Changes in University Admissions Policies for Local Universities

Recently, I was informed by my NUS High School juniors that the NUS Bonus Point Admission Scheme has been extended from just A Level graduates to local Polytechnics, IB Diploma, and our NUS High School Diploma. 

To explain it in NUS High's context, the Bonus Point works whereby if the applicant will be considered for his/her first choice course with an increased CAP of 0.1. However, this applies only for courses without interview requirements. For example, if an NUSHS graduate has a CAP of 4.4, but applies to (for example) Computer Science (CS) as first choice, he/she will be considered for CS with a CAP of 4.5. However, shall he/she not get CS as first choice, his/her will be considered with the original 4.4 CAP for the second choice onwards. If this graduate chooses a first choice course which has interviews, such as Medicine, Law, or Dentistry, the bonus points will not apply.

More information can be read at: http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/docs/default-source/admissions/faq-for-nus-first-choice-bonus-points-scheme-(ay2019).pdf?sfvrsn=ecbc1cb3_2

Also, I have read that NTU will be broadening the admission criteria for 40 courses, where they will now be considering the passion the individual has in the course rather than primarily their grades. This happens where shortlisted candidates will go through interviews, tests, and a portfolio review to be assessed of the suitability for their course.

More information can also be accessed at: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/ntu-broadens-admissions-criteria

SMU also has a longstanding policy of interviewing all shortlisted applicants for all of the courses they offer. 

Indeed, as seen, Singapore universities (at least the 3 I mentioned above, I am not too familiar with the admission policies of SIT, SUSS, and SUTD) are moving towards admission policies which go beyond looking at just the grades of applicants when deciding on their admissions. In conjunction with MOE's shift away from solely grades-based education and encourage students to pursue their passions. 

The move will certainly be welcomed by applicants and the universities alike. The applicants will benefit in a sense that even if their grades may not be top level, they can still be considered for courses they are passionate about, as long as they do not fall below the cut-off by too much. They then feel more empowered to apply for more competitive courses they are interested in. 

The universities will also have more discretion in the types of students they accept. In the past, perhaps they were limited to just grades and hence the admissions process lacked flexibility. Two candidates with the same grades and same course choices must have the same decision. The university are not admitting students, they are admitting numbers. With interviews, universities are able to judge their candidates as people and decide if they would be a good fit for the course. Some courses require students to have certain traits to perform well. But in general, universities are looking for good people to study who can give back to their society. It is highly undesirable to have a student who can only study with a toxic personality, rather than to have a student with a big heart, contributes to the community, but just has slightly poorer grades.

Perhaps the only drawback for this change in policy is the extra logistics required to have so many interviews. The number of extra interviews required may be in the thousands, and require the activation of many university staff. Many applicants will also have to take time off or have their weekends burnt for such interviews (some for even multiple interviews). My NSF leave clerk will be having a tough time arranging for many trainees to take leave to attend their multitude of interviews. However, of course this is a small matter in order to ensure applicants and their courses are appropriately matched, so eventual-students will make full use of their university education.

Yet, perhaps the universities do not need to interview 100% of the shortlisted applicants. For applicants who have already proven their abilities and passion through their grades and extracurricular activities through the application form, they can be offered their spots immediately. Only for those whose application may not fully satisfy all criteria, be it not demonstrating sufficient abilities or passion, then the interview and other assessments can be imposed. This way, some time and logistics can be saved in order not to "waste time" for candidates who have already proven they will be a good fit for the course. 

Currently the universities accept up to 15% of students through Discretionary Admissions (DA). DA works by accepting students whose grades may not make the cut, but have proven their abilities through extracurricular activities. These new initiatives are not the DA policy, but they also serve to look at applicants beyond their grades, rather to look at them as a person on a whole. 

On a side note, however, I actually wonder if the NUS Bonus Point policy will really serve to help many applicants pursue their passion. Surely the 0.1 CAP boost (or 1.5 rank points for A level students) will be an incentive for them to choose their passions as top choices, but will the increase really make a change? As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there is already the 15% DA that applicants who just miss the cut-off can be considered for. Is there a use for a second "bolster" for this group of applicants? Furthermore, it still doesn't remove the fact that admission is still largely grades-based. The idea of bonus points is of a good intention, but whether the policy will work remains to be seen. I actually wonder if NUS will progress towards the NTU and SMU model of interviewing more/most applicants.

As much as I am in support of such a change in policy, however, the only way to see if this change works is to monitor the progress of students who benefit from this change during their university studies. These observations will span across years, and the results may not be immediate.