferred to the gep centre. Prior to the that, from P1 to P3, she only had one friend. Under-stimulated and always bored in class.
40yrs since the start of the program, for various reasons, this group of cognitive diverse kids felt and will continue to feel miserable in the mainstream schools. Simply because their brains are wired differently. Without the gep program, these kids will still feel miserable Mon-Fri. It was true 40 years ago, and it will still be true tomorrow. Unless there are extensive test to identify them.
Some gifted kids I know off, can’t stop talking, some were asked them to keep story books aside during lesson time but they don’t adhere. Will their form teachers be biased against their ‘bad’ conduct and not picked to join the new HA program? My kid wasn’t even top 3 in her P3 class when she was selected. In fact due to sheer boredom in the class, she often “switched off”.
From what I read on ST, MOE observed that majority of those who got in to gep in recent years, went through some form of hothousing. Some gepper parents told me, compared to 10yrs ago, there seems to be a lot more foreign students being selected into gep. So to me, if the program has changed its nature and no longer meeting the original intention (aka 变质) and GEB probably has no better idea of how to deal with the hothousing, then I agree it is time for the program to go / get revamped.
There must be a reason why some undergrads fight head over heels for some top notch internships. DH’s colleague’s son went through 7 rounds of stringent interviews which landed him with an internship in the US that pays him $20K+ per month and he got a job offer from same fintech company before he graduates. Undergrads nowadays very 精，they know what they want and how to build their portfolio
My kid and I think just do 2 quality ones better than do 10 don’t know what internships because some companies treat interns like cheap labour.
Nothing right or wrong, for those who want to join in the rat race then join lah, for those who opt out, then so be it. After all I am sure don’t need to do 10 internships to land a decent job.
Wa, woke up at 10am this morning, check ksp, already saw red colour warning in NYJC thread. 也是好，不然没完没了
@Nebbermind said in Me Time!:
you ladies are still around!!
Surprise , Surprise. Long time no “see”.
I do log on to check once every 10-20days… if I can remember…
But it’s so quiet here, a dying forum…sad to see the once vibrant ksp dying as a result of a changed forum format
SMU graduates in high demand by employers: Graduate employment survey
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/smu-graduates-in-high-demand-by-employers
SMU graduates in high demand by employers. According to the report, their students are highly sought after because their education model caters to what the employers want, relevant and has a lifelong impact.
Once DH met up with a friend who just returned from US. He told DH that the job displacement is already happening in US and at a very aggressive pace. Prior to that, a job that needs 10 accountants may only need 3 now. In Singapore, we are always slower than US so we have yet to see it here but I guess it’s just a matter of time.
Maybe long working hours, burnt out and low pay attributed to your friend having difficulties to retain good accounting staff.
I posed the same question to my daughter who replied that she had no idea what the Accountancy course entails.
As DD2 has similar interests as her elder sister, so likely will choose either Biz Ad or Economics.
Reasons for not picking Accountancy because accountants work long hours (9am to 2am?) regularly and the pay does not justify the long hours put in. DD2 once mentioned accountancy is a sunset industry. I guess she meant the mundane work can be handled by AI in the near future thus reducing the number of human accountants.
Most people told me can be tax compliance officer, but if most people think the same way, are there enough tax compliance roles to go around?
Thanks for sharing. Oh I didn’t know that most SMU Accounting students are not interested in Big 4. I always thought it’s natural that Accountancy graduates would want to go Big 4 as their 1st job.
Ya, could be due SMU pedagogy or under senior’s influence to go into high finance / investment banking. Maybe this also explains why SMU graduates’ starting pay are higher than those fed into Big 4.
I did ask my dd2 to consider Accountancy but she is not keen citing various reasons. Maybe I can tell her there is NO NEED to be an accountant and can look to go into investment banking using her accountancy degree.
In my view, career trajectories are subject to too many variables such as the macro economic situation, one’s luck and choices or even parental connections, which do not provide a good reflection of the universities’ capacity to teach and prepare its students for the real world.
Indeed, the IGPs looks scary for NUS as compared to other AUs, but at the end of 3-4yrs, the median salary for Accountancy graduates for NUS, NTU, SMU and SIT are similar. Unless NUS Acct graduates can command a much higher premium otherwise it would not be worth the while. Similar comparison could be applied to other faculties, including Law.
Employers likely have employed graduates from all the 6 local unis before so they should know what are the fresh graduates worth.
Yes yes, SMU law very good, NTU med also very good. 
Based on the employment survey link I attached earlier, for SMU law and NUS Law fresh graduates, their median salaries are exactly the same at $7000, which means in the eyes of the employers, both are of equal standing.
Last year DD1 took part in the Uni admission exercise, so I actively asked around to solicit different opinions of the universities. Most of them commented that NUS fresh grads are more theoretical.
As for NTU vs NUS med, I am not that familiar but I think their teaching pedagogies and approaches are different. Sometimes we keep going back to the same GP is because of the empathy the GP offers not because GP was from xx uni?
As to why I think NUS law and med are more popular, could be due to their long standing history, reputation and stronger alumni network. Just my personal opinion and I could well be mistaken in my views.
SMU : Business, Econs, Accountancy
NUS : Law and Medicine
NTU : Engineering
Different universities different strengths.
I am pleasantly surprised to learn that for friend’s son in SUTD, his exchange program went to Stanford. Another friend’s daughter graduated from SIT Accountancy, first job landed in Big Four. All the 6 local universities are good and highly recognised, even for the newly established ones. Our universities have come a long way.
Ya, there are many factors when choosing a Uni. Like hostel experiences, Uni reputation, distance, feedback from seniors…. After all, the kids put in efforts to get to where they are so their views matter. If got scholarship can take, the money your DD saved over 3-4 years, she can have savings to invest (down payment for EC, prime BTO, a new car…)
https://blog.seedly.sg/graduate-starting-salary-nus-ntu-smu-sutd-sit/
Not sure which uni course you are referring to but I shall use an example, say Accountancy.
If we look at the MEDIAN starting pay of NUS, NTU and SMU Accountancy graduates with Honors:
NUS Accountancy $3,600
NUS Accountancy (Hons) $4,200
Employment rate 96.5%
NTU Accountancy (Hons) $3,600
Employment rate 96.6%
SMU Accountancy $3,900
SMU Accountancy (Cum Laude and above) $4,500
Employment rate 96%
If your DD is looking to take Biz, Accountancy, Econs, SMU could be a good choice. The employment rate for new Acct graduates is the same, with or without Hons. SMU’s median starting salary is the highest, which means employers are willing to pay more to hire SMU graduates. I will also seriously consider NTU because out of the 3, it is the only one that allows one to complete Accountancy with direct honors within 3yrs. But if you are looking for world ranking, then of cos NUS. 
The lady being interviewed was an invited guest who can’t say much negative stuff otherwise.
The example I shared earlier was posted in June 2024 on XHS by a SM1 scholar.
One can’t compare the thinking of PRC scholars 20yrs ago vs those today…