Please shed some light on this (clearer version)

Hi, I am living in Singapore and will graduate from Junior College/High School this year and currently having a dilemma. I am interested to study overseas, preferably US if not UK.

I am interested in Consulting, IB and PE.

My grand plan is to return to Singapore to take care of my parents as they age, however I believe it makes more sense to work and gain experience at US/UK when I study overseas since that is where my connections and resources I gained.

The issue is that I am unsure what route is better for my grand plan.

And don’t worry too much about the tuition fees as my parents are supportive no matter where I go, they are willing to sponsor it.

Option 1: Stay in SG and study in NUS/SMU

Pros: - Have friends and family around - Cheaper tuition (around $9000SGD a year) - More familiar with the country

Cons: - Harder to get into Consulting, IB and PE - Not as prestigious (Asians care about this)

Option 2: Going overseas to study undergrad at NYU/LSE, then work at US/UK immediately. After 2-3 years perhaps I will return to Singapore and work.

Pros: - Better education and career opportunities - More prestigious - Learn different cultures and be more diverse (believe that would help my career when I move back to SG as I gained more exposure)

Cons: - Expensive Tuition Fees and Rents - May not be favoured by some local employers as local grads may be more appealing (cheaper labour that produce the same demanded results) - Lacks local connections/network

I understand that either route I choose I will suffer regret, it is just unclear to me which regret it’s worth suffering from.

Any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated.

5 Comments
 

why would a UK or US employer not think as highly of you? on the cotrary you can play the diversity/first gen college attendant card as much as possible even though the prime season for that ('20-'23) is gone. the thing you should actually worry about is your visa, other than that you have no reason to regret leaving sg

 

Hey, thanks for the response. I do lean towards the idea of studying overseas as it is obviously that NU and London are a better financial centre than SG currently. I was just thinking about the employment opportunities when I do return to SG from overseas. Would I lose out to those that have worked in SG that worked immediately when they graduate from SG uni? Or would I gain an edge over others as I worked in NY/London? Apologies if my question sounds dumb as I can’t find any other information that were relevant to my issue.

 
Most Helpful

i see, you meant to ask how would you fare against other singaporean candidates? In that case here are 2 things:

1. reach out to juniors working in the industry of your interest to set up coffe chats and inquire about their work/industry etc and ask them this

2. i dont think that youd be worse off as companies often prefere people with an international background and you wont have the problem of looking like a senseless stranger as you're from singapore.

3. this is VITAL: make sure to actually attend a PRESTIGIOUS insitution abroad (no less than semi-target). no point in throwing 50k to go to some non-target college abroad, dont be fooled by the ads.

Another thing: it may not be in your best interest to immediatly come back to SG after graduation, try and stay there working FT a couple years. and try to look, if you want, for degrees which offer a double-degree program or some kind of partnership with a asian country, (ex. Bocconi's international management asia MSc)

Im not much more experienced than you so look for advice from others too (like other singaperoeans)

 

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