[quote:7b35bfce31]I meant that I am interested to know how education systems differ from those in the US. Here, we have programs that allow students to study in other countries that don't require a lot of money (since you mentioned that doing so in Singapore is expensive.)[/quote:7b35bfce31]What do you mean by programs? Are you referring to attachments by the universities?As far as I know, Singapore's universities does not have such programs. There is something very similar to this however. There is a private education organisation SIM
http://www.sim.edu.sg/sim/pub/gen/simpubgen_home.cfmIt enables students in Singapore to study locally yet get a degree awarded by a foreign university. However the costs are still high enough to be prohibitive.Here in Singapore, everybody attends primary and then secondary schools. It is when after secondary schools when paths start to split. There are three main options for post-secondary education. Junior Colleges(JC), Polytechnics(poly) and the Institutes Of Technical Education (ITE). The most common choices are the JCs and polys.For JC students, it is a two year science or arts course. It is also commonly known as pre-university education. To enter a jc, students must get a reasonably good O Level score. To put things in perspective, only 15000 students a year can enter a jc of an annual birth rate of around 40000 to 50000. For me, I am currently in a science stream. I am taking 4 main subjects namely physics, chemistry, maths and basic economics. After 2 years, jc students have to sit for the A Level examinations. Where only about 10000 students will qualify for the local universities. And in order to get a course I want which is Com Sci, I have to work doubly hard.For poly students, it more hands-on. It focuses on practical skills rather than pure academic results. If I chose the poly route, I would be able take up a diploma in IT and get the skills much earlier and faster. However, the Singapore education system makes it very difficult for poly students to enter the local universities. In fact, only the top 10% of each cohort can enter the university. Poly courses usually last for 3 years. However, if one successfully enters a local university, a one-year exemption would be granted. The student would then jump straight to the second year of study.I think this summs up why I chose the JC route. And gave you people valuable insight to the Singapore's education system.