<p>honestly, i feel that a lot of you are speaking from a perspective of not having left the country as yet. i mean, of all the people on this thread who are contributing consistently, i think most if not all are still in junior college or in national service. while that does not mean that you guys aren't qualified to speak on such matters, it is true that none of you have experienced enough to justify whatever you have said.</p>
<p>anyway, i've read through what i've missed and here are some observations. i've decided to go by page because it's too difficult to discern who is who after some time:</p>
<p>pg3- firstly, it really doesn't matter which jc you come from if you're really that good. and once you're in uni, it's like you're starting from scratch all over again. the slate is pretty much wiped clean. no one is going to give you props if you had 4As and 2Ds for your A levels, and no one is going to knock you if you didn't do as well. why? because basically once in uni, past achievements don't count. you have to prove yourself again. of course, with good results, it opens so many more doors in terms of unis and so on, but once you're in here, it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>next. of course there is some disparity between standards of junior colleges. for instance, i was from tj, and i always felt that there was a lack of resources for students like me who wanted to go abroad. also, the whole culture was different from that say of a rj, where many students are gearing themselves to go overseas. and there were a few other things. but the thing is, its ridiculous to judge people based on their school. i mean, in ns i got to meet so many different people, and some of the brightest are poly students. i mean, being able to study well is one thing, but some of those guys are really good, and i respect them as much as anyone. so to sum up, yes some schools definitely have more to offer than others, that's the way things work. but people in schools deemed to be "not as good" aren't necessarily that way. they could be there for several reasons, an important example being location. </p>
<p>pg 4 - "It just seems that everyone agree in a way or another that 'quality of education' (broadly) means better teachers, better system, better management, and obviously better 'name' etc"
i agree with the above except for the last one. just because a school has a poorer "name" doesn't mean that its quality of education is not as good. for instance, comparing the ENGINEERING programs of say, harvard and illinois. harvard is harvard and will always have that brand equity but truth is that illinois has a much better in terms of engineering. there are other examples of course which i will not go into. i trust u get my drift.</p>
<p>so on we go:</p>
<p>"Let's look at some facts:
1. There is no data that shows that graduates of overseas 'name' colleges have a much lower percentage of unemployment upon graduation, compared to the local U (at least in Singapore it is the case). If anything, graduates from NUS/NTU are more likely to find jobs quicker simply because they are in Singapore and are immediately available for interviews."</p>
<p>mostly untrue. let me first say that i have no factual data apart from my own business school and even then, i have nothing explicit in terms of singaporeans apart from some people that i know personally. however, this is spoken like a true local grad. thing is, once here, you'll realise how geared everything is towards finding a job. for instance, almost everyone here looks for an internship during summer, be it through the school or through their own means. in nus/ntu, how many people actually apply for proper internships, apart from the ones where its compulsary to spend a term at a company?too many local undergrad want to spend their summer making floats and collecting donations. i was speaking to a friend recently, and he asked me what i was doing for summer. i told him that i would most likely be working as an intern in one of the banks, and i told him that since his results are good (he's an engine student), he should go try to intern somewhere too. turns out, he didn't even know how to write a resume! which leads me to my next point. there are so many resources overseas to take advantage of. again, in the business school here, something like 86% of all students receive a job offer by graduation. the figure is 74% for international students. furthermore, not everyone returns home, so its hard to compare. but i'm pretty sure that people from good schools do get better jobs more quickly than local grads. of course there are exceptions but by and large this is true. and the part about interviews, not only might some schools have interview practices, one can always do phone interviews with local companies. </p>
<p>on a sidenote, not many singaporeans want to work for local companies once coming here. </p>
<p>"2. Promotion opportunities. If you think an employer will promote you just because you are a Harvard graduate, think again. If you think a colleague/peer who used to attend a non-name school will never be better than a Harvard graduate in similar jobs aftter 5 years in industry,think again!! Bottom line is - if you are really smart and know your stuff, you'll move ahead anyhow even if you went to XYZ schools."</p>
<p>Agreed. Amen.</p>
<p>"3. Salary. If you think that your starting salary will be higher if you are a Harvard graduate, think again! Truth is, HR policies across all companies (in Singapore) pays between $100-$200 more for 1st class graduates, whether your degree is from Harvard or from XYZ college (they don't really care you know. You mean you think they'd be ga-ga all over you because you went to RJ or VJ??). And, <em>hold your breath</em> some polytechnics graduates starting salaries are higher than graduates!"</p>
<p>this depends on the job. again, i am in the business sector so i can't say for all, but grads from good schools are in a better position to negotiate a better pay packet. and some of these jobs are obviously not eligible to polytechnic students. in some cases, they might have higher starting pay, mainly because they might have some work experience. which again leads to the importance of internships and how local undergrads don't realise this.</p>
<p>"4. Last but not the least, gone are the days when companies make the distinction between a diploma and a degree holder. Nowadays, employers are more than willing to consider diploma applicants for a 'graduate job'. That is how much employers value the Polytechnic education (or in wukong's terms - that is how much employers value f-up students from lousy schools rather than HIM). Shocking? But it's true."</p>
<p>see above.</p>
<p>ok i better split this up. its getting too long</p>