Re: UNIVERSITY

  Hii again guys :( I feel really sad now. I was so, so excited about the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), but then I went over to look at the Singapore Medical Council's article detailing the qualifications that one must have in order to be considered to be registered as a Medical Practitioner in Singapore - and EPFL's certificate wasn't listed in the list of accepted Universities. 😞 I mean, I'm pretty sure that it's only because EPFL's certificate is one of a Bachelor of Science, and the SMC (Singapore Medical Council) is looking for a Doctorate Degree or a Doctor of Medicine degree, but still, I feel really sad, because this means that if I want to practise Medicine in Singapore, I won't be able to go to EPFL, and I'll have to go to another school that offers a direct Doctorate Degree. :'( I want to become a specialist, too - a paediatrician - and I guess that my end goal is more important than the school that I go to. Right?

  So... Right now I have two options.

1. Study in EPFL and become a Research Scientist / Biomedical Engineer / Pursue an additional degree to allow me to practise Medicine in Singapore

2. Study in another Institution of Higher Learning that will allow me to practise Medicine and, more specifically, paediatrics, in Singapore.

  Sighhs. That's gloomy. :/ I guess Option #1 remains, and I could choose it if my career goals changed somewhere down the road - but just to be safe, I'm going to research on Option #2.

  The only thing is that I really want to study in an Institution that is listed in the top 20 Universities in the world, as listed by QS World, but at the same time I want to be able to speak a language other than my native one - English - for some time in my life.

  And in the top 20 universities, almost all reside in the UK, the US or Singapore. All English-speaking countries. Sigh. I guess that means that I have to let go of one of my original criteria - well, beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

  Let's work downwards.

  The Massachusetts Institute of Technology - highest on the list. However, the undergraduate international fee is $42000 - $44000; that's too out of my league.

  The University of Cambridge - $26000. Same as MIT. The same goes for Imperial College London, too. The same goes for all of the universities that follow, with the exceptions being: 

1. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology;

2. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lusanne;

3. McGill University;

4. NUS; 

5. École Normale Supérieure, Paris

6. The University of Tokyo (but sighs I don't know Japanese)

7. Seoul National University (same woes as #8 - I don't know Korean)

8. École Polytechnique, France

9. Kyoto University

10. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

11. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  The universities that are listed in SMC's accepted university qualifications list, and which speak languages that I know, are:

1. McGill University, Faculty of Medicine

2. National University of Singapore, of course

3. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

  And while McGill does rank slightly higher than NUS and NTU according to the QS World list, its school fees range from $14000 to $16000, and adding the cost of living, plus the additional cost of me flying back to Singapore biannually - it's too much. Plus, I can vouch that the quality of education is Singapore is nothing short of magnificent.

  Well, I guess that's the end of my comprehensive argument. I guess that I can always live elsewhere at another time, when my job had been secured, and that I can always carry on with speaking the French language without living in a French-speaking country - completing my studies in Singapore would make me eligible for applying for a job in almost any country. Anyway, Singapore is my home - and I guess I've just taken a while to realise it.

  So I can safely say that running around in this particular circle has been fruitful. I now have been reminded once again that Singapore is my homeland, and I know that no matter what - no matter how many trials I face - I can always run back here; to my family; to my country; to my home.

  I'll try my best to work hard for you, Singapore. 

  Love,

  Kirsten <3