US Student Studying Abroad in Singapore at NUS
 

Hello Singaporeans!

I am a student at Rice University in Houston, TX, USA and I have the opportunity to study at NUS from January 2017-May 2017.

I am studying economics, and NUS seems to have a good program in that field.

However, I am wondering if anyone could comment on the student culture at NUS? Did anyone here attend NUS? Would it be difficult for one to make friends coming in as an American?

For what it's worth, I do not speak any Mandarin or Malay. However, from what I can gather that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Any comments would be most appreciated!

Thank you!

You will have no problem with your English only - when I was working at NUS campus at research building I could tell that about 40% of students were foreigners which had no problem communicating/integrating with locals.

For getting more information, I'd suggest to read/post at HardwareZone forums - this is local forum covering all aspects of life. You will get some crash course in Singlish as well.

P.S. The best and cheapest food at NUS campus was at food court next to CREATE building. Well, at least it was the case when I was there before 2016.

English is no problem in Singapore.

The question I think you should consider is where you would live (NUS is out of town), but Singapore is a small country so that commuting from almost any home is feasible. If you would be in a dorm, is it filled with foreign students or do native Singaporeans live on campus?

I would have to apply for on-campus housing, and while not guaranteed, it is likely that I would receive it.

If not, what is the neighborhood like around NUS? Are there apartment buildings? Is there nightlife that students frequent?

Singapore is clearly a dense, active city, but if the campus is in a boring part of the city, that might dissuade me.

The campus is outside of the city, along a main road in a suburban area. IIRC there's a MRT station within walking distance. There are also some big apartment/condo buidlings for Singaporeans. I don't recall a student nightlife area around there, but I wasn't looking for that. I don't know, but I would guess that a lot of students from Singapore live with their families as undergraduates, although the males generally are a year older and more mature due to military service before entering the university.

Excuse me, could you explain what you mean by 'outside of the city'?

Singapore IS the city itself. While NUS is not at downtown/city center location, it is not at bunnies, like NTU campus where you need to look closely at ground otherwise you might accidently step at python.

OK, seems you need to do some homework in terms of lodging situation in Singapore. I do not know what your expectations are, but better to get it in line with reality before arrive here.

I would encourage you to get lodging situation clarified way beforehand your arrival to avoid literally being homeless. If you can't get room at campus your only choice is to rent a room somewhere else and you need to be aware what prices for rooms/apartments are in Singapore. On my street (which is in about 15 min bus ride to NUS) there is international student hostel and students there are paying SGD $1500/mo to share a room. And there are 2-3 people sharing room.

You might find those prices shocking but it is the reality which you have to deal with. You might be lucky to get a room at campus, but they are still $25-$35 per night, there is no such thing as 'free accommodation' in Singapore.

Now regarding life and lightlife - campus activity at NUS is vibrant and every single week there there was something going on. Plus, the campus is not any mean small - take a look here http://www.streetdirectory.com/asiat...s/70624/43380/ or at google maps.

Obviously most nightlife is concentrated at downtown. If you want to live there, take note that rent for rooms start from $2500/mo.

I could rent you a room when my government apartment is ready next year. You could be my first tenant lol...

Ironically I'm currently in Maryland to attend some family stuff, I'll be flying back next month end.

Suggest you reach out via FaceBook or the like. Try to find other US-based students who have done international study at NUS or in SIN. Also, realize that for the most part, for locals, Uni is a commuter experience in SIN. Very different in that regard, or in regard to campus culture from American universities.

Get housing nailed down first. Campus dorm, if available, will be simplest. Other posters have commented that NUS is "outside of the city." By that, they might mean, away from the "Downtown Core" or CBD (Central Business District). However, to me NUS is not that inconveniently located, between Clementi & Bukit Merah. If it were way out in Jurong, or Woodlands, or even Changi, that could be inconvenient for entertainment/socializing on a student budget.

Realize a few things - you can easily get anywhere on the island relatively cheaply, even at peak times using a taxi, compared to most US cities. Buses and metro are excellent, and taxis are plentiful. Get a local phone, and get a Singapore taxi app on it. It will come in handy on a rainy Friday evening.

The surest way to bust your student budget will be to try to eat like an American. Forget about familiar favorites, for a while. Even a box of Cheerios will be extravagant. If you have a kitchen, get over any squeamishness and shop for at least fruit & veg, if not proteins, at a local wet market. If is perfectly hygienic and safe, regardless how it might appear to your western eyes. If you are buying meals, stick to eating houses and hawker centres. The food is local, inexpensive (unless you're splurging on chili crab or tiger prawns), and unbelievably tasty. Hit a kopitiam for a kopi-c instead of a Starbucks.

Finally, plan for some excursions while over there. Get it into your budget. An amazing array of destinations most Americans barely dream of seeing is within easy reach, and pretty affordable if you take advantage of discount Asian airlines and cheap hotels/hostels. Highlights I'd suggest would be Siem Reap/Angkor Wat, Bali, Thai beach areas, etc.

Singapore has for official languages - Mandarin, Behasa Malay, Tamil, and English. Pretty much everyone, excepting perhaps some relatively poorly educated lower economic class members and recent immigrants, are pretty fluent in English. You might get thrown for a loop a bit in some transactions by Singlish, but you'll get the hang of it quickly.

Enjoy.

Everything is more expensive than the States (ok the hawker centres aren't) but generally things that you take for granted in the States like American food (pizzas), cars are expensive. Unless you are from a wealthy family, don't even think about getting a car. They are crazy crazy expensive.

Having studied abroad and worked in Singapore, one observation I would have is that the students here take study way more seriously than I have seen in Western countries.

This is an ultra competitive country when it comes to education (and I think that can be said for a lot of Asian countries), so don't be surprised if you see students working all day long. When I was at university half the kids went lectures regularly, and most spent their time at the student bar.

Could be a function of the perceived emphasis on paper qualifications in career progression. "I'm stuck in this dead-end, low paying job because I only have a Diploma and don't have a Degree" is a common excuse among younger generation have-nots.

It's a muggers' paradise.

Great if you only have pass/fail mods.


As an exchange student, you should be able to get accommodation in NUS Halls.

I was at NUS as an exchange student (from Sweden) about 10 years ago. A lot of things have happened since then, e.g. housing prices have skyrocketed, and some of the advice below may be outdated, but hopefully some of the info may be of use to you. On campus residences (such as Prince George's Park, where most of the exchange students lived) filled up on a first come first serve basis, so don't make the mistake of applying right before the official deadline since it may already be full then. If you have problems finding a place to stay, then go to the various offices in charge and ask in person. My general impression of the NUS bureaucracy was that the default answer would be "no", and if they told you to get back in x number of days, then that would be too late. The solution was to show up every day and bug them enough in person (with a smile!) until they helped you. It may be a bit of a culture shock, but just have a sense of humor, don't be in a rush, and appreciate the fact that you're on an adventure and expanding your world view, frustrating as it may be. Loosing your temper will get you nowhere!! I had booked an ordinary hostel for the first few days when I arrived, so I could have my jet lag in peace and didn't have to drag my stuff around campus while settling the initial paperwork.

There are MANY exchange students in Singapore, who - sadly - ended up hanging out mostly with each other (I would probably have ended up speaking more Swedish than English in my free time had I not actively made sure to befriend some locals). It makes sense considering that you primarily meet other foreigners during the introductory information sessions (excellent place to find people to share accommodations with btw) and most people are looking for travel buddies to go on weekend trips with. I recommend seeking out the "matriculation fair" right before the beginning of the semester. For some reason it was not advertised in any of the materials I received from NUS, so ask anyone about when and where it is. The matriculation fair gives you a lot of practical information regarding student discounts on computers, sim-cards etc. and it also has representatives from most student clubs on campus, which is an excellent way to meet locals! I'm not a huge sports fan, but I decided to try out some local martial arts (pencak silat), which I sucked at, but I had a great time and made some good friends who showed me many new sides of Singapore that most of the other exchange students missed out on.

You'll get by just fine with English although the Singlish takes a while to get used to. Exceptions may be some hawker centers (including on campus) where some basic Mandarin can make things easier, but pointing at what you want works just fine. If you're interested in getting to know any of the local languages I was very pleased with the Bahasa Indonesia class (almost the same language as Malay) offered at NUS. It is a very easy language (especially compared to Mandarin and Tamil), the teachers and syllabus are great, AND you have a lot of tutorials to choose from so it is easy to fit into your schedule.

As for nightlife I primarily headed downtown for clubbing, although there was usually some activity going on in Holland Village, not too far from campus. I would strongly recommend living close to campus. You can always take a taxi to get home in the middle of the night, but trying to get to class during rush hour can be a real pain.

^ Very good advice.

Bahasa is the APAC equivalent of Spanish, and likely tied with it in being one of the easier languages to learn. Very popular among Aussies. If you learn Bahasa Indonesia, you can get by very well in Bahasa Malaya as well. Basically dialects of the same root language.