Study Abroad in Singapore: My Experience and Advice

As my study abroad semester at the National University of Singapore comes to a close, I want to briefly recap my experience and give advice to other students about if and how they should study abroad in Singapore too.

Singapore as a City

Singapore is not like Manhattan, it’s not like Hong Kong, it’s not like Tokyo.  Singapore is more like American suburbia than I would ever have imagined.  First though, the CBD—Central Business District—is relatively densely packed with 30-story high-rises and large malls.  The buildings aren’t as tall or crowded here as in other major world cities, but there are crowds walking outside, taxis jockeying and blaring horns, and hawkers selling tourist goods.  There seems to be a pulse here.  If you know Mandarin or Tamil you can fit in easily, but even otherwise, this part of the city is enveloping and welcoming.

But as a study abroad student, you don’t spend much time in the CBD.  Outside the CBD, the city is as quiet as any American suburb.  Traffic thins (except on the expressways), children play in playgrounds, life goes on.  But the pulse of a city is gone.  Imagine that you, a 20-some year-old young adult, work in some American suburb and live in some non-descript apartment building there.  The mall is a few miles away, there is no movie theater nearby.  There are limited social outlets for young adults.  Your lifestyle can get really boring really fast.  Singapore’s suburban lifestyle works well for families with children, but it doesn’t provide the fast rhythm that young adults and college students desire.  If you study abroad in Singapore and live off-campus—like most study abroad students—this describes your probable living situation.

The CBD, and a few other neighborhoods like Holland Village and Clarke Quay, have a city-pulse.  But outside these spots, I felt that the norm was atomistic alienation.  When walking down the sidewalk, there are people all around you—hundreds in the elevated trains above, packed buses on the roads, construction workers working on the ever-present construction sites.  But there are few others who will be on the sidewalk with you: the average sidewalk is just plain empty.  This contrasts with Manhattan, where you’re bound to run into somebody every 30 seconds if you don’t watch where you’re going.  Besides in isolated districts like the CBD, people just don’t walk around that much outdoors.  They walk around train stations, they walk around supermarkets, they walk around shopping malls.  Just not outdoors.  This gives the city a surprisingly hollow feel—there are large buildings, traffic, buses, trains…just no visible people outdoors.

During my first week in Singapore, I mentioned to some fellow European study abroad students that I admired the wide roads and efficient public transport systems in Singapore.  They scoffed.  Their point was not that these systems were subpar—few would argue with that (though take a look at this great YouTube video).  But highly efficient transport means that Singapore is strangely un-dense, with relatively squat buildings and large stretches of empty land—if people can get around, why build densely?  This, of course, only strengthens the perception of Singapore as a suburb and as a place that doesn’t encourage walking.  Going place-to-place involves “large” distances—a few miles—but nonetheless means that walking is unfeasible.

Moreover, in the pursuit of efficiency, Singapore has lost any semblance of style or personality.  My accolades were on the roads, but that was because I had failed to notice the bland (let’s call it “neo-Soviet”) architecture.  Any building that isn’t a big bank headquarters or a new gleaming mall is likely just another multi-story reinforced concrete structure, invariably painted in beige.  And those buildings that break from this montage—they don’t fit into any architectural scheme or plan, they just want to stand out.  The lack of architectural vision means that Singapore is a hodgepodge collection of individual buildings with no grand structure or style.

For bringing up a family, or for a short-term tourist visit, Singapore is fantastic.  However, for medium-length stays by young adults, Singapore can become slow.  The active young-adult will find entertainment and social outlets (they exist!), but it will take time and effort to reach these outlets because they are not in local neighborhoods.  In short, don’t come to Singapore and think that you will be in Manhattan.

Living in Singapore

An American study abroad student’s quality of life in Singapore is similar to (though perhaps a bit lower than) back at home.  On the plus side, a wide variety of food is available at reasonable costs.  Medium-sized grocery stores line neighborhood blocks and make shopping particularly convenient (though if you want particular Western brands you may have to take a trip downtown).  A number of canteens—which are cafeteria-like buildings with multiple stalls and vendors selling a variety of different foods—dot the roads, meaning that cooking on your own is generally unnecessary: hop by a canteen, enjoy great ethnic food, and pay on average $2-3 (US) a meal.  It’s a great deal, especially for students.

The solid transportation structure means that students can get around campus and the island with ease.  Give yourself a half-hour cushion, and you can be downtown watching a movie or in Little India having dinner.  Sentosa Island, Singapore’s resort enclave, provides a great weekend getaway—you can visit the two new casinos (yes, I know that one of them is not actually on Sentosa) or the recently-opened Universal Studios.  Take a ride on the massive Singapore Flyer Ferris wheel, and don’t miss out on the world-famous Jurong Bird Park and the botanical gardens.

I can’t finger one “big” downside to the living experience here in Singapore.  The suburban lifestyle is a valid concern, but for those who grew up in a suburban environment Singapore is both familiar and comfortable.  What I noticed, though, is that a multitude of small annoyances do add up.  The beds are too short.  There are too few outlets in a room.  The desks are tiny.  There is no AC in the common rooms.  No dryers mean that you have to line-dry your clothes—and you have to make sure they don’t get soaked by a passing rain storm nor get covered in pigeon poo.  Loud European techno parties down the hall will keep you up on weekend nights (the walls are thin enough that even your roommate’s laptop speakers in the common room can disturb your sleep).  Malls and lecture halls blare AC and are as cold as mortuaries.  Finding groceries is pretty easy, but there is no Walmart (besides Mustafa, that is)—so where does one get other essentials, like underwear and power strips?  Chewing gum is supposedly illegal (though you can find gum behind the counters at most Guardian and Watson pharmacies).  And the internet always slows down or fails when you need it most—Singapore is an advanced country, but the internet infrastructure is weaker that one would expect.

Lastly, I’m not sure how to characterize these cats.  Just like Princeton has an abnormal number of squirrels on campus, Singapore has an abnormal number of feral cats.  They’re small, cute, and seemingly harmless.  The locals feed them scraps and scratch their bellies.  But the meowing at night can be infernal.

Academic Experience

The National University of Singapore is by far the strongest undergraduate institution in Singapore.  For local Singaporeans, admissions to NUS is extremely competitive.  The university offers a full-range of degree programs in all academic fields, including music (the university has a wonderful conservatory), law, business, medicine, and public policy.

NUS has a unique dual-structure that borrows from both the United States and British higher educational systems.  In the US, law and medicine are largely post-graduate or professional degrees, but in Singapore students can elect to study those fields at the undergraduate level.  This mirrors the British system.  Also like the British system, course evaluations are largely based on the final exam—usually 60-80% of final grades are based on exam results.  However, like in the American system, most degrees at NUS are four years in length, and students can choose to take courses in any department they wish.  In the UK, degrees are three years in length and students are generally locked into a single department and have few opportunities to take courses outside.

The first thing to note at NUS is that though the student body is large, classes are manageably sized.  My classes ranged from 12 – 124 students, which is similar to what my class sizes would have been back at Princeton.  Classrooms are well appointed, with good seats, desks, whiteboards, and projectors (some even have Bose sound systems).  Students are attentive in lecture and ask questions of professors just like they do in the US.

Professors are well-prepared.  Most had full sets of lecture notes ready to go (mini-textbooks, really) and either used the lecture notes or PowerPoint slides in class.  The downside, though, is that lectures did move a bit slowly at times, and since the lecture notes were available online many students found it convenient so skip class occasionally (I plead the fifth).

Homework was a bit less frequent than it would be back at Princeton or other American universities.  However, the paucity of homework doesn’t mean that students don’t get to practice solving problems.  Most courses have weekly tutorial sessions (called precepts or recitations at other universities)—including, significantly, the math and science courses.  Each tutorial section has roughly twenty students and is led by the same professor who conducts lecture.  In these one-hour-a-week sessions, the professor reviews 10-15 problems that were assigned previously.  Students are supposed to have tried these problems at home (many student don’t fully solve the problems but instead try to make sure that they can follow the general concepts) and can be called upon to give their solution.  Usually, though, the professor will go through all the problems himself.

Depending on the professor, homework is returned 1-2 weeks after submission.  There is usually no place where students can check grades online (some professors have online gradebooks, but most don’t), so students have to keep track of their own performance throughout the semester.  Exams usually take much longer to return; for example, finals are returned one month after they are taken (by which time most study abroad students are long gone).

Lastly, no discussion of academics is complete without explaining the grading system.  The standard A+, A, A-, … system is used at NUS.  However, grades are assigned based on relative performance instead of absolute performance.  Each class has a secret quota (believe me, professors were really circumspect when discussing this quota—the most info I got was that in most mid-level math classes the quota is that somewhere between 20-25% of students will get an A-range grade; no professor would tell me the exact number), and this quota is strictly adhered to.  If the quota says that 16 students will get grades in the A-range, and you are the 17^th student, then you will get at best a B+—even if your percentage grade is 0.01 points lower than the student ahead of you.  These quotas are set by departments and take into account the number of students who take the course, the average GPA (called CAP here) of these students, whether the course is a required or elective course, etc.  In general, lower numbered courses have lower quotas; higher numbered courses have higher quotas (I’ve heard that fourth year courses don’t have quotas).  I understand that professors can break the quota, but they would have to justify why to the department, and I don’t know how many professors would do that.

A brief review of the five courses I took at NUS:

• CS1102S: Data Structures and Algorithms with Prof. Martin Henz.  Rating: 4/5.  Course starts out fast-paced but becomes more reasonable after the first midterm.  Midterms have extreme time-pressure.  Prof. Henz is a stickler for syntax, so watch out for questions in which the algorithms look okay but the code is syntactically wrong. Great programming course, especially to follow up an intro Java course.  Make sure to stay current with the reading, and make sure to download or buy a copy of the “Java Tutorials”–many examples (and even exam problems) come from that text.
• EN4231: U.S. at War and Peace: Cold War Texts with Prof. Ryan Bishop.  Rating 5/5.  Fantastic course.  Integrates critical theory and philosophy with other analytic tools in analyzing texts like “Underworld” by Don DeLillo.  Reading load starts out heavy but becomes much more manageable after the first few weeks.  Those students with a background in modern American history and/or knowledge of modern philosophers like Baudrillard or Heidegger will be able to follow along more easily.  Don’t be afraid to speak out and have your voice heard in class.  Only two graded components–a team project partway through the semester, and a final paper.  Don’t put off the final paper until the last minute–you need a good two days to write it and at least a week to revise.
• MA2202: Algebra I with Prof. De-Qi Zhang.  Rating: 4/5.  Good introduction to algebra.  Slower-paced than equivalent courses at Princeton, so gives time to savor the material fully.  Lecture notes are good but should be supplemented with your own reading (find a textbook you like in the library and refer to it over the semester.  The text by Artin is probably too advanced as a reference for the class).  No computational component, so students don’t get experience with SAGE or MAGMA.  Relatively lax grading curve.
• MA3111: Complex Analysis I with Prof. Tong Seng Quek.  Rating 4/5.  Solid introduction to complex analysis, great foundation course for further study in complex analysis.  The Brown and Churchill text is a standard complex analysis book used also at Princeton.  Prof. Quek relatively de-emphasizes the importance of proofs and rather wants students to be able to solve problems.  Prof. Quek is all about “practice makes perfect,” and his lectures and tutorials are filled with examples.  Make sure to read the lecture notes and textbook before coming to class so that you can fully understand all the examples.  If you’re unprepared, you won’t get much from lecture.  Tests were fair.
• MA3229: Introduction to Geometric Modeling with Prof. Seng Luan Lee.  Rating 5/5.  Great course.  Small, intimate class.  Lots of face time with professor.  Professor is engaging and makes the course thoroughly enjoyable.  Lecture notes are good, but they can be supplemented with the Salomon textbook.  Once you get into the groove, the project and homework assignments are actually quite good.  If you don’t have enough time to do the entire tutorial problem set each week, ask the professor to pick out a few problems for you to focus on. Course makes extensive use of MAPLE. Students are encouraged to buy MAPLE (I believe it’s about $100 with student discount). A computing lab is also available with MAPLE installed.

Extracurricular Activities

NUS has an extremely vibrant fabric of extracurricular activities (though not really student journalism…the press is highly regulated in Singapore, and I suspect the government here does not condone student journalism), and study abroad students are encouraged to get involved with any clubs or activities they find interesting.  Sports clubs and intramural competitions are very popular and offer some sports that are missing back in the US, like rugby and cricket.

One thing to note is that leadership within clubs can be fierce.  Don’t join a club thinking that you might get a leadership position or get to organize an event or something.  Your participation is welcome, but you won’t be given the opportunity to rise up the ranks.  Having leadership positions on resumes is highly valued and students are loath to share these positions with others.

Another point to keep in mind is that some level of extracurricular and sports activity is mandated for all full-time students.  Participation in these activities lets students accrue CCA (co-curricular activities) points.  CCA points come in handy later when students bid for dorm rooms or for popular classes—you can wager more CCA points and move up in the line.  Thus, while most students are legitimately interested in their activities, some may be doing so simply to collect the points.

Lastly: go to events!  Different clubs, departments, and organizations host a multitude of events on campus.  These events are advertised on bulletin boards around campus and on the IVLE website.  There are free performances, at least twice a month, at the Conservatory, and students can take part in a number of workshops and seminars.  I actually haven’t come across just plain-old study breaks, but the number and variety of other activities and events that students can attend is wonderful.

Housing

NUS has a number of dorms on campus.  Most of these dorm buildings are arranged in a small number of colleges (similar to Princeton’s), like Kent Ridge and Eusoff.  There is one set of dorms that is not in a college, called Prince George’s Park (PGP).  PGP is a huge housing complex with over 2000 dorm rooms (each college might have only a few hundred rooms).  Most housing on campus is non-AC, though a small number of AC rooms are available in all the colleges and PGP.  As a study abroad student, your best bet is to find housing in PGP, followed by housing in the colleges.  However, a number of study abroad students (maybe a little under half) are unable to be housed on campus and instead are provided housing in off-campus hostels.  These hostels (which are just converted apartment flats) include yo:HA @ Commonwealth, where I stayed.

Study abroad students don’t have much say in where they are housed.  When you apply for your study abroad program here, you check a little box saying that you would like to stay in a university dorm or hostel.  After a few weeks, you will learn what your assignment is.  Each dorm has its pluses and minuses.  If you live in an off campus hostel, the pluses are that the cost is lower and that your bedroom will have AC.  The minuses are that since you are off-campus, you will miss the social interaction with other students.  If you live in PGP, you will have the social interaction but you likely won’t have AC.  No dorm room is perfect, and most students are content with the room they are assigned.

As a note, the housing office requests that you prepay for your room before you arrive in Singapore.  They send a set of inscrutable instructions about bank drafts, wire transfers, special checks, and whatnot.  If you have contacts in Singapore who can go to the office and pay the fee for you, then great.  Otherwise, don’t sweat it.  Contact the housing office (via their website) and get written approval that you can just pay upon arrival.

Social Life at NUS

The social environment at NUS is open, and students will be able to find ways to have fun.  BUT NO ILLEGAL DRUGS.  Alcohol and tobacco are legal in Singapore, but drugs like marijuana are illegal.  But unlike in the United States, punishment for illegal drugs is far more severe here.  Users will be punished with lashes and years in jail; those convicted of trafficking illegal drugs (including bringing drugs into Singapore in luggage) will be executed.

I did not encounter any fraternities or sororities here in Singapore, and I don’t really think there are any on campus.  Similarly there are no “social organizations” like eating clubs.  What that means is that there is no central location for partying or socializing on campus.  However, dorm parties do occur (though smaller and not as rowdy as back home), and you can get invited easily enough.  Most of these parties are BYOB—bring your own beer.

In general, though, social life does not revolve around the campus.  Campus is where academic work takes place, but students generally go downtown to have fun.  Movies, shopping, and nightclubs are all popular destinations.  Because the drinking age in Singapore is 18, American students will find that they have many more social outlets off campus (like nightclubs and bars) than they might have expected.

It is important to note that NUS is a commuter campus.  Most students, being Singaporean, live at home and commute to campus each day (recall that Singapore is essentially a 10 mile x 20 mile rectangle.  This means that students are at most 23 miles from campus, or roughly a one hour drive).  Some, of course, choose to live in the dorms.  However, most of the students who live in the dorms are from outside Singapore, including significant numbers from China, India, and Malaysia.  The number of students living in dorms is a small minority of the entire undergraduate student body.

The hardest part of social life at NUS is trying to make friends with full-time students.  NUS usually houses study abroad students together, so you won’t meet many full-time students in your everyday social interaction in your dorm or hostel.  Your best bet is to meet local students through classes and extracurricular activities.   Study abroad students tend to clump together (the European students hang out together by country, and the Canadian and American students generally hang out together), but students can take the initiative to reach out to local students too.  Also, be social in the university canteens–if you see someone you recognize, approach them and ask if you can sit at their table.  Some of my most memorable conversations in Singapore took place this way.

Should I Study Abroad at NUS?

Would I recommend studying abroad at NUS?  YES.  There are certain caveats to studying here, and NUS will not be right for all students.  But I believe that most would enjoy and get a lot out of the experience.  Let me note upfront that NUS is an extremely popular study abroad destination–in the spring of 2010, over 600 foreign students chose to study at NUS, though only two from the Ivy League.  This doesn’t mean, however, that study abroad students can’t receive individual attention–study abroad programs are administered through the Registrar’s office, and I’ve always found that my inquiries and concerns were promptly addressed.

First, NUS is a large school with a large number of students and professors.  That means that there are a wide variety and large number of courses offered each semester, so study abroad students can get their pick of what they want to study.  In my case, I was able to take several applied mathematics courses that weren’t offered back at Princeton.

Second, because NUS has undergraduate degrees in law and medicine, American students who are contemplating postgraduate degrees in those fields can get a preview by taking classes in these faculties.  This way students will know if they really want to pursue degrees in these fields.  Moreover, these classes can give students something to talk about during admissions interviews and may generally improve admissions prospects to postgraduate programs.

The downside, though, is that some courses are particularly popular and thus extremely difficult to get into.  Study abroad students have the lowest priority for signing up for classes, which means that students don’t always get what they want.  I know many students who wanted or needed to take certain introductory business courses but were unable to get into the classes.  While business courses are often oversubscribed, this is a problem that could occur for any class.  Thus, it is important that you have backups in mind in case you are unable to sign up for a class.  And if there is a critical class you need to take in order to graduate, you should not expect that you can take it while studying abroad at NUS, because you may not be able to get in.  If you have been turned down from a course, you can try getting in by talking to the course instructor and with the Registrar’s office.  However, study abroad students have had mixed results trying to get into courses after they have already been turned down once.

Another downside is that research opportunities are limited for students.  I’m not even sure if study abroad students can conduct laboratory research, but in any case research will have to be set up on an individual basis between students and professors.  If you need to conduct research, make sure that you are in contact with a professor at NUS before you arrive, and make sure that your professor fully understands how the research program will be structured.

Lastly, studying abroad at NUS is expensive!  Everyday living expenses are pretty low (food, housing, transportation) and textbooks are reasonably priced.*  But American study abroad students are expected to pay American-level tuition bills.  In my case, I came to NUS through a program at the University of Miami, and I had to pay the nearly $18,000 tuition bill for UMiami.  There are no direct study abroad programs where students apply to NUS and pay the local tuition bill—all students must come through official partner programs and must thereby pay that program’s tuition bill.

* I found that the easiest way to access money in Singapore was to carry an American ATM card (Charles Schwab offers bank accounts from which international ATM withdrawals are extremely cheap).

What To Watch Out For

Studying abroad at NUS is not a painless experience.  There are a lot of nuances to the ins and outs of navigating the bureaucracy at NUS and in Singapore generally, so students will find that sometimes things are just frustratingly difficult to get done.

• No centralized website for course information.  Unlike most American schools, there is no one central “Registrar’s” website where you can get course info for all courses offered.  Instead, you have to navigate individual department websites to figure out which courses are offered and at what times.  Sometimes there are no course descriptions given, meaning that you have to email professors to find out what will be taught.  There is also no way to check feedback or find out if a course or professor is any good.  However, students can swap classes during the first week so you’re not stuck with a bad course choice (of course, any class you swap into must have open slots).
• Immigrations and Customs Authority (ICA).  The ICA has certain rules dictating student visas, but these rules are nearly impossible to understand.  I’ve summarized the process below.

Students have to apply for a student visa after they have been accepted by NUS but before they leave the US.  This application should be made online (on a website called eSOLAR that is linked from ICA).  Make sure you print everything out.  Once you arrive in Singapore, you will go through Customs at Changi Airport; if you have an American passport, Customs will give you an entrance card, stamp your passport, and let you in.  Once in Singapore, you need to go to ICA downtown and get your official student visa and ID card.  First make an appointment online for when to go to the ICA offices.  Then take your entrance card, your printed eSOLAR application, your airplane tickets and boarding passes, your passport, and a photocopy of your passport to the ICA offices for your appointment.  At the offices, you will have to buy passport pictures from one of the stalls in the office building itself (don’t get the pictures anywhere else because the ICA officials will find something wrong with it and will make you retake it).  If all goes well you should get your ID card after a ~30 minute wait.  This ID card makes leaving and entering Singapore quite easy.  However, you have to surrender this card within seven days of the end of the semester at NUS.  You’ll need to troupe back down to ICA with both the ID card and your passport.  ICA will take your card and provide a letter that you will need to give to Customs at Changi when leaving Singapore.  You can stay on in Singapore as a tourist, but you are no longer an official student.

• Secret deadlines.  The NUS bureaucracy is masterful at hiding deadlines from students.  If you need to extend your dorm room for an extra week or two after the semester ends, you have to make sure that you apply for this extension within the deadline for summer housing requests.  Deadlines like these are usually not posted anywhere (even online), so if you need something from NUS make sure you inquire about what the deadline is for making the request.  Also, make sure you check the MyISIS website and pay any fees that you may have.  NUS doesn’t inform students of the fees that it assesses, but then it does tack on late fees if they aren’t paid on time.  Check MyISIS (which is NUS’s central administrative website like SCORE) regularly to make sure that you have no outstanding bills.
• Waiting.  Sometimes it seems that all you’re doing is waiting, especially at the end of the semester after finals.  You don’t get finals results until the beginning of June, more than a month after taking the exams.  Just don’t stress it—while you’re waiting, go enjoy some other activities in Singapore.
• Don’t believe (some of) the students.  If you need help with something, you should turn to the professors.  I have heard from some study abroad students that they have been led astray by locals—perhaps the locals wanted to improve their chances for a good grade by making sure that other students got low grades.  Some study abroad students have even been led astray by other study abroad students (though I think this is more of a case of everyone being confused and spreading around incorrect information).  I personally haven’t had this problem, but I mention it because it is something to watch out for.  Professors are happy to help and are very open; for essays or other more subjective assignments, make sure that you ask for clarification early.

Tourist Highlights in Singapore

Singapore is chock-full of things to do, and living in Singapore for a full semester or a full year will give the study abroad student the time to explore Singapore properly.  Study abroad students in Singapore often travel around Southeast Asia, visiting Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia.  I agree that Johor Bahru, Singapore’s twin-city across the straits in Malaysia, is a destination that students should visit and explore.  However, instead of spending too much time (and cash) exploring Southeast Asia, I would instead recommend spending that time in Singapore itself–you will be surprised with what there is to do here.

• Make sure to check out the local foods and drinks. Ethnic foods are superb in Singapore, and one can find some of the world’s best ethnic foods in Little India, Chinatown, and Arab Street.  Singapore is also famous for chicken rice–not a luxurious item by any means, but a staple of the local diet.  Make sure to try it out (sorry vegetarians!).  Most canteens have stalls where one can buy fresh fruit juices and slurries–I can’t think of a more convenient way to get your daily Vitamin C.  Chinese vegetarian stalls sell a unique product where tofu and other vegetarian ingredients are used to make some fabulous sides that you eat with white rice, brown rice, or noodles.  This is a great option for vegetarians, but watch out for fish–many Chinese vegetarian stalls also carry fish.  Most Western canned drinks are available in Singapore, but I would recommend trying three that are not available in the US: Milo (a chocolate malt drink), 100 Plus (a sports drink), and H-Two-O (another sports drink).
• Take cross-country bus rides.  Singapore is plied by many of the famous two-story buses, and visitors would be well served to get on a two-story bus and just ride across Singapore.  Take a map and digital camera along for the ride.  There is no better way to see and learn about Singapore than from the second story of a two-story bus.  Plus, the cross-country trip will be less than two hours long and cost less than 2 SGD.  I can personally recommend the 147 bus route, but I am sure that other buses can provide a similarly spectacular trip.

Additionally, put aside some of your weekends to explore the following sights (in no particular order):

1. Asian Civilizations Museum
2. National Museum
3. National Library
4. Singapore Zoo
5. Parliament building
6. Botanical gardens
7. Casinos (the two casinos are brand new and are worth visiting just for the architecture and artwork)
8. Universal Studios (one casino and Universal Studios are both on the resort island of Sentosa)
9. Artwork at the Ritz Carlton hotel
10. Singapore Flyer (Ferris wheel)
11. Singapore flight simulator
12. Changi prison (political prisoners were kept here by the Japanese during the occupation)
13. Merlion statue (symbol of Singapore)
14. Kranji War Memorial
15. Changi Chapel and Museum
16. Armenian Chapel
17. WWII Exhibition Gallery
18. Raffles Hotel Museum
19. Peranakan Museum
20. Jurong bird park
21. Tangjong Pagar railway station
22. Presidential palace Istana (only open on five specific days each year)
23. Ethnic districts (Little India, Chinatown, Arab Street)
24. Mustafa Centre
25. Malls on Orchard Street and Bugis

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What library facilities and resources did you use for course work and research?  Did they meet your needs?

A: I mostly relied on the Central Library.  The Central Library does not have a large book collection (certainly not compared to Firestone Library at Princeton), but it has lots of space dedicated to multimedia and for studying.  The computing facilities at the Central Library are great (but partially oversubscribed, especially during the early afternoon), meaning that you don’t have to carry your laptop around campus if you don’t want to.  The Central Library is where I did all my printing (printing is about 4 cents/page). Instead of storing the majority of books at the Central Library, NUS spreads its book collection around to the various departmental libraries as well, such as the Engineering Library, Math/Science Library, etc.

The Central Library has the University’s collection of multimedia and has a multimedia viewing room where you can watch DVD’s, listen to CD’s, etc. You can even bring DVD’s and CD’s from outside and watch them there if you want to. That room is also great for studying, if you can snag a spot on the far wall.

Most of my library time was spent in the Central Library, but I also used the Math/Science Library and the Business School Library occasionally. I was able to find all the math-related textbooks I needed at the Math/Science library, including books for my junior research paper.

I wasn’t able to test out how many journals the NUS libraries have access to online. I simply relied on my VPN connection from Princeton to access journals online. I would strongly suggest that you investigate your school’s VPN system and install/test the VPN client before coming to Singapore. And VPN is useful for more than just accessing journals online–that’s also how you get to Hulu.

Hint: In order to get around campus–to get to class or to the different libraries–you will need to use the internal bus service. The schedule is somewhat sporadic, but the buses run often on weekdays. You will want to memorize the main bus routes (A1, A2, and D).

Q: What are the computing resources like?

A: All libraries have banks of computers available for students to use. The Central Library has more computers than other libraries, but again the heavier traffic in the Central Library means that the computers are occasionally all occupied, especially in the early afternoon.

The computer science building also has wonderful computing resources, but they are only available to students who take CS courses.  The CS department (and the engineering departments, I believe) is very particular about who uses their space.

If you’re working on a research project, then you should approach your department for help in securing any specific computing resources you need. In my experience, NUS doesn’t have all the software packages that you would expect in the US; for example, the math computer labs have MAPLE but not MATLAB or Mathematica. Thus, students coming from abroad should try to bring any software with them that they think they might need.

The entire campus has wireless internet available, though the signal is quite weak in some areas (for example, on the second story of the Arts and Social Science canteen and in some inner classrooms in Arts and Social Science). Occasionally, different departments install wireless systems separate from the main campus system–the computer science department does this. I do not know if non-CS students are able to access the CS wifi network–which may be problematic, because there is no other wifi network available in the CS buildings.

Q: Describe the email system.

A: I had an official NUS email address (remember to change your email ID to something more memorable via FriendlyMail).  I routed all my NUS emails into Gmail so that I could read them alongside my Princeton email.  I suggest that students either forward, or set up POP3 access, from the NUS email service to their regular email program.

Q: How do I print at NUS?

A: There are various print terminals around campus, mostly located in the libraries.  I far and away prefer printing at the Central Library.  The Central Library’s print terminals accept payment via the EZ-Link card.  There are two printers set up near the main computer cluster in the Central Library, but there are three extra printers in the back room, so you can often avoid a long print line by printing to the printers in the back.

Don’t expect to be able to dash in and print something quickly.  Getting a computer, standing in line, paying for printing, etc. can often take 10 or more minutes.

I was unable to successfully submit print jobs remotely–that is, send something straight from my laptop to a print terminal at NUS.

Q: How should I access money in Singapore?

A: Just like in the US, you have three options for money in Singapore–cash, debit, or credit.  However, the island also supports two additional payment methods–the eNets cashcard and the EZ-Link card.

First, I would suggest that you arrive in Singapore with some hard cash in hand, perhaps $1000 (if you need to pay your housing bill upon arrival, then perhaps you will need to bring more cash).  You can exchange your cash at any number of money exchanges, though I would avoid those at the airport since they are a bit of a cheat.  The money exchanges at Mustafa and in the mall next to the Clementi MRT Station are both good.

In general, you don’t want to rely on a debit or credit card in Singapore.  Smaller merchants don’t take them, and the international transaction fees can really add up.  However, there are some exceptions:

• Charles Schwab offers debit cards that have next to no fees when used internationally for ATM withdrawals.  That is, Schwab will not charge you any fees for using an ATM internationally.  Moreover, they will reimburse you for any fee that the ATM charges you (for “using a card from an outside network”).  That means that the only fee you will pay is the Visa/Mastercard currency exchange fee, which is about 1% (this fee is actually hidden in the currency exchange rate that Visa/Mastercard tell you–this exchange rate is worse than the actual exchange rate).  Once the cash that I brought from home ran out, this was the primary way that I accessed money.
• Capital One offers a credit card with low/no fees for use internationally.  I don’t have personal experience with this card, so I can’t tell you much, but people who have used this card have been quite pleased.

Needless to say, Visa and Mastercard are your best bet in Singapore.  American Express is also used, though less often, and Discover is no where to be found.

Cash is king in Singapore–unlike in the US, you will need to carry around enough cash and coins to cover your main purchases (I tried to keep 60 SGD on me at all times, plus an assortment of coins).

Now, the two Singapore-specific options are eNets cashcards and EZ-Link cards.  Many people in Singapore have a cashcard, but I never got one.  I was never in a situation in which I needed a cashcard and either plain cash or an EZ-Link card would not suffice instead.  Just to simplify your own money matters, I would avoid getting a cashcard.  EZ-Link, on the other hand, is imperative.  EZ-Link cards are extremely useful because many places around Singapore take them in lieu of cash or a credit card (on the plus side, ez-link cards don’t have any nasty “international” fees that your credit card probably has). The cards are necessary for taking public transit, and at NUS they are used to pay for printing in the libraries (most of the print terminals don’t take cash).

Lastly, a word on bank accounts–study abroad students are able to open bank accounts after doing some legwork.  I never opened an account and didn’t have a reason to need one.  If you bring over loads of cash and want somewhere safe to stash it, then opening a bank account might be in your favor.  However, even after the currency exchange fee, an ATM will give a better exchange rate than exchanging US dollars for Sing dollars (SGD), so you might want to rely more on ATMs than on cash you bring from home.  The best banks to open accounts with in Singapore are POSB or Citibank.

Also see my longer post on money issues here.

Q: Where can I buy textbooks?

A: The NUS Co-ops are the university bookstores.  There you can pick up textbooks for almost all your classes, as well as a variety of other materials (snacks, swag, gifts for people back home, etc.).  Make sure to visit the appropriate Co-op for your classes–go to the Math/Science Co-op for math textbooks, the Central Library Co-op for English textbooks, etc.  Prices for textbooks at the Co-op are moderately inflated, as you would expect for any university bookstore.

For cheaper books, you should check out the Clementi Book Store and the bookstores at the Bras Basah complex. Call ahead to see if Clementi has your books–if so, they probably offer the best price in town for new books.  If you want to peruse used books, head to Bras Basah.

Almost all books you will run across will  be softback, international editions.  Such editions are significantly cheaper than the American, hardback versions.

Students in general bought new textbooks.  The used book market is just that much harder to navigate.  There is no one place where you can find a used book you need;  Bras Basah is a good place to start but is no guarantee.  Some used books are available through the Co-op, but I didn’t use this facility so I don’t know what the selection is like.  Other places to check for used books is on Craigslist Singapore and Ebay Singapore.

Conversely, selling used books in Singapore is a hassle.  Again, you can try Bras Basah, the Co-op, Craigslist, and Ebay.  My only experience was at Bras Basah, and the prices offered for used books there was extremely low.

Q: Should I become a Co-op member?

A: If you live on campus and you stop by the Co-op often for snacks and whatnot, then the 10% discount offered to Co-op members may be worth it.  However, if you aren’t going to use the Co-op too much, then the membership may not be worth it.  Remember, non-members get 5% off (on everything except snacks) just by showing their NUS ID (called the “matric) card.

Q: Do I need a cell phone?  How should I call home?

Yes, you need a cell phone!  Without one, you won’t be able to coordinate with roommates, friends, or project partners.  I don’t know if university dorm rooms come with a landline phone connection (in any case, you would still need to plug in your own landline phone), but my off-campus housing did not have a landline connection.

The three cell phone carriers in Singapore are SingTel, StarHub, and M1. It doesn’t really matter which company you go with, though I would recommend SingTel because having a SingTel account also lets you have access to their wifi network (which is available in hotspots around the island) for free.  After buying a SingTel SIM card, I then had to choose how I wanted to top up my credit (like most people in Singapore, I elected to prepay for my minutes rather than postpay). After looking into the various bonus offers offered by these companies, I chose to top up via the “regular” method.  Every phone call and text ate into the balance of my account.  Each minute cost something like 8 SGD cents, which is a little pricey.

Some students tried out the various bonus offers for topping up, but I think they largely got burned.  The bonus offers include stuff like “$100 of credit for only $30!”  These bonus offers are real, but the problem is in the fine print–the extra minutes expire after only a few weeks (rather than after 6 months for a regular card), and you first have to have at least 10 SGD in regular top up credit before you can take advantage of these bonus offers.

When I landed in Singapore, I bought 100 SGD worth of credit at the airport.  By buying so much credit at once, SingTel gave me 20 SGD free.  I had about 1 SGD left on my phone when I left Singapore four months later, so I had bought just about the right amount of credit.  Also, in my case the bonus offers would have been largely worthless–there was no way that I could use 100 SGD of credit in the small timespan allowed by those offers.

Singapore uses the same GSM standard as Europe.  AT&T and T-mobile also use GSM but on different frequencies.  If you have an AT&T or T-mobile phone that is quad-band, then it can work in Singapore.  However, you will have to contact your carrier and try to get your phone unlocked.  If your phone is not unlocked, then even by swapping out your SIM card you won’t be able to use it in Singapore.

If you have a Verizon or Sprint phone, then you are out of luck.  In that case, you will need to buy a GSM phone that works in Singapore.  You can buy cheap phones in Singapore in the range of 40-75 SGD; however, I would recommend that you look through Amazon and Ebay back in the US and pick up a phone here before going to Singapore.  In my experience, you can get phones in the US cheaper than in Singapore (even without the carrier subsidy); I’ve had particular good luck through Amazon.

For making international phone calls, you have several options.  The first is just to use your cell phone.  There will probably be a special “IDD” (international direct dial) number for the US (I believe it’s 019 on SingTel).  If you use the IDD code, then phone calls to the US are about the same price as a local phone call.  A second option is to buy a phone card in Singapore to call the US.  Using such a phone card, you’ll pay around 2 SGD cents/minute (but you still have to pay the per-minute local call fee on a cell phone, so this only makes sense if you have access to a landline).  The third (and my favorite) option is to use Skype.  You can register for an unlimited US and Canada subscription for less than $3/month.  This subscription lets you call any phone number (cell phone or landline) in the US and Canada for free.  Of course, Skype-to-Skype are always free without subscription.

Q: Were you able to visit nearby countries during your free time?

A: Visiting other countries while studying abroad in Singapore is extremely easy. I wasn’t a huge traveler (I only went to Malaysia a few times), but every other study abroad student I met visited at least three countries. Common countries include Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Most students did not have class on Fridays, so it was easy to leave on Thursday afternoon for the weekend and be back in time for Monday classes. A little preparation (getting your work done early) means that you can enjoy these trips without worrying about what you have to do on the way back.

A good way to get to Kuala Lumpur (“KL”) is by train. Otherwise you can take a bus (or a flight, but that costs much more). You would probably choose to fly to any other location. A nice weekend trip is also visiting the nearby Indonesian islands like Bintan.

The study abroad students have an active Facebook group through which students organize a lot of trips. If you want to travel, Singapore is a great choice–especially because Singapore serves as the travel hub for SE Asia.

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